Drew Rosenhaus has had his fair share of clients that he represented prior to and during the NFL Draft, but he is mainly known for the sheer number of players who switch to him when it is time for them to re-negotiate their contract or sign their big second contract.  Rosenhaus’ competition hates it, and so they should.  As an NFLPA certified advisor, you most likely have to pay for your clients’ training, food, and housing prior to the draft (and anything else that comes up).  Then, if you are lucky enough to have your clients drafted, you will take a meager 3% at tops (many agents charge less just so they can compete with guys like Rosenhaus) of their professional contracts.  For non-first rounders, that figure does not come out to much.  Last, you can’t sleep at all because you are always worried that your clients will make a switch to a different agent before you are actually able to negotiate the big contract and make some sort of money to live off of.  Only to possibly lose your client to a guy like Rosenhaus.  Rough life, but you chose to live it.

In baseball, we rarely discuss a guy like Rosenhaus, who players flock to once they are ready to negotiate a big contract.  Scott Boras grabs all the bonus babies before they are drafted and rakes in his nice 5% advising fee early in their careers.  Sure, some players leave their agents for Boras, especially right before becoming arbitration eligible, but we don’t hear about it ALL that much.  In fact, Boras recently lost a big fish to a rival agency; one that might start making a name for itself as one that picks up players after they make it to the pros.

Hendricks Sports Management is run by Randy and Alan Hendricks.  The brothers started the firm in the 1970s, sold it to SFX, and then re-formed the agency in 2003.  They have been in the business for a very long time, are connected to basically every important person in the business of baseball, and have seen their fare share of arbitration cases.  There’s a certain comfort factor for players who are looking to make a switch in representation.  And they are quiet about the clients they actually represent (their website does not list any).  Once a team that represented 16% of all Major League players, after they re-formed the agency in 2003, they say that they are more selective about who they represent.

So why the possible relation to the Rosenhaus brothers?  Well, last year, the Hendricks brothers grabbed Rick Porcello from none other than Scott Boras Corp.  Recently, they signed former Cuba defector, Kendry Morales, who used to be represented by David Valdes.  Is this the start of a new business model for the Hendricks brothers or did they just offer to represent two players who were upset with their previous representation?  Definitely something to keep an eye on.

Football

• The St. Louis experiment is failing while the Cowboys investment in their big boys is working well [Under the Cap: Top Ten Guards and Centers].
• A look at just how competitive recruiting college football players is for agencies of various sizes [The race to sign college prospects].

Baseball

• Could they have found a worse picture of Hendry? [Unloading Milton Bradley without paying steep price won't be easy for Chicago Cubs GM Jim Hendry]
• NY Yankees GM taking a hard-line approach to impending contract discussions with Matsui and Damon [Yanks’ Cashman Won’t Be Swayed].
• Clocked as high as 98.75 mph, but he is 30-years-old (due to Japan’s rules regarding free agency) [Hard-throwing reliever aims to leave Japan].
• Arn Tellem gets in on the blogging action [Hideki Matsui: An Ageless Talent].
• A lot more young players about to get cut? [The Changing Landscape of Salary Arbitration-Eligible Players and Free Agents in Baseball]

Sports Agent

• Some great advice for agents who might not be as involved as they need to be [The Proverbial, I Don’t Know].

Starting in 2009, there are two classes of free agents: international and domestic.  Domestic free agents can only sign with other NPB teams while international free agents are free to try their luck overseas as well as sign domestically.

In order to qualify as an international free agent, players must play nine seasons in the NPB.  To qualify as a domestic free agent, players drafted before 2007 must wait eight seasons.  Players drafted after 2007 are only required to wait seven seasons before being declared domestic free agents.  This is a much longer period than in MLB.  Can you imagine an MLB superstar having to wait eight seasons before signing with a big market club?

Also, in contrast to MLB regulations, players must be on the team’s top roster for 145 days in order for it to count as a “year” for free agency purposes.  Time spent injured or in the minors does not count.  Therefore, it can take much longer than eight or nine years for a player to be eligible for free agency in Japan.

Further, teams that sign a domestic free agent in Japan are required to compensate the player’s former team with either money or players.  Many players decline free agency and remain with their teams.  This basically means that Japanese free agency is almost non-existent compared to MLB.  For example, after the 2008 season, 83 players qualified for free agency.  Only 7 actually filed.

This year, roughly the same amount of players are eligible.  One Japanese player has already filed: Ryota Igarashi of the Yakult Swallows. Igarashi is a 30-year-old right-handed relief pitcher.  He went 3-2 with three saves and a 3.19 ERA in 56 games last season.  His best season was 2004 when he had 37 saves and 86 strikeouts in 66 games.  It will be interesting to see how many more actually file.

Cuba is known for producing remarkable talent on the diamond.  Its players are followed by every single MLB organization, and many agents dream about getting their hands on the next Cuban-born prospect.  Recently, the baseball world has been caught up with what team Cuba’s most recent defector, Aroldis Chapman, will sign with.  Chapman is just the newest Cuban player to clog the headlines, but in the past, many others have been in the spotlight, and unfortunately, so have their agents.

Representing Cuban defectors is risky business.  Gustavo “Gus” Dominguez, co-founder of California-based Total Sports International Inc., was handed a five-year prison term in April 2008 for smuggling prospects out of Cuba.  Juan Ignacio Hernández Nodar, was a Miami-based sports agent who received a fifteen-year sentence for the same thing: helping Cuban players defect from the island.  Nodar was recently released one-and-a half -years earlier than the full length of the sentence.  You can thank Nodar for being able to watch Orlando “El Duque” Hernández over the years.

The U.S. and Cuban governments tried to make examples out of Gus and Nodar, and for a long time, we have heard little about Cuban baseball defections.  It makes me wonder how closely government officials have been monitoring Aroldis Chapman’s defection.  I assume that his agents were especially careful in the way they managed his affairs.  One would hope so based on the penalties handed down to guys like Dominguez and Nodar.

Sports Business

• A job very well done by Red Bull [Red Bull's Project X = Sports Marketing Idea of the Year].
• Maybe not the world just yet, but starting off at the high school level is a good strategy [Can Under Armour, IMG Take the World By Storm?].
• St-Pierre t0 serve as the face of Under Armour’s Underwear [Under Armour signs UFC champ Georges St-Pierre to multi-year endorsement deal].
• I actually just yesterday had this discussion with somebody [End of the Day, Live Events Make Sports, Brands, King…].

Baseball

• A little baseball trademark law conversation [Wide world of ‘Series’].

Football

• No sense of urgency on the part of the owners [League rejects "lock-in" bargaining proposal].
• A two-paragraph statement that included no explanation – bothers me [Bryant loses final appeal].

Basketball

• BJ Armstrong answers a few questions while promoting the launch of Windows 7 [An Interview with BJ Armstrong].

During this past year’s All-Star Break, Pete and I were discussing his options regarding where he would play this Winter.  As a rising star within the St. Louis Cardinals organization, Pete had offers from teams in Venezuela and Puerto Rico.  We determined that while Venezuelan teams were offering Pete more money, Puerto Rico was a better fit.  He latched on to Ponce’s manager, Eduardo Perez, and signed a contract to play for Ponce.  Everybody was happy, and Pete continued to perform amazingly down the final stretch for the AAA Memphis Redbirds.  He was named Reliever of the Year for the Redbirds, where he had a record breaking postseason as the team’s closer.

During the All-Star break, Pete signed with Ponce as a free-agent.  But apparently, there was a discrepancy with the contract’s date or something along the lines that Ponce never turned it into the league office in time (we still do not know the actual problem and probably never will).  Then, on October 8, we get word that Arecibo drafted Pete Parise.  This was news to me, Pete, and everyone in Ponce’s organization.  How could Arecibo, Ponce’s rival for the top spot in the PRBL, draft Pete when Ponce had already secured the rights to my client?

This occurred on October 8.  Not until this past Tuesday was the matter finally resolved.  And to tell you the truth, the battle may not be over.  From October 8 to now, I have talked to the manager of Ponce and Arecibo at least five times every week, and even more often through text.  I have come to have a great relationship with people like Eduardo Perez and Pachy Rodriguez, and wish that all parties involved could leave this dilemma as winners.  Unfortunately, that is not the case.

In the beginning, I had to turn in an allegation letter, stipulating the facts of the matter at hand and outlining everything that happened from Day 1 of Pete’s conversations with Ponce.  Arecibo played by the PRBL’s mandate, which was to place Pete in the draft.  But unfortunately, that mandate did not follow the PRBL’s own rules.  Since Pete had already signed with Ponce, his name should have never been in the draft pool, in the first place.  It took many weeks, but the PRBL finally had a hearing regarding the matter, and earlier this week ruled that Pete had actually officially signed with Ponce.

So Pete is off to Puerto Rico to play for Ponce…for now.  Pete is pumped to give Ponce his all, and has been training non-stop since the close of the Memphis Redbirds’ season.  At least it is nice to know that my client is a wanted man!

Don’t tell Creative Artists Agency (CAA) that the company is #2 to anyone in any sport.  They just don’t want to hear it.  Even in baseball, where Scott Boras is known as the king of the diamond.

Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated reported earlier this week that in a phone interview with CAA baseball agent, Joe Urbon, the agent stated that Jason Bay is “the most complete player on the market.”  Quite a bold statement by Mr. Urbon, who was well aware that some guy named Matt Holliday is also a free-agent going into the 2010 season.  Should Bay be given the edge because he had to compete in a very tough AL East while Holliday went from a mediocre AL West to a soft NL Central?  It is true that Holliday did struggle quite a bit in the AL.  He only hit 1 homerun in the first month of the 2009 season

Boras’ response: “Holliday is the only young complete free agent player available.”  I added the emphasis.  Interesting sly tactic by Mr. Boras, who subtly noted that his client, Holliday is 29-years-old, while Bay is 31-years-old.  You better believe that this factor, alone, drives up Holliday’s price.

I think it is smart for Urbon to make comparisons between Bay and Holliday.  It will only drive up the price of his client.  Let’s just hope that this is not an Urbon vs. Boras competition that stems from past experiences like the notorious case of Tacoby Bellsbury!

What: 2010 Tulane Law School National Baseball Arbitration Competition

When: January 22-24, 2010

Where: Tulane University Law School. Map.

The Tulane Law School Sports Law Society has been busy inviting law schools to compete in the 2010 Tulane Law School National Baseball Arbitration Competition. I received an email invite last week, asking if my school (University of Florida Levin College of Law) would be interested in attending.

The Baseball Arbitration Competition is a simulated salary arbitration competition modeled closely on the salary arbitration procedures used by Major League Baseball.  Each team will represent either the assigned player for that round or the team for which that player plays. The goal of each round is to determine the salary for that player for the upcoming season by persuading the arbitrator(s) that the position advocated for is more appropriate.

The competition assumes that each party has previously submitted their final offer, and that good faith negotiations have concluded.  Each problem will include these final offers; the competitors’ objective is to persuade the independent arbitrator, through both a written submission and through oral arguments, that the offer tendered by their client is the most appropriate compensation for that player.  Players used for this competition will, barring unforeseen circumstances, be actual Major League Baseball players eligible for salary arbitration in that year.

The deadline for registration is 5:00 p.m. on December 15.

Cost: $150 per team (2-3 people per team. Only 2 people may participate in any single round).  Schools may bring up to 2 teams.  Click here to register.

Competition Website | Competition Rules

Sports Business

• “Take the opportunity to meet as many people as you can.” [Sports leaders explain the key to success]
• A sign that lacrosse is growing in the U.S.? [MLL, NLL lacrosse star John Glynn signs with agent Matthew Norfolk]

Baseball

• Even if they don’t make it in baseball, they may make some good money off of the rights fees [Story Of Indian Pitchers Bought By Sony].
• All because of a misunderstanding [Sports Law Blog's Joe Rosen Signs Red Sox Reliever Hideki Okajima as Client].
• That Vernon Wells contract… [Bad Contract Swap Meet].
• A great read for players, parents, scouts, and advisors [Showcases Have Turned Baseball Into A Year-Round Sport].

Football

• Keep your mouth shut and your tweeting at bay [The Cost of Larry Johnson’s Gay Slur on Twitter: $213,000].
• The UFL vs. CFL portion is a good read [Sports Agent Corner: UFL vs CFL, “Runners”, and the Stay-or-Go Debate].

Also, one last note.  Buffalo Wild Wings is hosting a cool contest.  Register to win a roster spot to play in an exclusive football game at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, this spring.  You can register at any Buffalo Wild Wings location through November 8 (no purchase is required). The winners will be selected November 18 and will receive round-trip airfare and hotel accommodation for the February 13 game, among other prizes. The winners will be split into two teams and given celebrity coaches (ESPN’s Mike Golic and Mike Greenberg) and captains (Jerome “The Bus” Bettis and Marshall Faulk).

They also want me to share a coupon with you, which is good until November 1 (yeah, not much time to use it).  You can print this page (there is a button to do that on the top of this post), to use the coupon.

Over the past week, I have received many calls and messages from friends, colleagues, family, and clients, asking me who Jay Hairston (on the left, wearing the cap) is and why he was sending them “friend requests” on Facebook.  Originally, I thought it was just a coincidence that I was the only “mutual friend” on these peoples friend lists.  After the fifth call/message, I started to get curious.

On Monday evening, I decided to finally do something about it.  I did a search for “Jay Hairston” on Facebook and was greeted with a profile picture displaying Athletes Premier International’s logo.  I also noticed that we had over 150 friends in common, yet Jay never friended me on Facebook.  Did we just know a lot of the same people and had never met?  Again, his friends included former roommates, fraternity brothers, and family of mine (who have less than 50 friends total on Facebook).  Most concerning was that this guy I had never met nor heard of was sending friend requests to all of my clients.

Since I was not friends with Jay Hairston, I could not read his profile.  I went to API’s website, and found that his name was completely omitted.  This is where I started to get really concerned.  I sent a few tweets to API’s twitter account, asking for an explanation.  The only response I received was Jay Hairston changing his Facebook privacy settings to restrict me from finding him in a Facebook search results page.

I had one of my friends who had accepted Jay’s friendship request pull up his profile, and that friend let me know that Jay lists himself as the Vice President of Player Relations and Recruiting.  At this point, I knew something very shady was going on.  What business does a rival agency have in reaching out to my entire network?  There is nothing illegal about making friend requests to people you have never met, but it sure does make you and your company look very shady.

This is an interesting and silly tactic for a brand new agency.  Athletes Premier International has one baseball client, and it is a big one: Aroldis Chapman.  First of all, I have given the agency no reason to solicit my friends, family, or clients.  Second of all, the company has received good press thus far in its shopping of Chapman to various MLB teams, does it need to now resort to dirty tactics to grow further?  Third, why is Jay Hairston not listed on the company’s website?  And of all employees, I have most concern about a VP of Player Relations and Recruiting contacting my clients.

I reached out to Jay and he was nice enough to respond in a timely manner.  Additionally, he was pleasant in his responses, but I think I was more upset that he was lying to my face than anything else.  I would have been happier if he was blatantly honest and told me to go screw myself.  Here is what he said to me in our conversation thread.  Let me know if you think he is being genuine.

Mr Heitner.  By no means am I attempting to do anything shady as you put it.  I am simply networking!  I do appologize if I offended you in anyway.  This was not my intentions.

My response:

You are telling me the truth that you friended former roommates and fraternity brothers of mine in an effort to network?  What value do they bring to the table?

What networking did you hope to do by friending my clients that I have listed on my agency’s website?

I am not out to hurt your company or anyone elses company.  I am more than happy with representing the clients I currently have and using those gentlemen to provide solid referrals.  I truly hope that you have no cruel intentions.  I believe that most men are honest, and I will take you at your word, even though your actions (including preventing me from pulling your name up on a search) should lead me to believe otherwise.

I have documented everything thus far and encourage you to stay away from my friends and clients.  You guys just picked up a superstar; I firmly believe that continuing to “network” with my friends and clients will not be worth your while.

I accept your apology and hope that we can put this entire matter behind us.

His last response was very nice, but I believe that it was entirely mocking the situation at hand.

Mr Heitner, as for friending former roommates and fraternity brothers of yours, yes it is random!  I am NOT in the practice of stealing or attempting to steal anyones clients!  Its not who I am as a person or who API is as a company.  I am simply trying to get our name out there!  That is all!  In my expierience the more people that know who you are and what it is you do. The better off a business will be.  As you know, people do talk.  So whether that’s the gas attendant at your local gas station or an athlete at a university.  You never know who will be the link to that next big client!  Once again I do appologize for the simple misunderstanding!

You are simply trying to get your company’s name out to my friends, family, and clients?  Create a blog, send out tweets, contact athletes that are not already represented, but solicit my friends list on Facebook?  I doubt my step-father is going to be the link to your next big client.  There is no misunderstanding about what transpired.

And as for Jay Hairston’s Facebook status as of yesterday, it read: “we must be doing something right…”  I agree, if that something is “getting your name out there” in an unethical manner.