I’ve spoken about it on the radio and wrote about it here on SportsAgentBlog.com.  Josh Johnson wanted a 4-year deal similar to the contract Zach Greinke received last year (4-years and $38 million).  The Florida Marlins would only offer a 3-year deal worth $23 million.  The gap seemed tremendous; something that would probably lead to a one-year deal between the parties before heading to possible arbitration.

But then something very interesting occurred.  Call it fortuitous timing for Josh Johnson and his agent, Matt Sosnick.  The Florida Marlins were told by Major League Baseball and the MLBPA that the team needs to increase its payroll to make it consistent with the money it gets from revenue sharing.  In essence, the baseball world was coming down on the Marlins for not spending enough money on its players.

Michael Weiner, executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association, said, “In response to our concerns that revenue sharing proceeds have not been used as required, the Marlins have assured the union and the commissioner’s office that they plan to use such proceeds to increase player payroll annually as they move toward the opening of their new ballpark.”  Was this the Marlins’ first action taken to assure the union and commissioner’s office that they will use the proceeds?  The Marlins and Johnson came to an agreement yesterday: 4-years, $39 million.  This looks awfully close to the Greinke contract, and far from the Marlins’ initial demand.  A win for Sosnick and Johnson for taking their time to sign.  One never knows when news will come up to help your side.

According to Jerry Crasnick of ESPN,

The deal will pay Johnson $3.75 million this season, $7.75 million in 2011 and $13.75 million in each of the 2012 and 2013 seasons.

Last Friday, I had the pleasure of serving as a guest of Jared Schwartz on my hometown’s main sports radio channel, 560 WQAM.  It was a great conversation where we talked about the future of the Miami Heat (whether Wade, LeBron, and Bosh was a possibility), Josh Johnson’s future with the Florida Marlins, and the development of Dynasty Athlete Representation.

The discussion about Josh Johnson was very interesting, and I thought that I would expand on it right here on SportsAgentBlog.com.

Josh Johnson’s agent is Matt Sosnick.  Sosnick is a partner at Sosnick Cobbe Sports, and has appeared multiple times on this site.  Sosnick and I talked early in this past season, and he told me that I should keep an eye on Johnson.  He was right.  Johnson went 15-5 with a 3.23 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, and struck out 191 batters in 209 innings.  Those are fantastic numbers for a starting pitcher.

Understandably, Sosnick wants Johnson to get paid.  At the same time, the Marlins want to make sure that they will retain the high caliber starting pitcher to increase their likelihood of success in the near future.  All that is separating Sosnick and the Marlins is a year and over $10 million.  Yeah, that’s all.

Sosnick is eying the contract that Zach Greinke received from the Kansas City Royals last year.  Greinke received 4-years and $38 million.  Before you say “What the hell is Soz thinking?”, realize that Greinke’s contract was signed BEFORE he went 16-8 with a 2.16 ERA and more strikeouts than innings pitched.  With those numbers, in 2009, Greinke earned the CY Young Award.  The year before, Greinke pitched very well, but his record, ERA, and strikeouts-per-innings-pitched was not as strong.  In fact, if you compare Johnson’s 2009 numbers with Greinke’s 2008 numbers, the gentlemen are quite similar…which is precisely why Sosnick is trying to use Greinke’s contract as a starting point for Johnson’s current negotiations.

But the Marlins are not pushovers.  They want Johnson to sign a 3-year deal worth $23 million.  Sosnick is not having it.  Unfortunately for Sosnick, Josh Johnson is young.  He still has a couple of years of arbitration left with the Marlins before he becomes a free-agent.  If the Marlins strike one-year deals or follow through with arbitration for the next two years, when Johnson leaves after the 2011 season, they will most likely get an additional 1st round pick and a supplemental 1st round pick (assuming that Johnson will be a Type A free agent).  Many people believe that Johnson will sign a 1-year deal for 2010 and then get traded in 2011 and never reach free-agency with the Marlins.

It is interesting to see how this one will play out.  The Marlins are known for using a tough negotiating stance and relying on their deep farm system to replace high profile players who demand a large amount of money.  They shifted course when they signed Hanley Ramirez to a 6-year, $70 million contract.  With a new ballpark opening in 2012, the team may want to also solidify itself with a starting pitcher who looks as if he has the “stuff” to be the #1 on almost any team.

