However, the NBA plans to cut the salary cap for the 2010-2011 season. This could have a huge impact on who championship contending teams are able to pursue. The current 2009-2010 salary cap is set at $57.7 million, and many teams expect a $3 million to $6 million cut. The New York Knicks, New Jersey Nets, and Miami Heat plan to have the most money to spend in free agency. Many playoff contending teams could look to smaller names to get them into better contention. Names such as Carlos Boozer and Joe Johnson will also be available. The Heat may look at keeping Wade and adding a couple of pieces through the draft and a smaller contract in free agency.

With less room to operate under the cap, it is tough to imagine LeBron, Bosh, or Wade going to another playoff contending team. Look for teams to add less expensive players and improve for the draft in the 2010 off-season. Many big-name players will likely remain with their teams on a smaller term deal until the cap situation improves. The amount of salary cap that the NBA cuts will have a huge impact on whether or not these stars switch jerseys in 2010-2011.

I am extremely honored to be amongst the highly intelligent and motivated contributors to Jason Peck’s 2010 Sports and Social Media Predictions, and I really wanted to publish a post about it earlier in the week when the predictions first came out, but I also wanted to thoroughly read through the entire docket before writing about it, and I could not do that until now.  I was very quiet about it, but this week were Final Exams, and in law school, studying and taking those exams consumes quite a bit of time.  Anyway, the tests are beyond me, and I can now return to focusing on my business and the business of sports.

So about Peck’s compilation of sports and social media predictions (an embedded downloadable copy may be found at the bottom of this post)…first of all, I love the cover page.  It is creative and aesthetically pleasing.  A few notes based on my readings are below:

• Brian Gainor mentions that 2010 will be defined by the rise of online video and photo sharing.  I personally believe that online video is going to expand tremendously.  From video calls on your phone, to video conferences on the computer, and especially the eventual ease of recording a video and instantly uploading it to social services.  He mentions Flip Video cameras.  I am actually about to unwrap one that I just received in order to do a special Holiday Product Review of it on the blog.  I have a feeling I am going to get good usage out of that little “toy”.
• Dan Beeman says that teams and leagues will attempt to build their own online communities.  I think they need to tread this water carefully.  If they do create unique communities, they will need to be heavily integrated with the big boys (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube).  The key is not trying to defeat them, but instead, how to work with them.
• I won’t comment on my own piece.  Instead, I ask that you leave your comments on this post.
• The Blogs With Balls guys see a consolidation of independent voices in the blogosphere.  I sure hope not.  This site has never become a part of a larger entity, even though there have been some pretty lucrative offers on the table.  Independent voices are needed…isn’t that the main reason why blogs started and became popular in the first place?
• I just really like this passage from Espree Devora: “Surf brand means you’re a surfer right? No, not necessarily. You must establish your brand to stand for something. A cause. Something bigger and selflLESS than selling a pair of board shorts.”
• Joe Favorito sees a shift to localization from the shotgun approach being applied today.  Perhaps that is the route for the lesser known public figures, but not the case for a LeBron James.
• J.W. Cannon sees more red tape coming in the future.  Athletes will be limited to what they can say and do by regulations and PR entities.  How does that affect what I said in my piece?
• Lewis Howes makes a good point: sports entities do not only need to be involved in social media in 2010, they need to find new, creative ways to be involved.
• Pat Coyle says there will be more buying and selling of inventory on social media by teams in 2010, but no crazy boy band money just yet.
• I like Peter Robert Casey’s note that social media will be integrated into athletes’ marketing and sponsorship campaigns.  We are already seeing it done with entities like Danica Patrick.  I think it will only expand in the next year.
• Rob Katz makes a great reference to Geoffrey Moore’s argument in Crossing the Chasm.  The mainstream adopters have joined the early adopters on these social media networks.  Now it’s time to figure out how to make it a successful venture for all involved.
• Russell Scibetti notes that social media engagement is time consuming.  Thus, measurement is necessary to make sure that there is value behind that engagement.
• Ryan Stephens is brilliant when he says that strategies must include more than just slapping a sponsor’s logo on a Twitter page.  It’s all about creativity and integration.  What does the brand specifically like about the athlete it wants to sponsor?  How can that athlete use that particular “likeness” to benefit the brand?  Another good point – it’s not only about the number of Twitter followers you have.
• Steve Cobb discusses the power of contests.  Here is a good way to make an athlete sponsorship more fun than just slapping that logo on his page.  And the athletes can then promote the contest to their followings as well.  I disagree about Ustream’s growth among athletes, though.  This is one area where I think sports agents will wise up and tell their clients to stay away.  It takes a very particular athlete to be able to handle live streaming effectively.  Most athletes aren’t suited for it.
• Trevor Turnbull turns the discussion away from ROI and talks about people, relationships, and trust.  Maybe social media is not how you make the money, it’s how you develop the relationships that will make you money.
• Ty Ahman-Taylor talks about how tweets fall short of capturing the full experience of a game, but at least those updates are better than nothing (if you are not at the game or in front of a TV).

The end of the 2009 NFL season will allow a number of solid football players to hit the open market. Usually, in the last year of players’ contracts, that player will play hard and put forth a great deal of effort in order to receive a substantial contract the following year. This year, however, some of the big names in the league are not showing teams that they are worth big pay days.

PFTV reported on Braylon Edwards‘ sloppy season and how his year has fallen apart five weeks in. Other players such as Shawne Merriman, Demarcus Ware, and Terrell Owens are having pretty sub-par seasons so far.

After the Brady Quinn failure in Cleveland, Braylon Edwards hoped that Derek Anderson would hit him with some passes……fail. Then, as if his 0 catch game against the Bengals was bad enough, he allegedly punched LeBron James’ friend after the game at around 2:30 AM (this case is still being looked at). Let’s see if he can earn a big pay check using Mark Sanchez’s arm.

Merriman’s troubles started with his injury last year; after returning and looking forward to a promising season, he was arrested on domestic violence charges (this case was tossed). In my eyes, Merriman is still a solid football player – he is only 25 and has a lot of years ahead of him if he can rehab properly. However, his 8 total tackles in 4 weeks has failed to prove me right.

You can blame Terrell Owens’ mediocre season on Trent Edwards (otherwise known as Captain Checkdown), or you can blame it on Buffalo’s solid running game this season, or you can blame it on whatever you’d like. With 8 receptions for 158 yards and 1 touchdown, T.O. has not impressed me this season and to be honest, I have no clue where he could end up next season.

Demarcus Ware has only 16 tackles and 1 forced fumble so far this season. Not horrible, but not good for someone looking to score big in the “cha-ching” department. Manny Lawson of the 49ers has 23 tackles so far and Patrick Willis has 37 tackles, 2.5 sacks and 2 interceptions (Willis is a MLB, though).

It’s all about performing in the NFL. If these guys don’t clean up their acts and get their heads in the game, they will be left with less cash than guys like Derrick Mason, Ronnie Brown, Pierre Thomas and Darren Sharper, who are all playing exceptionally well.

Yesterday, Liz Mullen of SportsBusiness Journal tweeted that O.J. Mayo, the Memphis Grizzlies guard going into his sophomore season in the NBA, has dropped both his marketing agency and contractual advisor.  His representation for team contracts was Leon Rose of Creative Artists Agency.  Mayo’s marketing agency was LRMR Marketing, a company that has LeBron James on the board.

Mullen tweeted that CAA confirmed Mayo’s termination of CAA, but we still do not know exactly why Mayo chose to start fresh on marketing and contractual help.

O.J. Mayo had a terrific rookie season that included averages of 18.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 3.2 assists in 38 minutes per game.  And I am sure that many agents were in his ear throughout the year.  That would be a solid reason for why Mayo would drop smaller agencies for names like CAA and LRMR.  In this case, Mayo has dropped some big dogs, and we will wait and see who will be the replacements.

In case you have a short memory, Mayo was represented by BDA Sports before people found out about Rodney Guillory, a runner for BDA Sports and Calvin Andrews, gave money to Mayo while he was an NCAA student-athlete.  Andrews was suspended by the NBPA and Mayo started looking for new representation.  The rumor was that it was a race between Leon Rose and Andy Miller, with Rose winning out in the end.

And now we are once again left to wonder who Mayo will choose to become a part of his team of advisors.

Let’s look at CAA’s basketball division, first.  Before hiring Henry Thomas, CAA already boasted three strong basketball agents: Leon Rose, Andre Buck, and Steven Heumann.  Heumann mostly deals with the high profile overseas players and those born outside of the U.S. who now play in the NBA (think Omri Casspi).  Andre Buck is up-and-coming, and serves as the primary agent for guys like Jason Thompson, Aaron Brooks, and Renaldo Balkman.  Then there is Leon Rose, who has LeBron James, O.J. Mayo, Jonny Flynn, Allen Iverson, Richard Hamilton…the list goes on.  The key thing that I notice with Henry Thomas’s arrival is that LBJ and D-Wade are now under the same roof.  The two most marketable basketball players (you can throw Dwight Howard in at #3 in my book) are at CAA.  Interestingly, though, LBJ has his own marketing company, so CAA, the sports marketing juggernaut, does not reap rewards from that account.  D-Wade will bring in some nice profits, though.  He recently switched from repping Converse to the Jordan Brand (both owned by Nike).

In yesterday’s post, I alluded to Jason Belzer’s Sports Agency Power Rankings.  The list was created a year ago, and I think that he would agree with me that the pecking order should be changed.  I believe that the top 4 are now CAA, WMG, Octagon, and BEST.  WMG, Octagon, and BEST are not all that far from one another, but all 3 are a giant step below CAA, in my opinion.

A key question is: How does one compete?  One thing is sure, you are not going to beat CAA by playing its game.  The company does not have unlimited resources, but something close to it.  They have more connections to producers, directors, potential sponsors, etc, so you can’t out-promise Creative Artists Agency on providing more avenues outside of the field/court.  What you can beat CAA at (possibly) is personal care.  CAA is the largest sports agency in terms of quality of clients and track-record of agents, but they are not interested in players who are going to be taken Day 2 of the NFL Draft, beyond the 10th round of the MLB Rule 4 Draft, or un-drafted basketball players (for the most part).  In fact, even if you are a 2nd round NFL draft pick, do you want to be splitting time with Matt Stafford?  If you are a 4th round pick, will you get the same attention as Derek Jeter?  LeBron Jame and Dwayne Wade might get a few more phone calls then a 2nd round NBA draft pick.

A lot of athletes crave attention.  They also want someone that they can relate to.  Personal relationships mean a lot in this business.  Just because CAA is growing by the day and seems like it is a company that is beyond competition, does not mean that it is immune to losing some big potential clients to a boutique firm that knows what it is doing and can connect with the athletes.  Don’t fight CAA at its strengths, find out what your own strengths are and use those to impress future clients.

All of that being said, CAA sure got a lot stronger with its latest acquisition.

As noted in the piece, this is the first year since Jonah started recording figures, that the average earnings for the list, decreased.  Blame it on the economy?

Beware of the bullets:

• 5 New York Yankees players are listed, but they all make the list because of their salaries, not an overwhelming endorsement portfolio.  Maybe LeBron James (#3 on the list) notices that meeting his endorsement potential is not all about moving to NY.  Or perhaps he believes that baseball players in NY have no chance getting as much money in endorsements as he would (a basketball player).  I still hope that he stays in Cleveland.
• It’s not as if A-Rod’s contract is new to us, but just look at the difference in salary between Rodriguez and every other athlete on the list.  Unreal.
• Shaq is getting old and less productive, but still making a great amount of money…especially in endorsements.  How will his love for Twitter help/hurt his ranking over the next year?
• Teixiera and Sabathia, combined, make less in endorsements than Jermaine O’Neal?  Okay, baseball players do have some marketing hurdles to overcome.
• Steve Francis at #22 hurts a lot more than Barry Zito at #26.

Football

• Largest increase in 3 years. And I predict a new CBA will be signed before the start of next season [Final adjustment increases salary cap].
• Sheldon Brown deserves more money, but who told him to sign a 9-year deal when he was 25-years-old? [The Early Extension of Young Players' Contracts].
• The guy has made a lot of money for his clients.. [Drew Rosenhaus, good or evil for the NFL??].
• My man, Kevin Sullivan, gives his advice to the Vick Camp [The PR campaign: A four-point plan for Vick].
• And Adam Ostrow of Mashable.com has some ideas of his own [Can Social Media Help Repair Michael Vick’s Image?].

Basketball

• King James makes roughly $25 million a year from endorsements alone (including a nice deal with Bubblicious) [NBA AM: LeBron James Staying Put].
• Shaq is serious about a career in broadcasting [IT'S ALL SHAQ-ADEMIC].

Sports Business

• What do you think about Danica Patrick’s new Twitter campaign? [Danica Patrick, Twitter, and Sponorships].

According to a June 2006 Study, approximately 168.5 million residents in the United States, roughly 75% of the population, use some form of vision correction. So chances are you and most of the people you know are wearing glasses or contacts to see properly. With vision being such a critical aspect of every sport, many athletes are considering undergoing the LASIK procedure. Here with us is Cary M. Silverman, M.D., Medical Director of EyeCare 20/20 in New Jersey, to answer some questions about LASIK for us. As a distinguished eye surgeon, Dr. Silverman has been featured in publications such as USA Today, The New York Times, and as a guest ophthalmologist on The Health Network. He has treated a number of professional athletes and is currently correcting the vision of a number of U.S. Winter Olympians prior to the 2010 games in Vancouver.

A Quick Background on the Eye

The cornea is a part of the eye that helps focus light to create an image on the retina. It works in much the same way that the lens of a camera focuses light to create an image on film. The bending and focusing of light is also known as refraction. An imperfection in the focusing power of the eye is called a refractive error.

There are three primary types of refractive errors: myopia, hyperopia and astigmatism. Persons with myopia, or nearsightedness, have more difficulty seeing distant objects as clearly as near objects. Persons with hyperopia, or farsightedness, have more difficulty seeing near objects as clearly as distant objects. Astigmatism is a distortion of the image on the retina caused by irregularities in the cornea or lens of the eye. Combinations of myopia and astigmatism or hyperopia and astigmatism are common.

Glasses or contact lenses are designed to compensate for the eye’s imperfections. In LASIK surgery, precise and controlled removal of corneal tissue by a special laser reshapes the cornea changing its focusing power, ultimately correcting and improving your vision.

Q&A with Dr. Silverman

Can you explain the Lasik procedure to our readers?

LASIK uses a computer-controlled laser to reshape the cornea and correct refractive errors such as nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism. An instrument called a microkeratome is used to create a flap in the corneal tissue. This flap is lifted and folded back. The laser is then used to reshape the cornea by removing or ablating tissue beneath the flap. The excimer laser used in LASIK surgery is a cool, ultraviolet beam that severs the bonds that hold the tissue together. As this tissue is removed, the shape of the cornea is altered. The amount of tissue removed depends on the patient’s eyeglass or contact lens prescription, which is essentially etched into the cornea by the laser. Reshaping the cornea allows light to focus more precisely on the retina for improved vision. The corneal flap is then replaced, requiring no stitches. LASIK surgery takes about 10 minutes per eye, and most people are able to enjoy improved vision without the need for corrective lenses.

What advantages does Lasik offer over contact lenses or traditional Horace Grant style Rec-Specs?

LASIK affords the patient/ athlete excellent vision without the need for contacts or glasses. No more getting on your hands and knees looking for a lost contact lens on the court or field, as we have seen many times on national TV. LASIK does not protect the eyes from a direct blow as Rec-Specs can, but are certainly more stylish.

How much can you actually improve a patient’s vision with this procedure? How effective is the procedure?

LASIK is able to correct most patients’ entire prescription. 95% of good candidates are able to see 20/25 or better without glasses or contacts.

As a corrective eye surgery, what are the potential risks and drawbacks of having the procedure done? Are there any potential long term side effects?

In contact sports, one of the main drawbacks is the possibility of getting hit in the eye and moving the flap. If this occurs (it is extremely rare) the flap may need to be repositioned. For athletes participating in at risk sports such as boxing, a treatment called epiLASIK may be a better option. This procedure does not involve a flap as the laser ablation is made on the corneal surface. Return of vision is slower with this procedure, but is the only drawback of epiLASIK.

Is this a “one and done” surgery where once you have it, your vision is corrected for life, or is there a chance that you vision can go bad again, requiring another procedure?

LASIK results generally “stick”. There is a 1 to 10% chance of needing a “fine tuning” or enhancement of the original LASIK, depending on the surgeon’s outcomes.

What is considered a “successful” surgery, and what is the success rate of the procedure?

I define a successful procedure as making my patient “20/happy”. These patients are able to wake up, see the alarm clock, watch TV, drive a car, and perform their sports without the need for contacts or glasses. Over 99% of my patients end up “20/happy”!

What criteria should a person consider when they are thinking about having Lasik done?

Getting LASIK is a lifestyle decision. If someone is sick and tired of being reliant on glasses or contacts for day to day activities, they should consider LASIK.

Who makes a good candidate for Lasik surgery? Who doesn’t?

Many factors go into determining LASIK candidacy including stable prescription, corneal curvature, corneal thickness, pupil size, health of the eye, and patient expectations. Most LASIK surgeons offer free LASIK evaluations to determine if a patient is a good candidate.

How about the cost of the surgery? How affordable is it? Is it covered by most insurance policies?

LASIK costs vary from $1500 to $3500 per eye and is not covered by insurance. Many LASIK practices offer 0% financing for up to 2 years. Generally discount prices are offered by corporate centers where the bulk of care is given by technicians or optometrists. Higher priced procedures are generally done by more experienced surgeons who offer cutting edge technologies and more personalized care.

Seeing as how technology is always changing and advances in medicine happen so quickly, do you see any major changes coming in how the procedure is done? Is there any reason for a candidate to wait a few more years before having it done?

Results of LASIK are excellent now. Technologic advances will continue to expand the treatment parameters of LASIK.

Is there anything else you would like to add on the topic? Anything that you think our readers should know or be aware of while considering this procedure?

Do your research and ask friends and family who have had LASIK and are happy with their results for referrals. Shop experience, not price. We are only given 1 pair of eyes, and should not compromise results to save a few dollars. For more information on how to select a LASIK surgeon, visit our blog post: 10 Things to Consider When Picking a LASIK Surgeon: http://lasikblog.typepad.com/the_lasik_blog/2009/01/10-things-to-consider-when-picking-a-lasik-surgeonhtml

Basketball

• Josh Childress answers some questions about playing overseas [Josh Childress: I'll become a better player here in Europe].
• So much for parity [NBA Season--Which Teams Really Have A "Final" Chance?].
• Will he live up to the tremendous hype surrounding him? [Bynum agrees to four-year extension worth $58M]
• Does he need a ring to become a true king? [LeBron James Needs NBA Title To Be Marketing King].
• When will the truth come out?  Are NBA teams profiting or not? [NBA Owners May Let CBA Lapse After 2010-2011 Season].

Football

• This Saturday, take a seat and watch the fastest man in pads tear up the Georgia defense [Fastest Man in Pads May Be Florida’s Tailback].

Baseball

• An example of a large investment with little return [Adam Loewen takes the money and runs].

His most recent masterpiece is of the Chicago Cubs and took him over one-hundred hours to complete.  George is giving away free prints of the sketch on his website.  Is there a market out there for George?  Is this an area where a traditional sports agent may help out?  Check out the YouTube below, and let me know what you think.