At the outset, football player finds agent (6)
I believe the answer is:
factor
'agent' is the definition.
(business term for a representative)
'at the outset football player' is the wordplay.
'at the outset' says to take the initial letters.
'player' becomes 'actor' ('actor' can be a synonym of 'player').
The initial letter of 'football' is 'f'.
'f'+'actor'='FACTOR'
'finds' is the link.
(Other definitions for factor that I've seen before include "something that may affect result" , "Integer that can be exactly divided into another" , "Contributing influence; business agent" , "Act for (anag)" , "Contributory influence; business agent" .)