The participants in the most recent meeting included (agent names in bold):

• Ray Anderson, NFL, Executive Vice President of Football Operations
• Ron Hill, NFL, Vice President of Football Operations
• Merton Hanks, NFL, Director of Football Operations
• Rich McKay, President, Atlanta Falcons
• Bill Polian, President, Indianapolis Colts
• Arthur McAfee, NFL Players Association, Counsel
• James Guidry, NFL Players Association, Collegiate Affairs Manager
• Grant Teaff, American Football Coaches Association, Executive Director
• Jim Delany, Commissioner, Big Ten Conference
• Mike Slive, Commissioner, Southeastern Conference
• Greg Sankey, Associate Commissioner, Southeastern Conference
• Jeff Hawkins, University of Oregon, Director of Football Operations
• Mike Powell, Texas Secretary of State Office, Managing Attorney
• James Sexton, agent, Athletic Resource Management
• Fletcher Smith, agent, Blueprint Sports Group
• Rick Smith, agent, Priority Sports & Entertainment
• Rachel Newman Baker, NCAA, Director of Agent, Gambling and Amateurism
• Scott Bearby, NCAA, Interim Vice President of Legal Affairs/General Counsel
• David Berst, NCAA, Vice President for Division I Governance
• Dennis Poppe, NCAA, Vice President for Baseball and Football
• David Price, NCAA, Vice President of Enforcement
• Naima Stevenson, NCAA, Director of Legal Affairs/Assistant General Counsel

Smart agent selections.  After doing some research, I was not able to find a single NFLPA disciplinary action against any of the three agents.  I like the fact that it is not all white agents, either (Fletcher Smith is black).  And the three agents have quite a bit of experience as Contract Advisors.  Fletcher Smith currently represents Kelvin Hayden, Darryl Tapp, Antwaan Randle-El, Lofa Tatupu, and Donovan McNabb.  Rick Smith currently represents 18 clients including Alan Faneca, Jake Delhomme, and Nate Kaeding.  Sexton has over 30 clients (and quite a few coaches) including Michael Oher, DeAngelo Williams, Peyton Hillis, and Tim Tebow.

Joe Schad of ESPN.com reports that this group has discussed the possibility of post-NCAA financial penalties against college players who accept money or other benefits from agents.  This would be an interesting and needed shift away from focusing solely on reprimanding agents for providing illegal gifts.  With proper education for student-athletes in place, they have no “ignorance excuse” and should also suffer the consequences of possibly tarnishing their collegiate institutions.

Among the penalties being considered are suspensions of up to 8 games in length and financial penalties (fines).

Jimmy Sexton, Fletcher Smith, And Rick Smith Amongst Leaders Looking To Fix Football Agent Issues from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

The questions and answers were superb, and SportsAgentBlog.com is proud to be a part of the effort.

In our first installment of the new feature, topics discussed included: student-athlete insurance policies, taxes on signing bonuses, smart investments, 401(k)s, fines as tax deductions, player-run foundations, purchasing real estate, athletes creating their own LLCs, and student-athlete preparation for the big pay day.

The interview may be read, in its entirety, here.

Ask The Expert: Emery B. Sheer, Berenfeld LLP from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

No matter how innocent the athlete may appear to be, WADA must uphold its stringent approach. Those who test positive for performance-enhancing drugs are punished for cheating and putting themselves at an unfair advantage of which their competitors are deprived. In terms of recreational substances, WADA cannot be seen to endorse the use of these drugs and so the offending athlete is also liable to punishment. Any failed test for prohibited substances will result in punitive action, including a probable ban.

The harshest example of this can be seen in the case of British Olympic Skier Alain Baxter. Baxter had failed a drug test when ‘lev-methamphetamine’ was found in his sample. It later transpired that this substance is present in the American version of a Vicks nasal inhaler. The British version does not contain the prohibited substance and Baxter bought and used the American one at the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, assuming the content would be the same. In its judgment, the Court of Arbitration for Sport said that Baxter was a “sincere and honest man who did not gain a competitive advantage despite the trace of lev-methamphetamine in his system”. In spite of his honesty and innocence, Baxter was stripped of his Bronze medal, which was ultimately awarded to his 4^th-placed Austrian counterpart, Benjamin Raich.

It would seem that the resulting damage from testing positive for a prohibited substance is not only of that to your reputation, but the financial consequences can also be severe. Adrian Mutu, a Romanian footballer who is famous for having played for Chelsea, Juventus and Fiorentina, tested positive for cocaine in 2004. He was banned for 7 months and fined £20, 000. Chelsea purged him from the club for breach of contract. He later signed for Juventus for free. Chelsea sued him on the basis that they were denied a transfer fee that was due to them for what should have been his sale to Juventus. As he breached his contract, he was removed from the club and as a result he was able to sign for Juventus for free, where normally the recipient club would be required to compensate the selling club for the transfer. The matter went to the Courts and was resolved within the last month. The Court of Arbitration for Sport dealt him out a staggering fine of €17 million, which he was told to pay Chelsea to compensate for their loss. This represents the highest ever fine imposed by FIFA.

The moral of the story if you are a professional athlete is not to do drugs – it is quite simple really. In all likelihood you will get caught, and your punishment will be severe. There are not many athletes who can comfortably afford to pay the fines, and the damage to reputation can be brutal – nobody likes a cheat!

Drugs and Sport – Why It’s Not Worth It from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

The article mentioned $15,000 of fines against Hines Ward for unnecessary roughness while blocking down field even though the officials did not call any penalties against him. James Harrison was fined $20,000 for criticizing a referee who called Roughing-the-Passer against him. Also $7,500 of fines were charged to Nate Washington (Taunting) and Ryan Clark (Late Hit).

I feel that the league should handle fines on a case-by-case basis because the situations and circumstances regarding the actions a player took are unique to each game’s situation. Yet, I do feel that Polamalu was right, and that the league’s recent splurge of fees is quite unnecessary and detrimental to the game. Playing organized football for 6 years and backyard football for the majority of my life, the game has always been about the big hit or the big block (and touchdown dances…I also don’t believe the league should fine players for celebrating after scores). At my high school, if you had a highlight reel worthy tackle or pancake block, you got a star on your helmet. If the hit or block just totally destroyed the other player, you got a star and a shirt with a skull and crossbones and the word “hitter” on it. Being aggressive and making the big play and the big hit is what football is all about, so why is the league trying to deter that aspect of the game, especially when it is what the fans pay to see? It’s not like every time a runningback is handed the ball, he’s not aware that there are 11 guys with different jerseys on trying to end his career.

I also think that if a ref did not feel the need to penalize a player for unnecessary roughness, then, in the majority of cases (obviously there are always exceptions to the rule and refs miss calls), the league shouldn’t be able to go back retrospectively and fine those players. The refs are professionals on the field who are paid to make those calls in the heat of the moment. If they don’t see it as necessary, I don’t see why the league should.

I’m not saying that all fines are not warranted because some definitely are, but I do believe that the league needs to rid themselves of this fine happy attitude and be realistic and fair to the players that give it their all every Sunday. I also believe that as agents and potential agents, we have a responsibility to our clients to make sure that the league is treating them fairly and not fining our clients unnecessarily. I’d love to hear what our community has to say about this topic and maybe any possible remedies to the situation.

NFL = No Fun League from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules