IMG does not have a specific division for hockey, but it is experienced in marketing hockey players; it handled the marketing of Wayne Gretzky and Jaromir Jagr when they were in the NHL. IMG will look to expand on Ovechkin’s current endorsement portfolio which includes CCM, Energizer, Hair Cuttery, and Hockey Ink.

Ovechkin’s style of play on the ice and personality off the ice provide the foundation for incredible potential in product endorsements. On the ice, Ovechkin has scored some of the most impressive highlight-reel goals in the history of the game and still has energy to make the huge hits that hockey fans love to see. Off the ice, his personality is on display in interviews showcasing his contagious smile (interview starts at 2:00), love for the fun of the game, and pre-game antics which include racing a utility cart around the arena. The city of Washington D.C. fell in love with Ovechkin over the past couple years and it shows in ticket sales- the Capitals sold out all 12,000 season tickets this year.

What role did Ovechkin’s agent play in acquiring this marketing deal with IMG? Ovechkin’s representation is a roundtable that consists of his father, mother, financial adviser George Landa, and attorney Stephen Screnci. All decisions involving Ovechkin’s career are made collectively by that group. It would definitely be interesting to sit in on a negotiation involving all those parties, and they are obviously doing something right.

For a little insight on the negotiation of his $124 million contract which Alex and his mother conducted without an agent, watch this video at the 2:40 mark. You’ll notice the language barrier makes it hard for Alex to express in English exactly what he means, but IMG said it isn’t worried about that.

First up: Samuel Michael Keller v. Electronic Arts, Inc., NCAA, Collegiate Licensing Company.  The complaint was filed on May 5, 2009 in the United States District Court, Northern District of California.

Electronic Arts has created a long line of profitable games under the EA Sports umbrella.  For its games based on professional sports, it can use players’ names and their likeness by bargaining with the players’ association.  For instance, if EA Sports wants to put player names on Madden 2010, the NFLPA can assign those rights to Electronic Arts (for roughly $35 million per year, according to the lawsuit).  EA pays the NFLPA a fee, and all is said and done.  So, can’t Electronic Arts make a similar deal with the NCAA to use college athletes’ likenesses on games like NCAA Football, NCAA Basketball, and NCAA March Madness?  Keller is arguing that such a deal is illegal.

The claim being made is that NCAA bylaws (Bylaw 12.5), contracts, and licensing agreements (between Electronic Arts and the Collegiate Licensing Company) prohibit outside entities from using NCAA players’ names, pictures, and likenesses; however, the NCAA and Collegiate Licensing Company are doing absolutely nothing to deter Electronic Arts from using those names and likenesses.  In fact, Keller argues that the NCAA encourages the violation of its own bylaws, contracts, and licensing agreements, because in the end, the NCAA benefits from increased royalties.  In defense of EA, players do not have names attached when a consumer purchases the original game.  However, Keller claims that EA does not do enough to prevent gamers from uploading new rosters that include player names.  This sounds like a claim of vicarious liability that I believe will be hard for Keller to prevail on.

Keller wants to make it a class-action lawsuit on behalf of all NCAA athletes who have had their names and likenesses used without permission.  If your height or weight is not the same (or very close to the same) on the game as it is in real life, then sorry, but you’re left out of the suit.

Is EA’s replication of an athlete’s jersey number, height, weight, build, skin tone, hair color, hair style, and accessories (like wristband, headband, facemask, and/or visor) a replication of that player’s likeness?  That’s for the court to decide.  When you hit the sticks for a rivalry match between the Gators and Seminoles, can you easily tell that the starting Quarterback for the Gators is Tim Tebow based on his image alone?  Or are you only confirmed of that based on your prior knowledge that he is the QB for the National Champions?

