Baseball

• If he wins the bidding war, he could take Arn Tellem out of the agent biz [Hedge-fund executive Steven Cohen is bidding for the Dodgers].
• Scott Boras is making his pitch for 39-year-old Jason Varitek [Red Sox can often be late risers in roster moves].

Football

• Peter Schaffer’s new firm [JR Announces Official Deal with Authentic Athletix].
• Leigh Steinberg reportedly owes a lot of money to various entities [Real-Life ‘Jerry Maguire’ Facing Jail Over Debts?].
• Maybe Steinberg doesn’t think the general public should be concerned with his issue, but it is certainly a noteworthy subject for this site’s readers [Legendary Agent Leigh Steinberg Responds To Unpaid Debt Charges].
• Hard to believe that Jason Babin only has $5.5 million guaranteed on his 5-year contract [Making a list: best and worst of 2011 contracts].
• More than a dozen lawsuits have been filed since July 2011 [For N.F.L., Concussion Suits May Be Test for Sport Itself].

Basketball

• Arn Tellem and Dan Fegan listed in the “supporting cast” [What Really Happened In The Chris Paul Fiasco].

Shabbat Shalom: Friday Wrap-Up (12/30/2011) from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

Baseball

• He is now in Michigan’s Hall of Honor [Former Michigan baseball star Casey Close remains true to himself, makes a name as a top agent].
• Gap of $1.5 million and may come down to CAA talking about his durability while the Orioles focus on his lackluster stats [Jeremy Guthrie's Arbitration Case].
• I agree – the #1 case to watch is Josh Hamilton’s [Ten Arbitration Cases To Watch].
• Former GA Tech players Boras has represented includes Mark Teixeira, Jason Varitek, Matt Wieters, Eric Patterson, and Tyler Green [Scott Boras to Speak at Georgia Tech Baseball's Benefit Dinner on Feb. 17].

Basketball

• Bill Duffy and Mark Bartelstein say no, if it means moving it to an earlier date [Should early-entry withdrawal date move?].
• The LeBron James Effect – the Miami Heat’s worth increased 17%, to $425 million [The NBA’s Most Valuable Teams].

Football

• But his agent Ryan Tollner sure has his back [Nothing Big About Ben In The Marketing World].
• Whose hair will you root for in the Super Bowl? [Clay Matthews Signs Hair Endorsement Deal With Suave].

Shabbat Shalom: Friday Wrap-Up (1/28/2011) from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

“There is a growing feeling within the industry that the nation’s economic struggles are going to have a major impact on the decisions of some teams. Some executives and agents believe a lot of teams might shy away from long-term obligations knowing that the disposable income of many of their fans might disappear —— and disposable income is what the baseball industry relies upon. More clubs may be apt to cut payroll or hold their budgets in place, rather than spend, because of the fiscal uncertainty. Some executives and agents talk about the upcoming off-season and increasingly sound as if they are coastal residents preparing to batten down for an economic hurricane.”

When all is said and done, the current economic climate and its effect on professional sports might be the biggest sports story of the year. While the current recession has not affected the New York Yankees who spent considerable money on free agents C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, and Mark Teixeira, it clearly has influenced the decision of other organizations to sign big name free agents. Take for example Bobby Abreu. Abreu was looking for a contract somewhere in the ballpark of three years at $15 to $16 million per year. Yet Abreu remains unsigned and it appears that he is looking at offers in the range of one to two years at $8 to $10 million per year. Several other big names such as Adam Dunn, Ben Sheets, Orlando Cabrera, Pedro Martinez, Manny Ramirez and Jim Edmonds remain unsigned. Teams are hesitant in the current economic climate to spend millions of dollars on players who are past their prime or injury prone. Even players like Andy Pettitte and Jason Varitek, who initially turned down offers from the Yankees and Red Sox to look for more money appear to have no other options out there. They will be forced to return to their former teams for a lower salary or to retire (Pettitte has already signed).

It will be interesting to see how this story plays out in 2009. A number of free agents may have to take significant pay cuts or sit out the upcoming season. It will also be interesting to see how the economic climate affects attendance figures. While the big market teams such as the Yankees, Red Sox and Dodgers should have no problem selling tickets, will fans in Pittsburgh or Kansas City want to spend their hard earned money to watch mediocre teams?

The Struggling Economy and its Effect on Free-Agent Signings from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

Andy Pettite

Jason Varitek was offered arbitration by the Red Sox, where Varitek would have received at least $10 million.  Scott Boras advised Varitek to reject the arbitration offer.  Since no other teams have bit the Varitek line, the Red Sox have all the leverage and are offering a Pettite-like $5 million guaranteed for one year of service plus a couple of options.

How long will Manny Ramirez play the waiting game?

The Waiting Is The Hardest Part from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules