Michael Lelchitski works for Sports International Group, Inc., which is also known as SIG.  The family company, based in Gaithersburg, MD, was founded by Michael’s father Boris Lelchitski in 1996 with a primary focus of representing professional female basketball players.  Today, SIG is one of the top agencies in women’s basketball, representing over 40 players in the WNBA (which amounts to roughly 30% of the league).  Prior to starting SIG, Boris was the head coach of Euroleague powerhouse Spartak in Russia.

Michael’s title at SIG is Men’s Basketball Executive Director.  He and his father launched SIG’s Men’s Basketball division in 2008 and have largely focused on recruiting and placing players in Russia, Ukraine and all the countries of the former Soviet Union.  Michael is currently the only Russian-American agent licensed with the NBPA.

SIG hopes that Ater Majok’s selection by the Lakers will be the start of a successful group of NBA clients for the company.  However, SIG wants to remain as a boutique agency in men’s basketball and not outgrow itself.

Agent Spotlight: Michael Lelchitski from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

NBA agent Mark Termini recently stated, “This is a business of entrepreneurs and pirates, and an agent decides which one he wants to be, and some (agents) are a little of both.  But if you start making deals and cutting deals and doing side deals (with players, their associates or family members), ultimately you get caught up in a game of where they might get you before you get them.  There are a number of very successful agents who play that game, and the clients they have lost would fill an All-Star game roster.”

I have been in the sports agent business for less than four years, put up my own shingles before ever representing a client at another firm, and started my company before I had even graduated with my Bachelors of Arts degree.  But I am blessed with great clients, and will soon have players on Major League rosters, and hopefully will break into the NBA as a contract advisor in the near future, as well.  Even if I never have a client make it to the MLB or NBA, though, I will still be happy with my foray into the sports agent business, because I will know that I never broke a law, rule, or regulation, never resorted to shady client stealing tactics, and never paid a client or his handlers for the “privilege” to represent him.  I consider an myself to be an entrepreneur more than an agent, and the only time I am a pirate is at a Caribbean themed party.

There is just way too much to lose, including sleep, if I were to stoop to the low levels of some in the sports agent business.  Violating NCAA rules and state laws would not be worth it; I would be jeopardizing my ability to act as an attorney, run this website, and advocate for a level playing field for agents.

Do I have zero chance at being successful?  Termini also is quoted as saying, “I’ve never paid a player or a person associated with a player — period, and I can tell you that my career would be impossible to duplicate in the current environment.”  I will gladly make an attempt at mission impossible.

My Task = Mission Impossible from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

With a 3-0 lead over the Charlotte Bobcats in the first round of the NBA Playoffs, one would think that the only thing on Dwight Howard‘s mind right now is finishing up the series with a sweep and moving on to the next opponent.  Instead, it seems like he has some other big things on his mind.  Last night, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported that Howard has dropped Aaron Goodwin as his NBA agent and that Howard will most likely allow extended family/friends manage his future contractual negotiations.  As Wojnarowski points out, this is an interesting move, since it was not too long ago that another NBA superstar (LeBron James) left Goodwin with the same plan.  The difference is that James left Goodwin and signed with Creative Artists Agency (Leon Rose) to handle his team contracts, and started his own marketing firm (LRMR) with a few of his closest friends.

Did Howard not enjoy the shoe deal Goodwin got him?  What about the amazing social media exposure that Nate Jones was able to provide Dwight?  Aaron Goodwin and his team at Goodwin Sports Management will survive.  With his impressive list of clients, he can still practically root for any team remaining in the playoffs to win the championship this year.  I wonder why Howard left and who he will pick to replace the people at GSM.

On To The Next One: Dwight Howard from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

Lottery picks are not stupid, and neither are their parents, AAU coaches, handlers, and whoever else might be involved in the agent selection process.  In most circumstances, agents for lottery picks do not make a dime off of the initial contract.  The first time they will make commission on a team deal will be in the second contract, which will be very lucrative for those rookies who outperform the competition.  If the contractual agent is not also acting as the marketing agent for the player, that means that the agent will be working pro bono for quite some time.  To make matters worse, other agents will be hawking at your lottery pick client nonstop.  If the client leaves you, you may lose quite a lot of money and time over this kid who was supposed to be “The One” to bring your agency to the top.

Recruiting money is never paid back, but often times, lottery picks will basically pay back the costs of workouts and travel expenses that the agent incurred in the pre-draft process.  You can call that a commission on the first contract, if you’d like.  Rovell is correct, most agents who represent lottery picks actually lose money…their hope is that long-term, these athletes end up paying for themselves and much more.

Still Want To Be An NBA Agent? from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

“The sports agent business has become so corrupt — I would not encourage anyone to try to become an agent right now.”

– Legendary NBA agent David Falk (WSJ.com, 4/22).

Is Falk jealous of the new crop of agents’ successes? Or does he present a realistic view of the current climate of athlete representation?

Short and Sweet from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules