There was a time when being in the "entourage" of a professional athlete was all about bedding groupies and eventually making off with a good chunk of your boss' fortune. No longer! The Wall Street Journal reports that athletes today prefer to surround themselves with a legitimate "support staff" of business-first individuals. Like old-guard entourage members, these guys are often close friends of the athlete; unlike old-guard members, they now have taxed jobs that pay between $30,000-$50,000 a year and which lock them into formal responsibilities. (Denver Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony uses a flowchart to keep his 10-man outfit, "Team Melo," running smoothly.) In the case of boxing champ Floyd Mayweather, underperforming staffers can even be fired for "offenses like ogling women or falling out of shape." We can't even be fired for falling out of shape!

What's expected of you if you pursue a career in "athlete management?"

Raiders linebacker Thomas Howard employs two guys to provide security for him when he goes to a nightclub. They are also tasked with securing a table and making sure the "ratio of women to men is satisfactory before he walks in the door." If Howard gets hungry and should want a Snickers bar, as happened one night last month, he'll pay a "freelancer" $5 to fetch him one.

Crazy Sacramento Kings forward Ron Artest has a paid personal assistant who "fields late-night requests for organic cookies" and is developing Artest's line of athletic wear. The assistant was also (seriously) recently asked to "remove what Mr. Artest thought were giant snake eggs in his backyard." (They turned out to be mushrooms.)

Atlanta Hawks guard Mike Bibby has a 20-member clan, with one guy charged with coaching his 10-year-old son and also relaying orders from Bibby's mom in Phoenix.

Boxer Oscar de lay Hoya has his "vice president" do his "dirty work," which includes renting homes for "nutritionists, trainers, and makeup artists," coordinating transportation, and making sure the chef has all his equipment. Presumably, the guy who let these pictures leak was fired.