Players’ names are left off of jerseys on purpose in an effort to avoid this type of litigation.  The NCAA and CLC may point to that and show just how many gamers go through the process of downloading the rosters so that the names are then revealed.  I do not believe that EA is contributorily liable for the actions of the consumers who download the rosters, because I cannot see how EA encourages the downloading of those rosters by any specific act.  However, perhaps EA is found to be vicariously liable.  It’s hard to say that EA does not have constructive knowledge that its consumers are actively downloading rosters.  But does EA directly or indirectly benefit from the action?  I would say that people are going to buy the games whether or not they can download the rosters.

The amount in controversy exceeds $5,000,000.  One would think that maybe the NCAA, CLC, and EA would take interest in this case.

Case #2: Edward C. O’Bannon, Jr. v. NCAA and Collegiate Licensing Company. The complaint was filed on July 21, 2009 in the United States District Court, Northern District of California.

The NCAA and CLC might take interest in this one too.  Electronic Arts breaths a sigh of relief…unless Keller’s suit is joined to O’Bannon’s.

Edward C. O’Bannon, Jr., also known as Ed O’Bannon, also does not like not getting paid when his likeness is used.  Like Keller, he has decided to file suit in Federal Court, and made it a class-action suit on behalf of all of his collegiate athlete brethren.  O’Bannon has a lot more fish to fry than Keller, though.  Not only is he upset with the NCAA for allowing the usage of his likeness on video games, but also on DVDs, TV, photos, memorabilia, and advertising in general.

O’Bannon is not only claiming that current student athletes have a right to royalty payments when their likeness is assigned or used by the NCAA.  He is also claimimg that former players control the right to use their likeness and former likeness, and that the NCAA should be prohibited from earning profits on players’ likenesses once they leave campus.  Additionally, O’Bannon claims that athletes transfer their name/likeness rights to the NCAA upon accepting a scholarship because they have absolutely no choice and are never told to attain outside legal advice before making the transfer.

O’Bannon believes that the NCAA has restrained trade in an effort to exploit former collegiate athletes and reap profits without making any type of royalty payment to those athletes.  This lawsuit has a little Antitrust zing that the Keller complaint seems to lack.

A little FYI – the Collegiate Licensing Company is a subdivision of IMG.  IMG is a conglomerate with a large sports representation practice in golf and tennis.

Another FYI – O’Bannon has some big guns on his side: Attorneys with solid track records in popular cases and Sonny Vaccaro.

At least these cases won’t prevent the release of future versions for Bulls vs. Blazers or Tecmo Super Bowl.  Yeah…like the Bulls and Blazers will ever be in the Finals again, anyway!

SBJ also notes that Mark Steinberg is leading the negotiations for IMG.  If this is so, then it seems likely that this deal is revolving solely around Gaylord’s golf division.  Mark Steinberg is the Director of Global Golf Business at IMG.  Why would IMG put him in charge of brokering a deal for all of Gaylord’s divisions when he specialty is with golf?

CAA is the old IMG, shot up with a dose of corporate steroids.  Its football division is leaps and bounds above its competition, in a sport where new entrants come into the fold every day trying to take some of CAA’s share (with not much success).  Its baseball division is right up there with names like Sosnick-Cobbe, Hendricks, Reynolds, and Octagon.  Basketball and hockey are extremely well established divisions, too.  Condon, Close, and Brisson were formally with IMG before turning to CAA.  Is CAA now interested in prying away IMG’s long standing golf empire?

Even though IMG let many of its team-sports employees move on, it retained a strong presence in tennis and golf.  Mark Steinberg, a former interview subject on this blog, is the director of Global Golf Business, and represents names like Tiger Woods and Annika Sorenstam, among many others.  Is IMG nervous that it may lose its spot as #1 in golf?

CAA has wanted to get into representing golfers for a while now, and recently hired Andy Pierce, who was formerly the head of corporate consulting at IMG.  His role will be in “identifying and developing new business opportunities for CAA Sports.”  Establishing a golf division would definitely fall into those duties.

MMA

• Gary Wimsett expands his online presence and has a great interview with Jens Pulver [No Rest for the Wicked: Jens Pulver Fights for the Little Guy].

