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Pedro May Soon Be A Pirate

Was it all an image issue?  Was Boras Corp pissed that Buster Posey, a guy drafted later than Boras client, Pedro Alvarez, received the highest signing bonus in the history of the MLB Amateur Draft?  At dusk on August 16th, reports stated that Posey received a $6.2 million bonus from San Francisco while Alvarez ended up with a cool $6 mil.  Less than two weeks later, the MLBPA was looking into whether the Pirates followed MLB rules which state that a drafted player with collegiate eligibility remaining must be signed by midnight of August 15th.  Boras had notified the MLBPA that the $6 million deal was actually signed forty-five minutes after the deadline, thus violating the rule and voiding the Alvarez contract.  Apparently, another Boras client, Eric Hosmer, had not signed prior to the deadline as well.  Both Alvarez and Hosmer had to sit out the remainder of their rookie ball campaigns due to the controversy.

Yesterday, the situation took a turn when reports noted that Pedro Alvarez and camp Boras agreed to a 4-year, major league contract with a $6.355 million bonus (ESPN prefers to round up to $6.4 million).  Surprised that this bonus is for more than Posey’s?  Does it all boil down to an ego issue?  Maybe, but at least Alvarez and Hosmer may be able to take the field again soon.  A source cited in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette believes that this new deal will put an end to the pending MLBPA grievance against the MLB.

I think John Manuel of BaseballAmerica.com says in the first line of his piece what we are all thinking right now: So the Aug. 15 signing deadline really isn’t a deadline after all.

By Darren Heitner

Darren Heitner created Sports Agent Blog as a New Year's Resolution on December 31, 2005. Originally titled, "I Want To Be A Sports Agent," the website was founded with the intention of causing Heitner to learn more about the profession that he wanted to join, meet reputable individuals in the space and force himself to stay on top of the latest news and trends.

Heitner now runs Heitner Legal, P.L.L.C., which is a law firm with many practice areas, including sports law and contract law. Heitner has represented numerous athletes and sports agents as legal counsel. He has also served as an Adjunct Professor at Indiana University Bloomington from 2011-2014, where he created and taught a course titled, Sport Agency Management, which included subjects ranging from NCAA regulations to athlete agent certification and the rules governing the profession. Heitner serves as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Florida Levin College of Law, where he teaches a Sports Law class that includes case law surrounding athlete agents and the NCAA rules.

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