Vero Beach native Shawn O’Dare’s football dreams came true, and he wants football dreams to come true for other Vero kids, too.
The millennial quarterback, who led the Vero Beach High Indians to district championships in 2007 and 2008 and went on to play wide receiver at the University of Miami, didn’t make it to the NFL as a player.
But still early in his career, he has become a top football agent in Miami, where he works with Drew Rosenhaus, arguably the most famous sports agent in America, representing college and professional football players.
A number of those players will be in town next weekend, participating in the third annual free youth football camp put on by O’Dare’s foundation with the goal of sharpening the skills and fueling the gridiron dreams of kids from fifth grade up to rising seniors.
The big men are flying into little Vero partly because they are Shawn’s friends and clients and want to help him out, but also because of the satisfaction they get from passing on football wisdom and seeing the looks on the faces of ambitious kids who remind them of their younger selves.
“I have a lot of fun with the kids,” Cleveland Browns defensive end Alex Wright told Vero Beach 32963. “It is good to get kids out of the house and give them role models to look up to.
“I didn’t have that so much when I was coming up and that is one reason I wanted to help Shawn with the camp, to inspire young players and see the smiles on their faces.”
Wright, who is going into his third year in the NFL, is getting favorable attention from the football press for his size, speed and ability to read the field, attributes that got him five tackles and a sack in the final game of the Brown’s 2023 season.
“These are guys that the kids are watching on TV on Friday and Saturday nights, so it is a real thrill to meet them in person,” said VBHS Indians head coach Lenny Jankowski, who with his coaches will help run the June 7 camp.
“It doesn’t matter if you are in grade school, middle school or high school, your goal probably is to get to the level these guys are at or have been in college or the league,” Jankowski continued. “It’s really a cool thing to see kids’ eyes get wide when they see these guys or learn something important, whether it is a coaching point or a life lesson.
“We are going to do a kind of ‘Friday Night Lights’ event this year,” Jankowski said. “The camp will be held on the turf beneath the lights in the Citrus Bowl,” with Miami Hurricane and NFL players and coaches running drills and giving pep talks alongside the high school coaches.
“I think the experience will stick with the kids for a long time,” said O’Dare. “They look up to these guys and to get some A1 coaching and encouragement from them is a thrill.”
O’Dare grew up in Central Beach in the 1990s and 2000s, attending St. Helen Catholic School from K-8th and playing on a traveling basketball team. His father, Kevin O’Dare, was an organic farmer, running Osceola Organic Family Farm, while his mother, Wendy O’Dare, was a registered nurse.
“Shawn was the most focused, well-mannered, hard-working, big-hearted kid you could hope to meet,” said Shawn’s aunt, ONE Sotheby’s broker associate Cindy O’Dare, who was in the stands cheering when her nephew led his team to victory on Friday nights.
“He was a good student, good athlete and good friend – the kind of kid everyone wishes was their kid! And he really hasn’t changed since then.”
At Vero High, O’Dare discovered a knack for football, winning the quarterback job on the freshman team.
“I was backup varsity quarterback my sophomore year and then quarterback in junior and senior years. It was always sold-out games with the stadium packed and we won district both years.”
O’Dare graduated in 2009 alongside two teammates who went on to play in the NFL – Brian Stork, who won a Super Bowl with the Patriots in 2018, and Zeke Motta, who was drafted by the Falcons after a strong college career at Notre Dame.
At the University of Miami, O’Dare switched to wide receiver, playing for the Hurricanes while earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in sports administration. After a year working in the football program at Miami, he got certified as an NFL agent and transitioned seamlessly into his current career.
“I couldn’t have done it anyplace but Miami,” O’Dare said. “It was the relationships I had with players and coaches that opened the door.”
Like the Dwayne Johnson character in the hit show “Ballers” about the intensely competitive and highly lucrative world of professional football in Miami, O’Dare has been able to leverage his network of friends and teammates to sign clients and help them maximize their earning power.
“Shawn is a good friend and also like a cool big brother,” said Wright, 23. “We hang out whenever I am in Miami and have a good time. He is a great agent and always makes smart decisions. We are a lot like [the characters you see in] ‘Ballers,’ always trying to put each other in the best position.”
“I was at a sort of startup agency first, then a mid-size agency and then in 2021, I was honored to be hired by Rosenhaus Sports, which is the best in the business,” said the fast-rising, 30-something NFL agent.
Drew Rosenhaus was the first agent to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated back in 1996, headlined as “the most hated man in pro football” for his fierce negotiating style. He was a technical advisor and made a cameo in appearance in “Jerry Maguire,” which reputedly was modeled partly on his exploits.
Known unaffectionately by team owners and coaches as ‘The Shark,’ Rosenhaus has negotiated more than $8 billion in contracts for his clients and shows up on every list of the wealthiest and most powerful sports agents in the world, pulling down $37 million in commissions in 2022, according to Forbes.
Rosenhaus, who Forbes calls “the most revered NFL agent,” represents some of football’s biggest names, including Buccaneers linebacker Shaquil Barrett, Eagles cornerback Darius Slay, and Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill, for whom he recently negotiated a blockbuster $140 million-plus deal.
Not a bad mentor.
O’Dare joined a handful of other agents at the small, tight-knit agency just in time to take the lead in signing college football players after the NIL breakthrough in 2021, which granted college athletes the right to make money off their “name, image and likeness.”
“We have an established marketing department and are able to get our college clients deals with apparel companies, hydration companies, restaurants and other businesses,” O’Dare said. “We are very creative in our approach and a lot of the top guys are making six figures, and some are making seven figures while they are still in college.”
O’Dare said he currently takes the lead in guiding the careers of about 25 clients whom he recruited, including college and NFL players. He lands endorsement deals for college players, helps them get ready for the NFL draft and helps negotiate their professional contracts.
“We are very proud of Shawn and his accomplishments and how he gives back to the community,” said Jankowski, who took over as head coach at Vero a few years after O’Dare graduated but has since gotten to know him and consider him “a good friend.”
“Shawn has a big heart, and he is doing this for the kids, and we are all glad to help him,” said Wright.
The Third Annual Youth Football Camp put on by the Shawn O’Dare Foundation will take place from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday, June 7, at the Citrus Bowl at Vero Beach High School.
Onsite registration for the free camp starts at 5:30 p.m. Participants can also register online at shawnodare.foundation.
Besides putting on an annual football camp, the Foundation awards scholarships to students headed for four-year colleges as well as students in police, firefighter and nursing training programs.
Photos provided by the Shawn O’Dare Foundation