Basketball

• Jason Belzer looks at some young college coaches who have tons of talent [Young Guns: 3 Top Under-the-Radar College Assistants].

Golf

• From WMA to IMG [Wie to get ‘fresh start’ with IMG].

Football

• The last of the big-name inside linebacker free agents has been signed [Peterson, Falcons ink deal].
• A $16.6 million pay cut for the former #1 overall pick [Smith reworks last 2 years of deal].
• Nothing that $100 million can’t fix, right? [Haynesworth indicted on traffic charges]
• Do Trace Armstrong’s connections to CAA have you concerned about him being a candidate? [Contentious campaign, critical vote for NFLPA's top job]
• It only keeps getting worse for Alvin Keels.  I cannot imagine the amount of stress he is under [Alabama’s Tubby, Shirtless Wonder, Andre Smith].

Sports Agents

• Bruce Ciskie has doubts about Bus Cook [Is Bus Cook a Troublemaker?]

Baseball

• One of those “great stories” [Lester lands five-year extension with Red Sox].

First, the allegations. The NY Post broke the story this past week that “IMG quietly agreed to steer clients looking for investment advice to Stanford Financial Group, potentially exposing them to millions of dollars in losses resulting from the financial firm’s alleged fraud.” Additionally, the story states that Stanford also held talks about a consulting deal with Octagon, during which it inquired about a “financial management deal,” according to a source with knowledge of those discussions. “Basically, they wanted assurances that Octagon would park its clients’ money with them if they did a deal,” this source said. The story continues:

According to three sources with knowledge of the situation, IMG and Stanford have a quid-pro-quo agreement under which Stanford Financial paid IMG a low to mid-seven-figure consulting fee in exchange for IMG advising its clients – which include golfers Tiger Woods, Arnold Palmer, Anthony Kim, Camillo Villegas, Vijay Singh, Sergio Garcia and others – to have their money managed by Stanford. The backroom bargaining has exposed IMG to charges of double-dealing, and is raising questions about where the firm’s allegiances lay: with Stanford Financial or its athlete clients.

It is alleged that in return, IMG advised Stanford on where and how to spend its sponsorship money, especially in regards to golf tournaments.

This scandal is not the first time IMG has made the news for arguably dubious practices. Several years ago, Ernie Els lambasted the firm (he since left) for circulating his name and a corresponding price tag, without his permission, to corporations–some of which were title sponsors to Tour events–that were looking to set up corporate outings with IMG clients during tournament week. The PGA Tour, as is still the case, regulates against players being paid appearance fees to play in specific tournaments (as opposed to Europe, where appearance fees are kosher), though client or corporate outings independent from the event itself are distinguished.

Tiger’s agent, Mark Steinberg, who has been interviewed on SportsAgentBlog.com and is the senior corporate vice president & global managing director of IMG Golf, vehemently denied the charges, stating flatly that “IMG does not give investment advice to our clients…period.”

Yet evidence suggests otherwise. A 2005 Telegraph story on former tennis great and IMG client Virginia Wade, for instance, suggests that in fact the firm is quite integral in the financial decisions made by its clients.

“Since 1974, Ms. Wade has benefited from financial advice from her management company, International Management Group ‘We are in touch regularly, maybe once a month,’” she said.

In the meantime, it’s business as usual for the Cleveland-based firm, widely considered one of the most dominant players in the management of professional golfers and tennis players, as well as its involvement in the two sports’ various tournaments and media related ventures. Prized client Vijay Singh just entered into a major endorsement deal with Stanford that included sponsorship of his bag, visor and left chest on shirts and sweaters. He says that he will continue to wear the logos, relics to a once distinguished name and company that has since found the wayside, mired in deceit and fraud. And both Camilo Villegas and Morgan Pressel have ongoing deals as well. Finally, Tour commissioner Tim Finchem stated that the Stanford St. Jude Championship on June 11-14 in Memphis, Tenn. will be played – with or without its title sponsor (the PGA Tour has a rainy day pot of about $200 million it can dip into for such emergency situations, i.e. if Stanford backs out or cannot continue its sponsorship). However, as one senior Golfweek writer wrote, Stanford also is affiliated with IMG’s prized client, , with a three-year founding sponsorship of AT&T National, a Tiger Woods Foundation event.

Chances are that Camp Tiger is looking none too kindly on this whole sordid affair, and that IMG will get an earful. From IMG’s standpoint, that will hopefully be the end of it. But if more murky details emerge, things could get worse for the mega firm before they get better. And if push comes to shove, more clients could choose to do what Ernie Els did a long time ago and cut their losses. Or at the very least, ask the company precisely whose interests it is serving.

• Worth $18.35 million per year? [Selig’s pay climbs past $18 million].
• Hopefully the $36 million will serve as an incentive to hit the strike zone more often [Sources: Perez to return to Mets].
• Versatile, powerful, fairly inexpensive…will he put up another .285 BA? [Reports: Orioles snag versatile infielder]
• No one wants to sign you? The LA Dodgers don’t count I guess [LA doesn't close door on Manny].
• The Washington Nationals are having a fun offseason… [Salary Arbitration Update].
• I’ll take Orlando Hudson with all of the risk involved [A remaining free agent breakdown...].
• Of the 216 players who filed for free agency, one of every three still does not have a job [Confusion, or collusion, in free-agent market?].

Football

• You have one of the best QBs to ever play the game on your roster and you may end up paying more to your back-up in 2009…very interesting [Cassel franchise tag to be $14.65m].
• Maybe, but I can’t get the image of him punching Aaron Francisco out of my mind [Steelers' Harrison Ready To Cash In].
• Matthew Stafford has CAA in one corner and IMG in the other [Stafford hires agent who represents Ryan].

In 2002, Jelena was at the top of her game, capturing two titles to add to her three she won the year before. However, by 2003, she was out of the top 100 and on the verge of quitting the game. She was under mentor from her coach and father Damir until that time, and the strain of the split took its toll on Dokic as she slid down the rankings and lost confidence. Defiant, she decided to return to Australia to resurrect her tennis career. Tennis Australia welcomed her back with open arms and was determined to help her climb back up the rankings.

Despite some mixed results early, Jelena won her way through to the 2009 Australian Open via a playoff. She entered the tournament ranked 187, climbing from nothing. She got no freebies or wild cards to the tournaments she used to dominate.

Dokic powered her way over 3 seeds – Chakvetadze, Wozniaki and Kleybenova before narrowly being defeated by finalist Dinara Safina. The Dokic-Safina match was the most watched women’s match in Australian Open history as she captured the attention and hearts of her home fans.

Which leads to the next chapter of her life…

Jelena will re enter the Top 100 after collecting $182,500 for her finish. She was due to enter a $25,000 tournament in Country Victoria but has withdrawn for bigger and better things.

Her Agency, IMG, has fielded an abundance of offers from companies wanting to form a partnership with Dokic. Prior to the Open, Dokic had no clothes or racquet sponsor, with Fila chipping in some free clothes for her to wear, despite her contract with them ending in 2003. Jelena has already added one company to her name, with discount airline Jetstar signing her to a 3 year, $1 million deal. Despite her run only ending last week, she is already appearing in TV ads for the company and will receive free flights with the company. As for that illustrious clothing sponsor, SFX managing director George Mimis believed if she made the final she was in line for a package in the vicinity of seven figures, not to mention a six figure racquet deal to top it off. Despite this not happening, Dokic still connected with Australians, and if her results continue she may just hit these figures with bonuses included. One may think that Wilson will be her choice of racquet, as it helped her to her success.

On top of these fundamental endorsements, Jelena’s management has been inundated with offers from women’s magazines offering to publish her story of coming back from the depths of depression to Grand Slam Quarter Finalist.

One of the offers put on the table was $50,000 to wear a logo of a Men’s magazine, in which management swiftly rejected claiming to be “potentially disastrous”.

This just goes to show that a star athlete like Dokic can still be a hot commodity despite the current economic climate.

Tennis, in regards to sports business, does not receive much coverage yet almost everyone, whether a die hard fan or not, could probably name a few players. Tennis has experienced quite a resurgence in the last few years, with record attendances at the Australian Open being just one of the upsides of late, not to mention at grassroots level, with an increase of 7% from 2007 to 2008 in participation in the US.

Despite the level of interest in the sport, tennis like many other sports may be affected by the current economic crisis. Rising ticket prices may hurt the Australian Open this year, with spectators opting for the cheaper ground pass option over centre court seats.

From a Sports Agent point of view, the main sources of revenue that you receive are through gaining sponsorship for your client. The general level of percentage of the deal is between 15-25%. The obvious sponsors that you are looking to attract for your client are apparel and equipment sponsors. This can range from your client wearing and using the company’s equipment for no income, which would occur with a player starting out or low ranked to multi-million dollar deals and specifically tailored and named items in that your client may have a part in designing. One only needs to look at Roger Federer’s reported $13 million a year deal with Nike and his “RF” apparel. His previous deal, which he signed in 2002 was worth $6 million over 6 years.

After the initial sponsors are signed, and if your client is good enough, you may start attract non-sporting sponsors for your player. This may range from a few promos for the company to wearing the logo on their apparel while playing. Maria Sharapova is the queen of the female tour, attracting around $20 million in sponsorship alone, the bulk from the non-sporting arena.

Tennis players do not have a guaranteed salary, competing for prize money week to week. Winning a Grand Slam can net you millions, whilst a smaller tournament might only get you about $25,000 for a win. Taking out travel, accommodation, coaches and medical fees doesn’t leave much in the pay check at the end of the day, hence why sponsorship is vital (though some National sporting bodies help with these fees). Taking this into account, a look at the 2008 WTA Prize Money list and the Top 200 would be the cut off of earning a decent living. That being said, players based in Europe or the US on the ITF Challenger Circuit can earn a decent wage, with tournaments worth between $25,000 and $150,000 being held almost every week.

The role of a tennis agent varies from day to day. After attracting and keeping sponsors happy, an agent assists the player in maintaining life on the tour. This could be anything from booking flights and accommodation, setting up interviews, registering players for tournaments and so on. Basically anything that makes life easier for the player, who can focus on training and competing. With the tennis tours being worldwide, it’s important that an agent establishes a network of contacts throughout the world. Hence why the big agencies have a large list of clients.
Representing tennis players is no easy feat, as a lot of time and money must be invested on lowly ranked players to help them reach the big time, which may never happen.

In such tennis loving countries as Australia, it’s not uncommon for players to transcend their tennis persona and move into the general public spotlight. Former player Alicia Molik was recently a contestant on the Australian “Dancing with the Stars”.

In terms of representation, there are three major players:

IMG:
IMG has a hand in representation and tournament management. Their stable includes the Top 2 men, Federer and Nadal, along with Maria Sharapova, Lindsay Davenport and the recently signed Jelena Jankovic. Having the resources of a large company attracts many stars to employ them, along with their reputation.

Octagon:
Octagon’s client base includes Elena Dementieva, Amelie Mauresmo, Ernests Gulbis and rising star Dominic Cibulkova. With over 50 clients on their books, Octagon also has a hand in tournament management, making their mark in tennis all the more significant.

CAA:
Creative Artists Agency deserves a mention as they have world number 3 and 4 of the ATP Tour in Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray on their books. Look out for them to acquire more talent over the future.

So what will 2009 hold? The Fed Express appears to have been dethroned, with Nadal now at No.1. The Williams sisters are showing no signs of slowing down their dominance, however there are some players coming through who may give them a run for their money.

The Big Guns:

The Williams Sisters: Serena and Venus, if they can escape injury should continue their successful run into 2009, with the Grand Slams in their sights. These 2 have been the model of consistency over the years capturing 16 Grand Slams in their time.

Maria Sharapova: After the embarrassing thrashing she had at the Australian Open in 2007, Maria came back and won the 2008 title comfortably. By far the highest earning player on the female tour, Maria still manages to fit in a packed schedule of playing commitments on top of her massive list of sponsors and her charitable work. Although she is currently under an injury cloud, Maria should claw her way back from Number 9 and be a major threat to those above her.

Rafael Nadal: Until last year, he hadn’t won a Grand Slam other than the French Open, but after one of the greatest tennis matches in history at Wimbledon, things changed. Rafael has a strong lead over Federer in the rankings, but with so many points to defend he may find it difficult to keep the top spot. Nadal is locked into a long term deal with Nike, though I don’t think it’s as much as Fed would be getting paid.

Roger Federer: One of the most successful sportsmen ever may be the biggest surprise packet this year. Federer had, for lack of a better term, an unsuccessful year. This could prove the perfect springboard for him as he doesn’t have as many points to defend. His sponsorship shouldn’t be affected too greatly, as most of the companies would have locked him long term. It could be Federer’s toughest year as there are plenty of players emerging who could still the Number 2 spot, namely Andy Murray, who holds a record over him.

Andy Murray:
Murray had a stellar 2008, with an appearance in the US Open. The Englishman is the must see at Wimbledon for home fans, with the famous “Henman Hill” being renamed “Murray Mountain”. I believe Andy has the game to win a major, and sponsors are lining up despite the economic crisis.

Make or break time:

Lleyton Hewitt: As much as I hate to say it, the Australian’s time on the tour could be running out. Languishing around the 70’s in the rankings, the former No. 1 Hewitt has struggled with poor form and constant injuries. His time on the tour has provided many achievements, and I hope to see him bounce back to challenge for titles.

Lindsay Davenport: Lindsay recently pulled out of the upcoming Australian Open due to giving birth to her second child. It’s unknown whether she will attempt a second comeback.

Players to look out for:

Ernests Gulbis: I first noticed Ernests’ form when he was just outside the 100. The talented Latvian has a Grand Slam win in him, having the game to knock off the big guns. A recent cruisy win over Djokovic certainly helps.

Juan Martin Del Potro: The 20 year old Argentinian burst onto the scene in 2008 with a string of wins to take him into the Top 20. Expect more of the same this year, with top showings in the majors.

Gael Monfils: It’s hard to believe that this guy is only 22, it seems like he has been on the tour much longer. Nike inked a 4 year deal with Gael said to be worth $2 million plus bonuses in 2005 when he was just 18. His deal this year should be at least double that. In 2009, Monfils proved that he can handle the pressure, making the semi finals of his home slam and being competitive against the Fed Express. His talent doesn’t only lie on clay with strong results on all surfaces.

Caroline Wozniacki: Having captured 3 titles in 2008, Caroline broke into the Top 20. At only 18 has a bright future ahead of her. The WTA Tour is so close that it is not uncommon for significant changes of the Top 20 after each tournament.

Casey Dellacqua: Casey made a strong impression in 2008 when she knocked Mauresmo out of the Australian Open. During the tournament, she cited that she didn’t have a clothes sponsor, prompting a swift signing of an apparel deal with Target. Despite a minor injury setback at the end of 2008, the Australian should be competitive through 2009. Dellacqua has one of the most powerful games after the Williams sisters, and that attribute should she her continue her rise and break the Top 50.

2009 is shaping up to be quite a year for tennis. Despite some tournaments (Pacific Life is a major one) losing their title sponsors, individual athletes continue to sign lucrative deals, suggesting that the sport will survive the current financial crisis a bit better than others. Hopefully the second tier Challenger/ Future tour doesn’t see its schedule and prize money decrease, as this will be a good yard stick as how the top tours will succeed.