Edy Lawson-Jackson has made history in the NFL alongside her daughter, Samira, according to The Baltimore Sun.
Growing up in Baltimore, MD, Lawson-Jackson had many dreams, including wanting to pursue ballet, gymnastics, and acrobatics. These early aspirations fueled her activities in the band, track and field, as well as becoming homecoming queen. With discipline and creativity as part of her makeup, she developed a passion for writing, language, and history, which ultimately sparked her goal to become a sports and entertainment lawyer. After graduating from Baltimore City College in 1986, she attended Howard University, where she earned a juris doctor degree in 1993, per the outlet. The “Charm City” native also gained experience as an intern under a sports entertainment attorney at a law firm.
That same year, despite being in the final stages of pregnancy and experiencing Braxton-Hicks contractions with Samira, she took and passed the Pennsylvania bar exam on the first try.
“Listen it was impressive,” Mark Jackson, her ex-husband, told the publication. “I don’t know how else to describe it. That’s a commitment. In fact, they had an ambulance, because she could’ve delivered early… and they may have needed to take her to a hospital.”
In 1999, the newly minted lawyer opened a solo practice called the Law Office of E.A. Lawson-Jackson, LLC. Then in November 2010, she made her
dreams a reality when she obtained a NFL Players Association contract adviser certification.
“When I saw an opportunity… I said, ‘I’m going to get into the sports field… I’ve been wanting to do something with sports all my life,’” Lawson-Jackson said, according to The Baltimore Sun. “I love watching sports. I love playing sports. I’ve got my daughter involved in
sports. I was like, ‘I’m going to do this. I’m going to go ahead and take the exam to be a certified contract adviser for the NFL.’”
She added, “I said that I’ve waited long enough, and I’m gonna do it.”
Lawson-Jackson made a significant impact in Baltimore while working with NFL players such as Super Bowl champs Shaquil Barrett and Demone Harris, as well as Justin Wells and Bruce Figgins, and has five current contracts she has negotiated.
“I truly believe that she’ll be there for me when that time comes for me to take the next step in my career,” Harris said. “She really does care.”
What’s more, Lawson-Jackson’s smarts were passed down to her daughter, Samira Jackson, who not only passed the bar exam her first time around but also secured the NFL Players Association contract adviser certification in 2022.
Making History
Now they both work at Affiliated Sports Advisors (ASA) and have made history as the first
mother-daughter duo to work as sports agents. They also are two of 88 women
out of 994 total certified agents in the NFL.
“Edy is a great example, which means Samira will be two times better,” Chineze Nwagbo, the NFLPA’s director of player programs and engagement, told the outlet. “We always hear of generational wealth, but in this case it’s generational opportunity, so I’m not surprised that they’re the first ever.”
