Before getting into Cornwell’s arguments, it is worth taking a moment to consider who David Cornwell is and how he is so delicately connected to the NFLPA and the players that the association represents.  First of all, Cornwell went up against DeMaurice Smith for the title of Executive Director after the late Gene Upshaw had passed away, leaving an opening at the top position in the NFLPA.  Cornwell has over 20 years of expertise in the professional sports industry, representing professional athletes and sports agents in their legal affairs.  To be clear, Cornwell is not an NFLPA Contract Advisor himself, but he has been retained by NFL players and NFLPA Contract Advisors for various types of legal matters, including representation with regards to grievances through the NFLPA’s mandatory arbitration process.  In the past, Cornwell was Vice President and General Counsel of Upper Deck Company and Assistant General Counsel for the National Football League.  Suffice it to say, Cornwell knows the ins and outs in the world of professional football.

Cornwell’s observations are cleanly broken up into various sections.  The longest section of his memo concerns the new NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) that was signed in 2011.  The other sections include a discussion of Terrelle Pryor’s suspension, the new NFL Drug Policy, the NFL’s Conduct Policy, and the NFLPA’s apparent lack of care for enforcing agent regulations.

As stated, the bulk of Cornwell’s memo reveals his dismay about the newly established NFL CBA.  He explains that players were misguided into believing that they would receive 47% of literally all NFL revenues, when in fact, that percentage is based on net revenues, and not gross revenues as was contemplated by the previous agreement.  Cornwell also states that the use of the term “True up” is misleading and that the idea of “Revenue Buckets” is a red herring.  Other issues are discussed at length.

Cornwell was tacitly involved in Terrelle Pryor’s suspension as Pryor’s retained attorney.  Cornwell’s main issue is the way that DeMaurice Smith accepted a five game suspension for Pryor without following up with Pryor and/or Cornwell after Pryor answered some questions posed to him by Smith.  The way that Cornwell explains it, the NFLPA advised the media that the NFLPA urged Pryor and Cornwell to reject the five game suspension (which Cornwell says was false), Cornwell announced that he would appeal the decision, and then DeMaurice Smith demanded Pryor’s agent to provide Smith with a letter promising that the suspension would not be appealed.  Cornwell uses words like “baffling” and “deceptive” in his memo.  The story he paints makes me question what was going on behind closed doors.

I’ll skip the Drug Testing and Conduct Policy issues and jump right to Cornwell’s final section: Agent Regulations.  The following excerpt from Cornwell’s memo will probably not surprise the readers of this website.

In the Conclusion section of Cornwell’s memo, he wrote, “Despite my greatest hopes, my personal experience reveals that De’s vision in 2008 was little more than an inside Washington political campaign — high on style, low on substance. De’s grandiose pronouncments did not translate into meaningful progress in the business of playing football. Rather than  advancing the partnership between players and team owners, the new 10 year CBA relegated NFL players’ status to mere employees.”  Cornwell is “stunned at what the NFLPA has become under De’s leadership.”  Cornwell recognizes that DeMaurice Smith is not required to answer the memo, and in all likelihood, Smith will probably resist making any comment.

David Cornwell Stunned At What NFLPA Has Become Under DeMaurice Smith’s Leadership from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

Octagon Football represents 6 players who were selected in the 2011 NFL Draft.  Those players range from Cameron Jordan (defensive end selected #24 overall by the New Orleans Saints) to Stephen Schilling (offensive lineman selected #201 overall by the San Diego Chargers).

Every year, Octagon Football represents a number of players who drafted, and Octagon is able to retain its standing as one of the most prominent football agencies in America.  2012 will undoubtedly bring Octagon a host of new NFL players, as many of the following names who are Octagon clients will be called between rounds 1-7 of this year’s Draft.

• Courtney Upshaw – outside linebacker – Alabama – NFLDraftScout: 2 (position), 21 (overall)
• Whitney Mercilus – defensive end – Illinois – NFLDraftScout: 2 (position), 31 (overall)
• Brandon Weeden - quarterback – Oklahoma State – NFLDraftscout: 6 (position), 82 (overall)
• Michael Egnew - tight end – Missouri – NFLDraftScout: 4 (position), 98 (overall)
• Jamell Fleming - cornerback – Oklahoma – NFLDraftScout: 19 (position), 141 (overall)
• Mychal Kendricks - inside linebacker – California – NFLDraftScout: 7 (position), 155 (overall)
• Marc Tyler - running back – Southern California – NFLDraftScout: 20 (position), 202 (overall)
• Kyle Wilber - outside linebacker - Wake Forest – NFLDraftScout: 21 (position), 207 (overall)
• Marvin Jones – wide receiver – California – NFLDraftScout: 28 (position), 228 (overall)
• Joe Looney – offensive guard – Wake Forest – NFLDraftScout: 16 (position), 305 (overall)
• Peyton Thompson – cornerback – San Jose State – likely undrafted

Congratulations to Mike Sullivan, Doug Hendrickson, CJ Laboy, Andy Ross, and the others on the Octagon Football team for what seems to be a very impressive 2012 NFL Draft class.

Catching Up With Octagon’s 2012 NFL Draft Class from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

Joel Segal of BEST/Lagardere Unlimited, appears to be the man for the job. Segal represents the likes of Chris Johnson, Reggie Bush, and Michael Vick. So I guess we will have to be on the lookout for Moss on Television. Who knows, maybe he will end up on Dancing With the Stars like other NFL notables, Chad Ochocinco, Emmitt Smith, Warren Sapp, and Lawrence Taylor. Moss is going into his final season with the New England Patriots, and he does not believe that he will be offered an extension. We will also have to pay attention and see how well (hopefully) he negotiates his next contract.

On another note, here is a list of some other athletes who at one point or another, have represented themselves: Dave Stieb, Mike Singletary, Daunte Culpepper, Ricky Williams (we know how that turned out), Curt Schilling, Tedy Bruschi, Mike Greenwell, Ray Allen, Danny Ainge, David Wells, Tom Seaver, Hakeem Olajuwon, Alan Trammell, and Steve Largent. Also, the late NFLPA President Gene Upshaw used to negotiate his own contracts when he played with the Oakland Raiders.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @DouglasVinci

On To The Next One (Kind Of): Randy Moss from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

I don’t know if this news has been getting much play in the United States, but it is certainly making headlines here in Canada. Early Monday morning at a hotel in Chicago, the National Hockey League Players’ Association fired its Executive Director, Paul Kelly, after a little less than two years on the job. Kelly was terminated for reasons that weren’t all that clear early on. Some say he didn’t know the players or the game well enough. Some say he was too cozy with Commissioner Gary Bettman. The only response that shed any light was from Edmonton Oilers’ player representative Shawn Horcoff, who stated that new information was presented at the meeting which the executive board could not ignore and that they had no choice but to fire him.

As the days passed; however, it seems that two events played a part in the firing. Apparently Kelly obtained the minutes of a private meeting between the players and the NHLPA’s advisory board, minutes he was not supposed to have access too. The other factor in his firing appears to have been the results of a staff assessment conducted to evaluate Kelly’s leadership within the union. The assessment appears to have been a witch hunt of sorts. After receiving the results on Sunday night, the player representatives voted 22-5 (with 3 abstentions) to dismiss Kelly.

I believe that this has the potential to be the biggest story of the year for the National Hockey League. Since the lockout ended in July 2005, Kelly is the third executive director to be fired by the NHLPA. That is an incredible stat. No other players’ association in the four major sports has experienced this type of turmoil in recent years. The NFLPA had a leadership change last year, installing DeMaurice Smith as head of the union following the sudden death of Gene Upshaw, who led the players since 1987. And the MLBPA will be electing a new leader once Donald Fehr steps down in the coming months. But these are natural changes. What is happening with the NHLPA is anything but natural.

Thousands and thousands of words have been written on Paul Kelly and the NHLPA in the past few days. So my only comments are these: who is going to be the new executive director and how might this affect CBA negotiations in 2011? On the first point, Ian Penny, NHLPA general counsel who was hired by Bob Goodenow in 2000, has stepped in as interim director but he has stated that he will not seek the job on a full time basis. A proper search committee has to be formed but the NHLPA has said that they would like to have someone in place by January 1, 2010. That gives the incoming director 18 months to come up with a strategy for the new CBA negotiations. But as Scott Burnside of ESPN suggested, after seeing what happened to Kelly, who could possibly want the job now?

And on the topic of those negotiations, like many others, I believe they will be more contentious without Kelly involved. He seemed to have a good relationship with Gary Bettman (unfortunately for him, maybe too good). That type of relationship would have been useful in negotiating a new CBA successfully and preventing a work stoppage. Unfortunately, we’ll never know how he would have handled the negotiations and what the result would have been.

I had the chance to meet Paul Kelly last November and I came away very impressed. He was kind, approachable, and was willing to answer my questions about getting involved in the business of professional sports. In my opinion, the PA had found a great leader in Kelly and I expected him to be in place for many years to come. It’s unfortunate that he has been let go, but the NHLPA constitution allows the executive committee to make such a move. The board acted well within its power. However, to this outside observer, it seems like this was the wrong move at the wrong time. Hopefully the next director is more acceptable to the players, and that he or she is able to work with the NHL to negotiate a new CBA which serves everyone’s best interests, especially the fans.

Where Does the NHLPA Go From Here? from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

Darren Heitner: You are coming close to 20 years of negotiating deals for NFL players. Which period in that long term was your most enjoyable, and why?

Jack Bechta: Probably 1993 through 1998. In ’93 I had a 2nd-rounder (OL Todd Rucci), a 3rd-rounder (OL Earl Dotson), and a UFA (CB Curtis Buckley) who all went on to be very successful. That was my breakout year, and the next several years were fun because I had the business somewhat figured out. Rucci became a very close friend, and in that period I signed guys like Tim Dwight, Adam Treu and Todd Washington, all of which I grew very close to because my clientele was still small. A few of these guys would live with me in the off-season, and we would travel together to places like Tahoe, Australia and Mexico. Good times!

Darren Heitner: You have negotiated over 200 NFL Contracts. Which one or two were the most creative deals, what were the creative terms, and how did you go about placing those terms into the contract?

Jack Bechta: For Todd Rucci in 1993, he was one of the first players ever to have a voidable clause in his contract under the new CBA. Also, I once had a weight clause in Dotson’s contract. If he reported under 320, he would get $100k bonus. We used it to make a make up a gap. I told Earl the number was 315, so he made it every time.

Darren Heitner: You are one of the brave few agents who has the courage and time management skills to represent talent and blog about it. How do you manage the load?

Jack Bechta: It’s pretty easy, actually. I try to keep my blogs to about 500 words, and I just write about current events and things I know well once or twice a week. Writing has actually made me a better agent, because I now pay attention to every single piece of information in the blogosphere and on our site. I am more informed than I ever have been. I also like educating young people, players and parents on the inner workings of the industry. A lot of agents try to make this business mystical, and I try to demystify it and make it more professional.

Darren Heitner: What benefits do you and your clients get from your regular postings at NationalFootballPost.com?

Jack Bechta: I won’t use NFP as a tool to help myself or my clients. However, they will benefit by getting some national exposure when I write about them.

Darren Heitner: You played college football. How has that helped you relate to clients? Has it helped you in your representation of athletes?

Jack Bechta: I understand what it’s like to go to camp, stay in shape, get hurt, get concussions, get a job, lose a job and be a rookie and a vet. A coach once told me there are football players, and there is the rest of the world. I feel I am in a unique fraternity. Although I played at small Texas A&M, we were big on football pedigree. We had 3 to 5 guys go pro the years I was there, including Hall of Famer Darrell Green. Gene Upshaw was an alum and visited a few times. Basically, it helps me tremendously. I can talk the language, and I am never starstruck.

Darren Heitner: How bad is client stealing amongst NFLPA certified agents? What can be done to curb the practice of client stealing?

Jack Bechta: It’s pretty bad. When a good player nears the doorstep of free agency, the wolves start to circle. So far the NFLPA has done very little to stop it. The problem is they need the player to turn in the wolf, and they won’t do it. I wrote a little bit about a client of mine who was approached by another agent in one of my NFP articles.

Darren Heitner: What’s your beef with Leigh Steinberg all about?