There’s also another interesting fact at play.  Sosnick represents Ricky Nolasco, who is another starting pitcher for the Marlins.  Nolasco recently signed a 1-year, $3.8 million deal with the club.  He is slotted to be the #2 starter in 2010.  Sosnick holds the chips and the Marlins want them.  Sosnick is using the media a bit in order to gain some leverage on his side of the table.  Is it working for him?  He has noted that Johnson loves playing for the Marlins and that he would prefer to stay in Miami.  Does that help his cause or hurt it?

I have a client/friend who was drafted out of high school in the 2006 draft by Tampa Bay. He turned down their offer a has just finished two years at Junior College racking up a National Championship and a MVP award for the entire country. He held the number once spot on the rotation at his junior college, the number 2 pitcher drafted this past year in the 3^rd round and signed. This coming fall he is enrolled at an NAIA School and his goal is to finish a year there then enter the draft that spring. My question for you is what would be a reasonable expectation for a draft round? I know this would largely depend on his performance this coming year, but I would love some insight.

-Adam Stowe

Adam,

Stats end up often being fairly insignificant when trying to gauge amateur draft positioning.  Many JC and college teams have starters who are great college players and go undrafted, while I’ve heard of guys pitching less than 20 innings in a draft year, and still going in the first three rounds. (injury, off-field issues, etc.) The best barometer tends to be how many cross-checkers/scouting directors are showing up at your client’s games.  The fact that he went undrafted after being the #1 starter on a National Championship team is probably not a great sign, but each situation is different.  Make sure that he is clearly conveying his desire to play pro ball to scouts, as it can only help his stock.

I am currently a first year law student at John Marshall Law School in Chicago, and am attempting to pursue a career in athlete representation. I work as a paralegal in a medical malpractice defense currently, but played baseball in college.  Do you have any advice regarding the best and most efficient ways to make contacts with people in the business, other than knowing a player or agent already? One of my best friends plays for the Delmarva Shorebirds right now in the Orioles organization, and another plays for an independent league team here in Illinois, the Rockford Riverhawks, but I was just wondering if you encourage people to go to symposiums and conferences around the country (especially considering I am a 23 year old law school student with limited funds!)? Also, did you do any internships for sports teams or other agencies before becoming certified? Is that something you look for when hiring potential agents or lawyers? Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to answer these questions and help out in any way, it is greatly appreciated. I look forward to receiving your answers.

-Christopher T. Scolire

Christopher,

I lucked into a client who was playing in AAA, as I had a connection with his family.  I’ve often been asked the best way to break into the business, and it really is as much of a mystery to me now as it was twelve years ago, when I got started.  You have two things that play very strongly in your favor…the fact that you have played in college will give you a good common bond while recruiting in homes, which was something that I lacked when I was starting out.  Going to law school is also essential, as it really separates you from the field in such a competitive industry.  When we look to make a hire, we don’t consider applicants unless they either went to law school or played baseball professionally.  Paul and I made a number of bad hires over the years, and have found that these two things, while not a sure sign of success by any means, is at least a start in the right direction.  If we are hiring ex-players, they are always guys that we have represented.  After spending time with a person for many years, it’s a lot easier to have a grasp on how his personality will play as an agent.  Jon Pridie works with us, and does a great job.  He has been one of my best friends for years, and our personal relationship was the basis for us working together.  I understood his work ethic and personality traits well before he came to work with us.

I did not intern or work for another company before I started in this business.  I attribute whatever success Paul and I have to an incredible amount of hours worked, and a very significant amount of luck.  We are good agents, but there are a lot of good agents.  I didn’t marry until this last year, and work was a large part of why I was single until 39.  Most well adjusted woman are looking for a husband who works less than seven days a week, and that is really reasonable.  I was able to take a small step back over the last couple of years, but only after we had a healthy business base, which took more than ten years to grow.

Any baseball conferences you can attend can only help.  I have heard that people who start on the team side have been able to make forays into the agent business with added credibility.  In the past, I’ve been hesitant to advise people to go full force into this business, as the success rate is so low.  But given the fact that Paul and  I now have a viable, sustainable business, I also understand that if it worked out for two bums like us, it can work out for anyone.  Use your connections with players as a way to meet other players.  The vast majority of pro clients that we add are done so through word of mouth.  Good luck!

When your establishing a new agency, do you recommend recruiting young rookies and helping develop them into professionals, or do you go straight after established professionals? What type of strategies did you use to sign your first established professional?

