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Did Santonio Holmes Take Money From An Agent?

In November 2005, Josh Luchs and Steve Feldman, both working on behalf of The Gersh Agency, traveled out to Columbus, Ohio to talk to Ohio State’s Santonio Holmes.  Luchs says that Holmes said the following:

“Listen, I want to save you the time. We don’t need to meet. I’ve been taking money from [an agent] the last couple years, and he’s been taking care of my family too.”

Feldman has confirmed Holmes making such a statement, but Holmes denies taking money from an agent while in college or saying those words to Luchs and/or Feldman.

Based on the allegation alone, the NFLPA has a duty to conduct an investigation.  It most likely will not conduct an investigation; however, unless it has no choice but to look into the matter.  That may be the case, though, since the Ohio State compliance office is looking into the allegations, and just last week Ohio’s Attorney General warned sports agents that he would not stand for misconduct by sports agents.

While the Ohio State University is probably safe from any ramifications if it is found that Holmes accepted money from an agent (there is an NCAA proscribed 4-year statute of limitations with these types of matters), the same may not be true regarding penalties handed down on the agent who might have given benefits to Holmes while he was in school.  In that case, it will be up to the aforementioned NFLPA, State of Ohio, or federal government to take action.

Joel Segal has represented Santonio Holmes since he entered the league.  We all know that agents who pay athletes do not always walk away with the athletes as clients, but sometimes it does end that way.

What incentive would Luchs and Feldman have to lie about this or even bring it up in the first place?

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.

One reply on “Did Santonio Holmes Take Money From An Agent?”

Joel Segal signs a player who allegedly said he was being paid while in college? That would not be hard to believe. Segal has had that reputation for a long time.

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