Jack Bechta: I don’t have a beef with Leigh. I actually respect him as a marketer, as he was the first agent to play to the media. However, I have little respect for the latter part of his career because I know some things that are downright disgusting relating to his behavior as a person and an agent. To this date I believe the rookie deal he did for Bledsoe in 1993 exponentially set the stage for rookie contracts today. Unfortunately, i know too much. I am rooting for him, though, to over come his addiction problems, especially since my father was an alcoholic. He’s a pioneer, and I wish him well, but I also tell it like it is.

Darren Heitner: How many years were you in this business before you started earning a profit? What kind of expenses go into being an agent?

Jack Bechta: It took me about 5 years to become a full-time agent. But things were different then. We didn’t have to pay for training, room and board, so my business has always been profitable. A beginning agent will need about $100k to get started.

Darren Heitner: I could not help but notice that you list your high school G.P.A. and class rank on your company website. What’s that all about?

Jack Bechta: I’m not sure, actually. I like to let people know what part of the country I am from. I treat my website like a resume, and college football players are only 4 or 5 years removed from high school, so they can relate. You can never give too much info about yourself – people want to know who you are.

Darren Heitner: What advice would you give to those in their early twenties who want to break into this industry?

Jack Bechta: The #1 rule is: Don’t be naive. This is the most competitive business on the planet. If you want to hear more of my thoughts on this topic, I’ve actually written quite a few posts over at NFP. “Cracking the Agent Business”, “Two Paths to Becoming an Agent”, and “Becoming an Agent Part Two”.

Darren Heitner: Anything else you would like to add for our readers?

Jack Bechta: The sports world can always use more hard working professionals who have the best interest of the players in mind!

Interview With The Agent: Jack Bechta from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

Darren Heitner: You are coming close to 20 years of negotiating deals for NFL players. Which period in that long term was your most enjoyable, and why?

Jack Bechta: Probably 1993 through 1998. In ’93 I had a 2nd-rounder (OL Todd Rucci), a 3rd-rounder (OL Earl Dotson), and a UFA (CB Curtis Buckley) who all went on to be very successful. That was my breakout year, and the next several years were fun because I had the business somewhat figured out. Rucci became a very close friend, and in that period I signed guys like Tim Dwight, Adam Treu and Todd Washington, all of which I grew very close to because my clientele was still small. A few of these guys would live with me in the off-season, and we would travel together to places like Tahoe, Australia and Mexico. Good times!

Darren Heitner: You have negotiated over 200 NFL Contracts. Which one or two were the most creative deals, what were the creative terms, and how did you go about placing those terms into the contract?

Jack Bechta: For Todd Rucci in 1993, he was one of the first players ever to have a voidable clause in his contract under the new CBA. Also, I once had a weight clause in Dotson’s contract. If he reported under 320, he would get $100k bonus. We used it to make a make up a gap. I told Earl the number was 315, so he made it every time.

Darren Heitner: You are one of the brave few agents who has the courage and time management skills to represent talent and blog about it. How do you manage the load?

Jack Bechta: It’s pretty easy, actually. I try to keep my blogs to about 500 words, and I just write about current events and things I know well once or twice a week. Writing has actually made me a better agent, because I now pay attention to every single piece of information in the blogosphere and on our site. I am more informed than I ever have been. I also like educating young people, players and parents on the inner workings of the industry. A lot of agents try to make this business mystical, and I try to demystify it and make it more professional.

Darren Heitner: What benefits do you and your clients get from your regular postings at NationalFootballPost.com?

Jack Bechta: I won’t use NFP as a tool to help myself or my clients. However, they will benefit by getting some national exposure when I write about them.

Darren Heitner: You played college football. How has that helped you relate to clients? Has it helped you in your representation of athletes?

Jack Bechta: I understand what it’s like to go to camp, stay in shape, get hurt, get concussions, get a job, lose a job and be a rookie and a vet. A coach once told me there are football players, and there is the rest of the world. I feel I am in a unique fraternity. Although I played at small Texas A&M, we were big on football pedigree. We had 3 to 5 guys go pro the years I was there, including Hall of Famer Darrell Green. Gene Upshaw was an alum and visited a few times. Basically, it helps me tremendously. I can talk the language, and I am never starstruck.

Darren Heitner: How bad is client stealing amongst NFLPA certified agents? What can be done to curb the practice of client stealing?

Jack Bechta: It’s pretty bad. When a good player nears the doorstep of free agency, the wolves start to circle. So far the NFLPA has done very little to stop it. The problem is they need the player to turn in the wolf, and they won’t do it. I wrote a little bit about a client of mine who was approached by another agent in one of my NFP articles.

Darren Heitner: What’s your beef with Leigh Steinberg all about?

Jack Bechta: I don’t have a beef with Leigh. I actually respect him as a marketer, as he was the first agent to play to the media. However, I have little respect for the latter part of his career because I know some things that are downright disgusting relating to his behavior as a person and an agent. To this date I believe the rookie deal he did for Bledsoe in 1993 exponentially set the stage for rookie contracts today. Unfortunately, i know too much. I am rooting for him, though, to over come his addiction problems, especially since my father was an alcoholic. He’s a pioneer, and I wish him well, but I also tell it like it is.

Darren Heitner: How many years were you in this business before you started earning a profit? What kind of expenses go into being an agent?

Jack Bechta: It took me about 5 years to become a full-time agent. But things were different then. We didn’t have to pay for training, room and board, so my business has always been profitable. A beginning agent will need about $100k to get started.

Darren Heitner: I could not help but notice that you list your high school G.P.A. and class rank on your company website. What’s that all about?

Jack Bechta: I’m not sure, actually. I like to let people know what part of the country I am from. I treat my website like a resume, and college football players are only 4 or 5 years removed from high school, so they can relate. You can never give too much info about yourself – people want to know who you are.

Darren Heitner: What advice would you give to those in their early twenties who want to break into this industry?

Jack Bechta: The #1 rule is: Don’t be naive. This is the most competitive business on the planet. If you want to hear more of my thoughts on this topic, I’ve actually written quite a few posts over at NFP. “Cracking the Agent Business”, “Two Paths to Becoming an Agent”, and “Becoming an Agent Part Two”.

Darren Heitner: Anything else you would like to add for our readers?

Jack Bechta: The sports world can always use more hard working professionals who have the best interest of the players in mind!

Jack Bechta from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

Mr. Smith is only one of the many amazing names that will be in Chicago at the conference. Some of the other great names include Jeff Gewirtz, Senior VP and General Counsel of NETS Basketball/ Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment. Stephanie Varvadas, Managing Attorney for Nike Inc. Donald M. Fehr, Executive Director and General Counsel for the MLBPA, Richard J. Berthelsen, General Counsel for the NFLPA,  along with Professors Richard Karcher Director of Law and Professor Florida Coastal School of Law Center for Law and Sports, Vared Yakovee Professor at USC Gould School of Law and Editor-in-chief of Entertainement & Sports Lawyer, Gary R. Roberts from Indiana University School of Law and Gabe Feldman, Director of the Tulane Univesity Sports Law Program to name only a few.

35th Annual SLA Conference In Chicago Coming Soon from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

Football

• DeMaurice Smith was selected to be the successor to Gene Upshaw as the Executive Director of the NFLPA [Smith elected to head NFLPA].
• One step in the right direction towards bringing back the AFL next year [AFL might be back in '10].
• Devin Hester is about to sport his wings with Red Bull [Hester Is A Flash In The Can].
• Great wrap-up of the early Pro Days [Pro Day Recap - Part 1].
• An agent rarely wants to see his name in the press.  This is the 2nd week in a row that we can’t help but notice Bus Cook getting attention [Agent explains Cutler timeline].

Baseball

• $1.5 million guaranteed plus the possibility of making another $1.5 million this year [Rodriguez, Astros agree to contract].

Basketball

• The NBPA was not too happy with that Yahoo! Sports article calling out Ceruzzi Sports and Pat Barrett [NBA Players Association to probe agency].

Sports Business

• Make sure you provide your clients with solid financial planners [IRS Looking At Athletes More Closely].