-Tristan Knell

Tristan,

Going after established MLB players is almost impossible, unless you have a preexisting relationship with the player.  Most players are not going to switch from an established agent to a new company, as it takes years for an agent to know the key employees (GMs, Scouting Directors) with teams, and to understand the endorsement side of the business.  It’s a huge risk for the player with much less downside than upside.

The main reason that I chose baseball is that I considered it almost an impossibility for me to break into football or basketball.  I rationalized that if I failed to get one of the 60 players chosen in the two rounds of the NBA draft (which was very likely) or one of the 270 players in the NFL draft, (now 210) my year of work could end up as a goose egg.  Baseball had so many rounds and so many players that I assumed that I could feel my way through the process with some of the 1300-1500 players that get drafted each year.  Having said that, my first 33 players never made it to the Major Leagues.  But at least it gave me a chance to break into the business.

Thanks again to Matt Sosnick for taking out the time to answer these questions in depth.  I asked Matt one final question that he was happy to answer.

Are there any MLB agents that stand out in your mind, for one reason or another?

The agents that stand out are the rare guys who really don’t steal other agent’s players, and seem to always do a really good job representing their own clients.   Steve Canter in L.A and Joe Bick in Ohio immediately come to mind.  Joe was one of the few guys who I felt comfortable calling for advice when I was first starting out.   Steve runs a really good business, and his players consistently sign strong deals.  Certainly two guys who are in it for their players first.

Best of luck to Matt’s clients in Spring Training and in the 2009 season.

Some quick notes on Matt Sosnick:

• Many of his clients have tattooed his company’s logo on their bodies [All Tatted Up].
• He is a partner at Sosnick & Cobbe Sports – http://www.sosnickcobbesports.com/
• Jerry Crasnick of ESPN wrote a book about his journey as a sports agent – License to Deal
• He never went to law/grad school.
• He has received a lot of criticism on this site for multiple statements advising people not to try to break into this industry.
• He is not afraid to give an interview…even to blogs [Sosnick Speaks].
• Or to students at UC Santa Barbara [Matt Sosnick Speaks At UCSB].

The reason that I am asking you to read up on Matt is because he has volunteered to field your questions.  All you have to do is email me at: heitner@gmail.com.  It can be about any subject matter, all you have to do is label the subject of the email, Matt Sosnick Question.  You have until midnight on Wednesday to send over your questions.  Sosnick is excited for your questions.

IIATMS: What impact, if any, did Jerry Crasnick’s book “License to Deal: A Season on the Run with a Maverick Baseball Agent” have on you, your firm?

MS: It helped with notoriety. Otherwise, it was largely neutral. Other agents have used it against us. One agent photocopied selected quotes from the book and sent them to every player in the Cape Cod League to make the Firm look bad.

Ironically, there was an agent in the book that I helped land a client, even though I had never met him before. Turns out he was the agent to Josh Hamilton left me for. It’s a rough business.

IIATMS: Which organizations are the best to work with? Why? What makes some organizations more difficult to work with?

MS: The difference in any organization is their levels of professionalism.

In terms of the best from ownership, to the GM, assistant GM, scouting director, etc., the best ones for us to deal with have been, in no particular order are: Oakland, Cleveland, Detroit, Milwaukee and the Cubs.

IIATMS: What’s an arbitration hearing look and feel like?

MS: It’s an uncomfortable thing. No one likes going, which is why these things tend to be settled prior to a hearing. Teams don’t want to offend their players and players don’t like hearing the bad things that a team might say. But it’s looked at as a big negative if the player does not show.

Again, it’s all about perception. Boras was 0-11 in arbitration hearings but was selling himself on his skill in that environment.

IIATMS: What sort of things do you and the guys at your firm read? Asked differently, do you guys dive down into bowels of the internet/blogosphere for ideas, insight, opinion?

MS: Well, my mom actually found your blog, not me. She’s got a Google Alert set up.

We don’t really read that much; we just don’t have the time.

Quick aside: Hi Mrs. Sosnick!

IIATMS: Can an agent drop a client as easily as a client dumping an agent? Why would this be done?

MS: Yes, you can. I think you have to be more established to do so. When I started, I was too insecure to consider doing that. But now we strive to represent a different kind of player. Better quality guys are less at risk.

We would drop a client for things like domestic abuse. We have no stomach for that.

All around, a great interview.  I feel sorry for Sosnick that Josh Hamilton dropped him…especially when you read about the reasoning behind the decision.  If players start migrating to Christian stables, then me and my Shabbat Shalom Friday Wrap-Ups are SOL!