Marc Cornstein

But I digress.  Cornstein was recently interviewed by amNewYork about his life as an agent.  Here are some of the parts of the interview that interested me the most.

What do you do for the players?
The thing most closely associated with sports agents is contract negotiation, or finding a new team if you’re dealing with a free agent. You deal with draft eligibility too. We help with draft planning, estate planning, marketing and endorsements. We actually do anything aside from coaching — finding a pediatrician, a car, anything.

What’s the hardest thing about being an agent?
Recruiting is always tough. It is so competitive. There’s a lot of competition that will stop at nothing. You can be really good, but if you don’t have clients you can’t go anywhere.

What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever had to do for a client?
We’ve had to ship pretty big and potentially dangerous dogs overseas. We once had a case when a player asked us to go spread rose petals all over his girlfriend’s apartment.

Last week, I read one of the best pieces of journalism that I have been able to find on ESPN.com in quite some time.  The title of the piece is, The curious case of Deion Sanders.  Be warned, it is not one of the short fact-based pieces you are accustomed to finding on ESPN.  I find it quite interesting based on my limited coverage of Deion Sanders on this site in the past.

My coverage of Sanders started with a Facebook post made by soon-to-be first round pick, Dez Bryant, when Bryant revealed that he was being suspended by the NCAA because he went to Deion Sanders’ house, the NCAA found out, and Bryant lied to them because he thought that telling the truth would be a violation of NCAA rules.  Rumors started that Deion’s relation to agent Eugene Parker would lead Bryant to Parker.  Whether those rumors were true or not, Bryant did in fact eventually select Parker to be his agent.  I looked into that a little further in a piece titled, Dez Bryant Speaks About Deion Sanders And Eugene Parker.

So now we have this new piece by Seth Wickersham of ESPN the Magazine.  Here is a portion of that story that adds some thought to my previous discussion of the Bryant, Sanders, Parker matter.

When Bryant returned to Oklahoma State, he started asking his coaches questions about agents and his pro career — the kind of questions the sophomore had never asked before. His coaches wondered, Why now? Was Sanders helping Bryant out of kindness? Or was he steering a first-round talent to his friend, agent Eugene Parker?

Suspecting the worst, OSU receivers coach Gunter Brewer and then-compliance director Scott Williams ordered Bryant to limit his interactions with Sanders to texts and phone calls. Bryant agreed, but there was still cause for concern; he was notoriously unreliable, and getting him to focus on even simple tasks like attending class was a daily struggle.

OSU officials say they tried to set up a conference call with Sanders, hoping to guard against any rules violations, but they never connected — although they did exchange several text messages with him. Over the summer, Williams got the call he feared, when the NCAA asked to interview Bryant. On July 24, the wideout answered questions about Sanders and Parker for two hours. Bryant told investigators the same thing he says now: “Deion never talked about Parker.”

The NCAA didn’t buy it. Bryant was interviewed again in August and once more in September. “I answered all the questions the best way I could,” he says. “But they’d say, ‘I’m going to ask you one more time’ … making me think I’d done something wrong.” So Bryant lied about visiting Sanders at Prime U and dining at his mansion. Neither of those things was a violation. The trouble came when the NCAA interviewed Sanders, who repeatedly denied being a runner for Parker but who also told the investigators that he had hosted Bryant at his house. Bryant’s lie — not anything Sanders did — ultimately resulted in a suspension that caused the receiver to miss all but the first three games of the 2009 season. “I don’t feel like Dez’s suspension was Deion’s fault,” Williams says, adding that Sanders was “extremely cooperative and open” throughout the process.

The NCAA has closed its investigation, but suspicion lingers, especially after Bryant, the top-rated receiver heading into April’s NFL draft, signed with Parker in January. “Why does Sanders want to mentor only the star players?” asks a college assistant coach. “I’ve got a backup guard who could use guidance. It can’t all be innocent.”

Then again, Parker represents only a few of Sanders’ Kids. The agent didn’t need Sanders to land star clients like Cardinals wideout Larry Fitzgerald and Packers counterpart Greg Jennings, guys who barely know Sanders. “It doesn’t make sense for him to recruit guys to an agent,” says Hegamin, a friend of Sanders’ since 1995. “He doesn’t need anything. He doesn’t ask anyone for anything. He doesn’t need to work for anybody.”

Sanders can only shake his head and laugh as he says, “Being accused of working for an agent? You’ve got to be kidding me!” He rolls his eyes when he hears Colt McCoy, the former Texas quarterback, talk about working at the Manning family camp and texting Peyton and Eli all the time. The NCAA doesn’t investigate those relationships, Sanders points out. Yes, he admits that if a player asks for advice while picking an agent, he happily vouches for Parker — even if that endorsement is a gotcha moment in the eyes of his critics. But should it be? Is it wrong for an adviser to recommend a trusted friend and successful professional? After all, the NCAA and the NFL Players Association do zero to protect a player who gets swindled by a bad agent. In any other field, Sanders’ advice would be seen as a matter of course. In sports, it’s seen as another reason to shake your disbelieving head.

Thoughts?

Over the past few weeks I know I’ve mentioned the fact that my goal is to make this column a truly interactive experience for all of you readers. I encouraged more questions and comments to be asked and made, and I’ve tried to keep my Twitter and Facebook accounts current as far as my day to day activities go. However, I was still feeling as though something was missing. Well, in case any of you aren’t aware of this by now, I tried to fill that void by launching a “Rookie Duties” Fan Page on Facebook last week. By becoming a “fan” of the column, not only will you be able to get current status updates on things I’m working on, I’ve also posted pictures of some of our hockey clients and random mobile pictures (with the possibility of video in the future) I take on my BlackBerry that you’ll have access to. I’m hoping that by actually getting to see the things that I see when I’m working, you’ll feel a little more connected to my situation. In case you’re among those people who aren’t on “the Book,” don’t worry – I’m going to continue to respond to post comments and questions to my column on SAB. One advantage of posting them to the Facebook Fan Page, though, is that they get sent directly to my phone, so you’ll probably get a more timely response. Also by joining, you’ll be able to connect with other aspiring agents that have been following my column. Now that I got that little plug in, let’s get back to the good stuff.

As I mentioned last week, with three Steel home games over the weekend and at least one NHL scout scheduled to be in town, I knew my week was going to lead into a very busy couple of days. Over the past few weeks I put together a list of all the NHL teams I had contacted about Brian…hold that thought.

This past Saturday morning I met up with Brian, Joey, Nicole, and Nicole’s husband Hugo (sorry – inside joke) for breakfast and talked with them a bit about this column. They hadn’t read it before, so I explained how they’re mentioned frequently, but only through the use of fake names to preserve confidentiality. We had a good laugh when I told them all their code names and I asked if it would be alright to release their real ones. After all, Brian already signed with us and my relationship with Joey won’t jeopardize his NCAA status since I’m just a long-time friend who’s only making phone calls to Junior teams for him. So, for any of you who haven’t already figured out Brian’s true identity, Brian is #91, Andrey Kuchin. Joey’s real name is Teddy, Nicole’s real name is Marina, and Hugo’s real name is Gene. There it is! That’s the big one!!! (any Christmas Vacation fans out there?) Alright well now that I don’t have four less aliases to deal with, let’s get back to the hockey stuff.

As I was saying, I had put together a list of NHL clubs that I had contacted regarding Andrey, or “Kuch” as I refer to him at times (hockey players have a real difficulty just calling someone by their first name and while I might be an agent now, I’ll always be a hockey player). Wow, I feel like I’ve got some serious ADD going on right now. ANYWAY, I broke my list of teams down into groups based on whether I’d actually spoken with the person I was trying to contact and what type of feedback I was getting. I still had a few clubs that I hadn’t heard back from, so I spent most of my time last week following up in an effort to get someone on the phone. My real goal was just to find out which clubs would be sending scouts to the Steel games, which scouts would be in attendance, and when they planned on being at the rink. I was able to get a hold of a few guys, and as I had thought, it sounded like there’d be a couple of scouts in town this weekend.

As expected, Friday is when things started getting crazy. The day started off slow with me meeting Teddy and Kuch to get Andrey some sticks. I wasn’t surprised at all when the total cost of the two sticks added up to over $450, but I knew the guys back at my company HQ would be when they got the receipt. Fortunately, they’ve continued to let me know that they’re thrilled with my work thus far, so there weren’t any issues.

After we wrapped things up at Total Hockey, I had to swing by my office for a bit to take care of a few things. I didn’t anticipate being there long but about an hour after I arrived, I got a call from  a number I wasn’t familiar with. It turns out it was The Scouting News. I had sent them an email a few weeks before asking if they’d be interested in any of my scouting reports and they wanted to discuss my company, some of the kids I’m advising, and some of the other players I considered to be at the top of the ’95 DOB class. After about five to ten minutes, I was asked if I minded doing a podcast interview with them for their site. I knew this would be another great opportunity to get some players’ and my company’s names out there and demonstrate that I know what I’m talking about, so naturally I accepted. In total, the interview lasted about ten minutes and I feel like it went pretty well. I’m still waiting on my access to the site to show up, so I haven’t gotten a chance to listen to it, but if you’re interested and subscribe to their website, the interview can be found in it’s entirety here.

That evening, the Steel would be hosting the Tri-City Storm, so after a quick workout at the gym, it was time to get showered up and back up to the rink. During the game, I exchanged a few emails with an NHL scout I had been in touch with, but unfortunately he wouldn’t be coming to Chicago until the next weekend. The Steel ended up losing the game 4-1 and Kuch took a high stick off the chops. Not exactly the best night, but there was still plenty of hockey left over the next two days. After the game, I followed Andrey and his entourage back to their home for a late dinner and a few drinks. We discussed some of the things I’d been hearing from scouts and I showed them a few of the scouting reports on Andrey that I had online access to. I knew I had a long day ahead of me Saturday, so around midnight, I hopped in my car and headed back for some sleep.

I woke up Saturday morning around 7:30am to the painfully annoying sound of constant beeps and vibrations emanating from my phone. I ignored them for a bit, but they just kept coming. What could possibly be so important so early on a Saturday??? Finally, I surrendered to the seductive call of the BlackBerry and grabbed my phone to see what the emergency was. Of course…St. Patrick’s Day was being celebrated in Chicago and my friends wanted to know why I wasn’t already with them “observing” the holiday. I explained that I had to work that night, but that I’d try and meet up with them for a couple hours during the afternoon. Let’s just say that my response wasn’t exactly greeted warmly.

After our Saturday morning breakfast that I mentioned earlier, I did in fact head into the city. On my way down, I got a call from Paul Marshall – a good buddy of mine who had just finished up his college career at my alma mater, Ohio University. Paul’s an excellent goaltender who currently holds eight of ten Ohio University goaltending records. He needed to get a hockey resume together and asked if I’d be willing to help out. Of course I agreed and let him know what kind of stuff he needed to get over to me.

I made it down to the city aware of what I’d be walking into, but unsure as to how bad of a train wreck it’d be. I was able to hang out with some friends for a couple hours and enjoy a Guinness or two, but then it was time to head out. “What do you mean you’re leaving?!? Where are you going?!?” Ok, maybe the situation was worse than I thought. “Work…remember??? Andrey’s got a game tonight and I have to head back and get ready.” I took some friendly heckling, but thankfully I was able to get out of there without too much trouble.

Saturday night the Steel would be facing off against Tri-City again. This time, though, I was able to locate a few scouts from one NHL club that were in town. This particular team had sent four guys down, which tends to make the initial approach a little more difficult. When scouts travel in groups, it can be tough to really get a good conversation going. I mean, who should you approach? I never want to upset someone by neglecting them, so I try to engage everyone in the group. At the same time, though, these guys are there to watch the game – you don’t want to start distracting them from play and become a nuisance. I kept my conversation short and to the point, and was able to get some contact information from one of the guys there. They’d only have two scouts at the game on Sunday and they’d be in town the following weekend, so at this point, I just wanted to establish some sort of contact that I could build off of. They didn’t really give me a whole lot to go on as far as Kuch’s draft potential, but as I said, I knew I’d have more opportunities to discuss that stuff later.

That evening I also ran into another NHL scout who’d I spoken with on a couple other occasions. This guy had let me know that his club probably wasn’t going to be looking for a player like Andrey based on the team’s style of play, but I knew he was a really good guy and it never hurts to talk. In this business, it’s all about building relationships and that’s what I’ve remained focused on.

On my drive home from the rink Saturday night, all I was thinking about was relaxing and catching up on some Entourage that’d I’d missed this past season. When I got back I sat down at my computer to quickly go through some of the emails I’d received during the game, including one from Marshall regarding his resume. I decided I’d just start getting things organized with his statistics and other information so that when I’d go to put his resume together, everything would at least be in place for me. Two and a half hours later, his resume was complete. I’ve always considered myself to be a hard worker, but over the past couple months I’ve noticed a definite increase in my drive to get things done immediately. For better or for worse, it’s gotten to the point where if I’m not doing work, I start to feel a little anxious. Lately, I haven’t even been able to enjoy Sports Center in the morning while eating breakfast. It’s probably a sign that I need to slow down a bit, but there’s only a few more weeks left in the hockey season (excluding the NHL playoffs) so I figure I’ll just power through it now and try to get that stuff sorted out come next year. I should note that another side effect from my work I’ve been noticing is a constant feeling that my BlackBerry is vibrating. I guess that’s why they’re commonly referred to as “CrackBerries.”

I didn’t expect much scouting activity for Sunday’s game, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. During the game, I was able to speak with scouts from four different NHL clubs – and those were just the guys that I noticed. As I expected, I got some mixed reviews – some guys sounded genuinely interested in speaking with me about Kuch while others seemed like they really didn’t care much. Every once in a while I get to hear those magic words, “he’s on our radar.” Translation (or at least as I like to interpret it) – let’s stay in touch and keep me posted so we can get that radar locked. Regardless of the initial interest level that I sense, though, I always make sure to get that contact information so I’ll be able to follow up down the road.

Well with another week behind me, and more doors opened, I have a lot of leads that need to be followed up this week. This Friday the Steel are set to square off against the Team USA U18’s and it should be a scouting frenzy. That means I have to figure out who will be there and how I can get in touch with them. Once again, I want to remind you to check out the “Rookie Duties” Fan Page on Facebook and let me know what you think. And until next week…it’s time to hit the showers.

Ready for a new feature?  I was listening to the radio yesterday and on comes Jay-Z’s, On To The Next One.  For some reason I start to think how I can incorporate the song’s title into SportsAgentBlog.com.  And then it strikes me – Whenever a player drops his agent for a new one, we will title our post “On To The Next One: [Athlete's Name Here].”  The athlete with the honor of being the first person to participate in our new column is Dayan Viciedo.

Dayan Viciedo is on the 40-man roster in the Chicago White Sox organization.  He turned 21-years-old yesterday, and decided to get himself a gift in the form of a new agent.  He recently dropped Jaime Torres for Scott Boras.  Dayan was born in Cuba, and some people refer to him as the position-player version of Aroldis Chapman (whatever that is supposed to mean).  Torres negotiated the 4-year contract that Dayan is currently playing under with the White Sox.  That 4-year deal is for a whopping total of $10 million.  It’s nice to get paid that amount of money based on potential, alone.  He played all of last year in Double A.  As Dayan’s new agent, Boras is counting down the days until he is able to negotiate Dayan’s next deal…if Dayan makes it to the big leagues sometime soon.

On September 4, 2008, I decided to take a look at the law schools that some of the industry’s best have attended in the past.  This week, BitterLawyer.com decided to take the task one step forward, ranking the top 11 agents who have gone to law school.  I have to thank the website for mentioning my name and this site in their article.

Ranked at the top of the list is Drew Rosenhaus, who went to Duke University School of Law.  He is followed by Scott Boras, who graduated from University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law.  Up next are the two men behind CAA Football (Tom Condon – University of Baltimore and Ben Dogra – St. Louis University Law School).  Rounding out the top 5 is Arn Tellem, who went to University of Michigan Law School.

The comments in the post make note that most of the agents listed went to a TTT.  UrbanDictionary.com sheds some light on what TTT means (I have changed it around a bit to make it appropriate for this site).

Third tier toilet. Generally used as a pejorative term for law schools that are not prestigious, aka Top 14 law schools. To certain people, a law school is either a TTT or a Top 14 school, there is no in-between.

Vanderbilt Law School is ranked #17 according the US News and World Report, but it is still a TTT because it isn’t in the Top 14; it doesn’t matter how close a school’s ranking is to the top 14, if it is not in the Top 14, it is automatically a TTT.

I wouldn’t look too far into why many successful agents did not go to a Top 14 law school.  The only thing I would say is something I have always believed in – Going to a top school may open up some doors that would not normally exist; however, going to a top school does not guarantee success.  And TTT schools have produced MANY successful people.

Joe Rosen’s big client is Hideki Okajima.  It doesn’t hurt that he is based in Boston (allows for a lot of face-time with his major client).  Rosen started out as a Corporate and Securities lawyer after graduating from law school.  He worked at a couple of big firms in Boston.  One of the firms allowed him to build a sports and entertainment practice.  A point Rosen makes that I believe in, as well, is this – “Not every agent is a lawyer, but you need to be associated with one to do a good job.”  A big benefit of going to law school is being able to effectively negotiate, analyze, and evaluate contracts.  Morals clauses, termination clauses, etc. are important clauses beyond the core money clauses.  Rosen’s first client in the sports business was a female Olympic bobsledder.  He helped her negotiate an endorsement contract.  He then did some naming rights deals.  His big moment was when the Red Sox were sold in 2001.  He represented the primary New England based group looking to buy the Sox.  While that group did not win the rights to the Red Sox, that was when he decided he needed to be in this business.  Rosen is trying to learn Japanese in order to better communicate with Okajima.  Good luck with that!  Rosen says his big goal right now is to make Okajima more visible in the community, and he believes that him being based in Boston will help with that effort.  Rosen talks a little bit about his minor league players and how there is little contract negotiation involved between being drafted and becoming arbitration eligible.  The equipment deals are important, though.

Jeff Frye is a former Major League player who is now a baseball agent.  His best friend (Jay Franklin, brother of Ryan Franklin) played professional baseball, went on to work at Scott Boras Corp, and ended up teaming up with Frye to start an agency.  Frye believes that having someone who played in the Major Leagues is invaluable as far as representing athletes.  He rocks an anti-agent look (tennis shoes, blue jeans, and a ball cap) and he says that he is not a salesman.  Interesting distinction that Frye makes when he says he advises the family, not the player.  One of Frye’s clients is Ian Kinsler.  They seem to have a real good relationship; they even play Wii Bowling together.  Frye takes his clients hunting and fishing as their client “getaway”.

The interviews are pretty long, but the hosts do a good job with the questions.  I will be doing an interview with Hot Stove TV tomorrow.  Look out for it.

In the past year, I’ve gone through more changes in my life than I had in the previous five. Since last May alone, I got my dream job running the hockey division of a sports agency, graduated from law school, took and passed the Bar Exam, moved back to Chicago, opened up a law practice, started authoring this column, met some great people, and watched more hockey than most Americans do in their entire lives. My ride thus far has been nothing short of insane – spending most weekends in my car driving from one rink to the next, running on next to no sleep, and practically living off the revitalizing nectar of the coffee bean. To be honest, if I recapped everything that’s happened in my life since I started contributing to SAB, I’d be seriously testing your attention span as readers. So although I’ve always been willing to share details of my personal life and work outside the agency (i.e. my immigration legal work), I’m going to keep my highlight reel focused on the sports side of my life – in the end that’s what this column is all about. Alright, well get yo popcorn ready and here we go!

August 1, 2009. At this point, I have one client – Matt Szypura. I grew up playing club hockey with Matt and he had recently graduated from the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point. While at UW, Matt had played four years of NCAA DIII Ice Hockey and was looking to take his game to the pro level. He knew I had gotten a job working with a large sports agency and asked if I could help. I wasn’t really sure what to expect when I started calling teams in the SPHL and CHL, but I knew getting him on a team wasn’t going to be a walk in the park. Knowing most coaches aren’t going to know who Matt is, I start putting together a player resume for Matt. Basically all it contains is a profile picture, his career stats from Juniors and College, and a player biography – nothing too flashy but the final product is professional and gets coaches what they want without wasting their time.

September 26, 2009. After getting him into the Texas Brahmas (CHL) camp, Matt separates his shoulder. If I thought getting him a roster spot was tough now, how bad would it be now that he couldn’t skate for a few weeks?

October 28, 2009. Matt signs a Standard Player Contract (SPC) with the Chi-Town Shooters of the All-American Hockey League (AAHL). It’s not ultimately where we wanted him to be, but I knew we had to get Matt on the ice if he wanted a chance of playing at a higher level.

October 30, 2009. Matt plays in his firs professional game. Despite having a pretty good performance, Matt goes -1 and the Shooter lose to the Chicago Blaze 3-2.

November 7, 2009. While scouting at the Bauer International Invite here in Chicago, I have a great conversation with a coach of a team that has three players I’ve had my eye on. Sean (one of the kids I’m currently advising) is one of them, and the coach introduces us. We spent a few minutes talking but it was late and Sean’s team had an early game the next morning. I attended their game the next day and although they lost, I got a better opportunity to talk with some of the kids about who I am and what my company does.

December 13, 2009. My phone rings and it’s Matt – he’s getting called up to the Dayton Gems of the IHL. Finally, it seems as though his strong play on the ice is getting noticed.