Shabbat Shalom: Friday Wrap-Up (3/20/09) from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson’s decision on Friday to uphold a District Court order temporarily restraining the League’s suspension of five players (Kevin Williams and Pat Williams of the Minnesota Vikings and Charles Grant, Deuce McAllister and Will Smith of the New Orleans Saints) for allegedly violating its drug policy surprised many observers who expected that a federal court especially was likely to interpret the matter under the bright-line language of the CBA and hold in favor of the League. Numerous apparent discrepancies in the League’s handling of the matter, however–including possibly withholding material information from players relating to the supplement at hand, StarCaps, a weight-loss substance containing the banned diuretic bumetanide; supposedly failing to respond to players’ inquires about the supplement through its supplement/drug hotline; and finally waiting months (the samples in question were from this summer) to announce the results of the tests and then implementing the corresponding suspensions late in the season, thereby implicating salaries and the playoff push–have apparently made the case a bit murkier than it first appeared. Judge Magnuson stated that he will need “more time to fully and carefully consider all of the briefs, arguments, and cases put before him,” and some pundits expect that the case will not fully be completed until early next year–possibly even after the Super Bowl.

Mike Florio at ProFootballTalk.com nicely lays out the hurdle the players will have to clear in the coming days/weeks/months in order for the Court to completely dismiss their suspensions and fines:

Typically in matters of this nature, the plaintiffs must prove that they will suffer “irreparable harm” if the defendant isn’t blocked from doing whatever it is that the defendant plans to do. The defendant in such cases usually responds by arguing that, since the plaintiffs can later recover a monetary award to compensate them for their lost wages and other damages, their available remedies are adequate and ”equitable relief” (e.g., telling a party that it can’t do something that it wants to do) isn’t appropriate.

In other words, the NFL will argue in this case that, because the players can later recover cash money from the league if it turns out that the suspensions violated their legal rights, there’s no need to stop the league from suspending them.

In this type of case, however, where NFL players have only so many seasons during which they can play NFL football and where that lost 25 percent of one season will never return, the argument in favor of a finding of irreparable harm might be stronger than most cases involving actions to be taken against employees.

The real battleground in this case could be the requirement that, in order to obtain an injunction pending the outcome of the litigation, the players must prove that they have a strong likelihood of eventually winning the case. The NFL surely is arguing strenuously that the legal theories advanced by the players are not valid, because the only potential legal claim that can be made in this case is that the NFL violated the Collective Bargaining Agreement and/or the steroids policy.

Regardless of the outcome, the lawsuits in question (both the above-named players and the union are suing the NFL) present serious questions about the implementation of the League’s drug policy. Moreover, the fact that the cards have been stacked against the players from the get-go, and that the League felt reasonably sure that it could waltz into Federal Court and have its way (it still may), is indicative of just how much control the NFLPA lost to the League in regards to disciplinary measures during their negotiations (the steroids policy, while not part of the CBA, was also the product of collective bargaining). As columnist Patrick Reusse of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune pointed out this week:

“Any union worth its salt would have hung tough in negotiations to create a disciplinary panel — one representative from management, one from the players and a neutral party — to decide these matters.

Gene Upshaw never fought that fight in his time as union chief. He ceded the authority to the commissioner, and now the players find themselves with Roger Goodell running amok and robbing their paychecks at every turn.”

Finally, given the NFLPA’s own lawsuit against the NFL in the matter, tensions are now even higher between the two sides in regards to their impending CBA negotiations. Goodell has seemingly had a good time flaunting his disciplinary authority so far, and his objective to polish up the League’s image is probably a virtuous one. That said, draconian hubris has a way of unfolding over time. Friday’s decision could be just the start.

Score One For The Little Guy from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

Sports Business

• HHR continues its excellent interview series with young sports entrepreneurs by talking to Yardbarker’s Marketing Coordinator, Diana Iakoubova [So You Want to Work in Sports?: Diana Iakoubova, Marketing Coordinator, Yardbarker Network].
• Jimmie Johnson = Roger Federer of NASCAR? [Why isn’t Jimmie Johnson more marketable?]

Basketball

• Brandon Jennings has a blog [When in Rome].

Baseball

• $52 million for a 17-game winner [Cubs, Dempster agree to four-year contract].
• Dustin Pedroia is counting down the days until he is arbitration eligible [An MVP Season for the Bargain Basement Price of $457K].
• The MLBPA tightens its grip on agents when it comes to arbitration [Union requires pre-arbitration update].

Football

• Should we start taking this kind of speak seriously? [Berthelsen predicts lockout in court testimony]
• About a dozen candidates remain in the search to replace the late Gene Upshaw [NFLPA narrows search for next executive director].

Shabbat Shalom: Friday Wrap-Up from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules