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ALSO SEE: Chat wrap: No Limit Sports agent Leland Hardy Chat wrap: Drew Rosenhaus Chat wrap: Arli$$ star Robert Wuhl Chat wrap: ESPN.com's Greg Garber This four-part online series is a companion to an Outside the Lines television show that re-airs on May 1 at noon ET.

April 22, 1999 Page 3 of 3 Poll results The five-year, $12 million Reebok deal for Venus remains one of the largest ever done for a female athlete. More importantly, Davis said, the money allowed her to reject other endorsement offers and the related obligations may have helped induce burnout in teenage phenoms such as Jennifer Capriati, who was washed up by the time she got out of high school. Neither of the Williams sisters played in an exhibition tournament until this January. "Financially, it set her in a great place," Davis said. "It allowed her to grow -- and get her education. People thought we turned down offers because of the money, but that's not true. Those companies didn't have a long-term marketing plan, and they wanted all of these appearances. "Capriati took everything." With the onset of adulthood, though, life is about to change for the Williams sisters. More than a dozen prominent companies have approached him recently with offers, Davis said. First up: A first-ever racquet deal for Venus that is likely to be announced in the coming weeks and will be "unprecendented because of its all-encompassing" nature, he said. He declined to provide details.   Venus is rising on the women's tour, as are her marketing opportunities. Across the board, Davis and the Williams family are looking for opportunities to go where other tennis stars have not. The sisters in March had screen tests for an upcoming film to be produced by New Regency Enterprises, a company owned by Arnon Milchan. Milchan, who last year acquired the television rights to the women's tennis tour, also happens to control Puma -- the company for which Serena wears athletic footwear. Although new to tennis, Davis and Richard Williams have impressed tennis industry experts by waiting a few years to seize opportunities. Peter Lawler, director of the tennis division for Advantage International, says they would be smart to wait even longer. "As well-known as these ladies are among tennis people, you become a completely different commodity when you win the Grand Slam," he said. "If I were advising them, I'd tell them to wait to do their marketing because they're a sure bet to win a Grand Slam. The deals become that much better then." That much more critical to the players' images, too. "As John McEnroe, one of our clients, used to say with some frustration, 'More people know me for my Gillette commercial than anything else,' " Lawler said. Davis' role is not unlike that of David Falk with Michael Jordan, whose personality was defined through his commercials with Nike and other companies. Falk, the agent, guided his off-court image, and it helped make Jordan one of the most beloved athletes ever. Left alone to twist in the gale-force media winds, the Williams sisters and their father could end up being perceived as rebels without a cause, like so many other sports figures who dared to have opinions. Handled properly, however, they have a chance to be perceived as bright, original, multi-lingual women who simultaneously lift and transcend the game. Connecting the Williams sisters to the appropriate organizations, whether profit or non-profit, is where Davis will earn his keep. "I believe you'll see them making statements about what's important to them," he said. "I think you'll see more of that. Their father has always stood up for the little guy, and they will, too." At his best, Davis is not just an agent, but an agent of change. Send comments to ESPN.com Senior Writer Tom Farrey at farreyt@espn.com. Selected comments will be published on Friday.

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