December 27, 2009. While in Toronto for the annual Marlies Holiday Classic, I have a sit-down with Sean and Chris to discuss the future direction of Sean’s hockey career. Sean wants to play D1 college somewhere, so right off the bat we know there can’t be any agreements between myself and Sean’s family (remember those NCAA eligibility rules). I really like the way Sean plays and he seems like a great kid off the ice, so I let his family know that I’d be happy to help advise them through the recruiting process. Chris tells me that they like the dedication and drive that they’ve seen from me up to this point, and he gives me the green light to start distributing Sean’s statistics to U.S. college teams.

January 8-10, 2010. The International Silver Stick Finals are being played up in Port Huron, MI. Some of the rinks are over an hour away from one another, so I’ve been spending a lot of time in my car. I have some good meetings with a few parents and players about advising them, and by the end of the weekend it looks as though I’ve got a solid lead on a kid named Colin.

January 30-31, 2010. Shattuck St. Mary’s has sent their U16 team to the Chicago area to face off against both the Chicago Mission and Team Illinois. I get the chance to see some great games and players, and while I’d at one of the games, I meet Oren Koules – the then-owner of the Tampa Bay Lightning. His son plays for SSM and he was able to find the time to fly up for the weekend games. We talked a few times over the weekend and he seems like a really nice guy – hopefully we’ll be crossing paths professionally in the not-too-distant future.

February 11, 2010. After hearing that a potential 2010 NHL Draft pick is interested in signing with me, we go out to dinner with his host family to discuss business. It seems as though things are going very well and that we’re on the same page with how and where we think his game should continue to develop. At this point I know I need to remain very visible and hope that my hard work will pay off.

February 12-14, 2010. Another weekend trip – this time to catch Matt’s game in Dayton and an ECHL game up in Toledo, OH. Not as much scouting for me as usual, but getting to see my buddy who coaches for the Toledo Walleye could be good for Matt and/or other future clients and their careers.

February 21, 2010. I receive the call I’ve been waiting for. It’s Brian’s host mother, Nicole, and after a week and a half of making phone calls and sending out emails to OHL and NHL clubs, Brian’s family is impressed with what they’ve seen from me and want me to represent their son. I already know that Brian is comfortable with me representing him, and in getting his parents on board, it looks like I just cleared the last major hurdle in getting him signed.

February 26, 2010. It’s been a busy couple weeks, but my company is extremely happy with the way the Hockey Division is coming together. While I’m in Indianapolis with three of my co-workers, the founder of our company lets me know that they’re promoting me…not a bad start to the weekend.

March 1, 2010. Brian officially signs with our firm. I should note that I’m still using a fake name, but I may be revealing his true identity soon – I just have to run it by Brian himself and get his permission.

March 5-7, 2010. This past weekend was yet another busy but productive one. After actually finding some time to spend socially Friday night, I drove up to Detroit where I’d be staying for the night. Unfortunately I was only able to get a couple hours of sleep and then it was up again early on Saturday – the qualifying rounds of the Ontario Minor Hockey Association (OMHA) Championships were being played in Guelph, Ontario and I still had a three-hour drive ahead of me.

I arrived at the rink around 11am and they were just dropping the puck in the first game. Sean’s team skated away with an easy victory and after losing a game the day before, it seemed as though they’d be back on track to advance through the qualifiers. It was around 2pm EST, though, when I received an upsetting call from Nicole – she wanted to give me a heads up that an agent from another firm had been calling Brian and his family everyday. I knew that this guy had been calling last week, so just this past Wednesday I left him a voicemail letting him know that Brian had signed with us and asking him to stop contacting Brian and/or his family. Apparently he wasn’t getting the message (both literally and figuratively). I tracked down his cell number, but not surprisingly he didn’t answer that either. We’ll have to see how this develops over the next few days but needless to say I’m not happy about the situation.

With six months in the bag, who knows what’s in store for the next 26 weeks? Hopefully by the time I’m typing up my year in review, I’ll have Brian heading towards a successful NHL career with some of my other advisees not too far behind. If my work to this point as taught me anything, though, it’s that in this business, the only thing you can expect is the unexpected.

Before I leave you for the week, I want to take a second to once again thank you all for your support over this time we’ve spent together. With my busy schedule and long weekends, sometimes the last thing I feel like doing is sitting down at my computer for a few hours to type this up. However, your thoughtful and encouraging posts, emails, and phone calls truly drive me to get this column to you week in and week out. While I certainly have gained a lot from this whole experience, “Rookie Duties” is really for you and I’m just happy to help in any way that I can. Please keep your comments and questions coming and I’ll continue to do my best to address them each week.

These next few days will be spent once again burning up the phone lines trying to get some leads on NHL scouts and their schedules. I’ve got some solid leads already but there’s still a handful of clubs that have been difficult to get a hold of. This upcoming weekend, at least one scout that I spoke with will be coming down to see Brian skate and we should have a few more in line for the next weekend as well. I hope you all have a great productive week ahead of you and until next Monday…it’s time to hit the showers.

What do Deion Sanders, Michael Crabtree and Dez Bryant all have in common? Aside from the fact that they’ve all eaten dinner at chateau de Primetime, they’re all clients of super agent Eugene Parker.

What do Mike Jenkins, Chris Houston, and Shawn Springs all have in common? They’ve all fired super agent Eugene Parker.

Actually, Maximum Sports Management, which is comprised of Parker and Roosevelt Barnes, has been fired more than 15 times since 2005.

You all set, fellas? How come these dudes keep leaving you?

By most accounts, Parker and Barnes work tirelessly for their players. Their client list coupled with their long and distinguished career is more than enough proof that they do a lot right (I mean, at the very least Parker knows how to dress for success). Still, when guys have been fired by that many clients in that short a timeframe, it’s obvious they’re doing a few things wrong as well.

Unless you interview all of those players, along with Parker and Barnes, you won’t get a clear picture of what led to those firings. Athletes get rid of their agents for all kinds of reasons. Some logical, some ridiculous (shouts to Andre Smith). In either case, the firing indicates that for some reason, the athlete and the agent weren’t a match.

Parker and Barnes aren’t the only hyper-successful agents bleeding clients though.

Creative Artists Agency is widely regarded as the most dominant force in the game. Their client list is bananas. They represent Peyton and Eli Manning, Adrian Peterson, Mario Williams, Patrick Willis, and Antonio Gates among many others. They’ve got a team of agents who are superstars in their own right and every year the draft classes they land are the envy of the industry. Needless to say, the bank accounts of the agents over there aren’t in danger of being overdrawn.

With everything they’ve got going for them, every NFL athlete should jump at the opportunity to have CAA represent them, right? Perhaps, but any athlete interested in being represented by Condon and Co. should probably ask this question:

CAA, with so much going for you, how in the world do you get kicked to the curb so often?

Since 2005, the agents that work at CAA have been fired more than any other group in the industry. They’ve been axed by at least 20 of their athletes in that time, including Thomas Jones, Michael Clayton, Will Allen, Roy Williams, Marc Colombo, Antrel Rolle, and Julius Jones.

For an early first round guy, even with those firings, you’d be out of your mind not to consider them. For guys falling out of the second round, you might want to give another agency some thought.

At CAA, you’d be buried on a depth chart stacked with 1st rounders. You have to realize that no matter how many times an agent tells you you’re his top priority and he’ll do everything in his power to keep you happy, he’s about his business. The guys over at CAA aren’t any different. If you sign with them and they have ten players who earn them more dough than you, you can’t really be salty when you end up on the b-list.

You know how it goes; it’s like the girl who’s only dated athletes but tells you she’s not with you because you’re on the squad. “I’d be with you if you worked at a gas station baby.” C’mon son! You have to know, as soon as that ACL pops she’ll be wearing your teammate’s jersey. Don’t fall for the okie-doke. Like any agent, she’s going to do what’s best for her. So to circle back to the original question – shouldn’t every NFL athlete jump at the opportunity to have CAA represent them – in the words of Borat, maybe “not so much for you.”

Let’s be clear. I’m not picking on these guys. Lots of agents have been fired by a higher percentage of their players than the folks at CAA and Maximum. The fact that these two firms had more clients fire them than most agents ever get hired by, is more a testament to their position atop the industry than an indictment on their ability to hold their clients down. Both agencies are strong options for elite NFL prospects.

Having said that, the ultimate goal is to get athletes to realize that even the sexiest agencies out there have issues that need to be analyzed carefully. Athletes would be wise to dig as deep as possible into the backgrounds of the agents pursuing them before signing an SRA.

And players, take my word for it, just asking the agent why they got fired doesn’t fly. Newsflash, these guys make a living being slick and a lot of them will sell you a dream if you let them. Just keep in mind, everyone’s going to spin the story to fit their own needs. At the very least, make sure you get both sides.

Call the NFLPA and ask questions about your prospective agents. How many times has agent X been fired? How many times has he been brought up on disciplinary charges and why?

Ask the agent every one of these questions, record the answers, then ask some more.

Knowledge is power and the devil is in the details. You can never have enough information on the people who will be handling the business side of your career.

Don’t listen to me though, take it from Hov, who’s earned a few bucks in his career:

Men lie. Women lie. Numbers don’t.

Keels got a lot of press on this website last year for his representation of Andre Smith.  Smith signed Keels, then fired him for Priority Sports, and then signed Keels back.  Rick Smith of Priority Sports was pissed.  The latest news on Keels is that he is in the process of trying to acquire a commission he believes he deserves, based on his representation of Larry Johnson when Johnson signed a contract with $19 million in guaranteed money before Keels dropped Johnson as a client (usually it is the other way around with an athlete dropping an agent).

Alvin Keels has had a lot of success in the world of athlete representation up to this point.  I find it interesting that he has decided to join forces with another agency.  I couldn’t find any information on Corporate Athletic Management, but even the NFLPA website lists Keels as a part of the company at this point.

Liz Mullen of SportsBusiness Journal was able to figure out some additional pieces of the puzzle.  She says that Corporate Athletic Management is owned by a holding firm called Onyx Sports International, which based in Fairfield Connecticut.  Mullen also has information that Corporate Athletic Management is looking into growing its practice to represent athletes in other sports as well..

An interesting note – Lou Ceruzzi of Ceruzzi Sports and Entertainment Group, is a silent investor in Onyx.  The same Ceruzzi Sports that represents Jeff Pendergraph and was under investigation by the NBPA for donating $300,000 to the Southern California All-Stars AAU program in an attempt to represent Kevin Love.

Global Management Group’s website, http://gmgsports.com/, is no longer in service.  Keels is now a team player.

I make it a point in every initial conversation with a potential client, to tell them that I am not in the business of making promises.  When a current client asks me what the entity on the opposite side of the bargaining table will come back with as an offer, or if he will come to us with an offer at all, I always tell him that I am not a fortune teller.  I will do all the work necessary to put my clients in the best situations possible, but I cannot predict the future, nor can I ultimately guarantee success.  There are too many factors out of my control, including the objective talent of the athlete and subjective wants, needs, and thoughts of scouts, coaches, and executives, that making predictions or guarantees is downright stupid and unethical.

But agents do it…over and over again.  Because my profession is so competitive and cutthroat, agents, especially newcomers, find that they have to make promises to athletes just so that they can be considered in the running as someone who may be hired.  There are two major problems with this tactic: 1) The agent does not have the player’s best interests in mind.  By promising the world to a player when the world is not really available, the agent is not fulfilling his fiduciary duty to be honest to his client. 2) Short-sidedness.

In any Sport Marketing class, students will be taught the value of Relationship Marketing over Database Marketing.  Database Marketing is concerned with the simple one-time transaction while there is short-term interest in the consumer.  Relationship Marketing refers to a long-term and mutually beneficial arrangement wherein both the seller and consumer focus on value enhancement with the goal of providing a more satisfying exchange. This approach attempts to transcend the simple purchase-exchange process with the customer to make more meaningful and richer contact by providing a more holistic, personalized purchase, and use the consumption experience to create stronger ties.  It is about personal, long-term relationships.

How do those marketing terms apply?  While there is not technically a buyer and seller in the principal/agent relationship between a sports agent and an athlete, upon the agent’s recruitment of an athlete, it really does seem like the agent is selling his product (services) to the athlete (eventual buyer).  Many agents do not think long-term and will do whatever is necessary (including making promises) in order to get that one big client.  If that agent happens to follow through on those promises (often by chance), then congratulations to him.  If he doesn’t, that short-sidedness should lead him right out of the industry.  If it doesn’t, then the competition is losing out on an opportunity to hold something against another agent in the future recruitment of athletes.

Instead of that approach, agents should focus on the relationship building, which means that false promises and short-sidedness must be thrown out of the window.  With the ultimate concern being the well-being of the player and the personal relationship created, agents would focus on creating value to the player instead of primarily value to himself.

I like this particular paragraph by Abbott:

Anyone who claims to know now what will happen then is lying. An honest agent will promise to try. An honest agent will show you what they have done in the past. But an honest agent will not promise ideal results, because that’s impossible.