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

Hey Kobe Bryant.  Here is your official, public invitation to come ball at my local Jewish Community Center (JCC).  You know, in case you get tired of the one in Irvine, California.  I am heading to Memphis, Tennessee tonight to host the University of Memphis’ first Agent Day with Jason Belzer tomorrow.  We will also be organizing the school’s first Professional Sports Counseling Panel.  University of Memphis is a client of start-up Collegiate Sports Advisors, which I strongly suggest you pass on to your colleagues at various university athletic departments.  With so much talk about all the things that universities could be doing to better inform and protect their student-athletes, out-of-house Collegiate Sports Advisors is an excellent choice for schools to take a step in the right direction.  Okay, I’m off my soapbox.  Here are some stories I missed from the past week:

College Sports

• About that need for Professional Sports Counseling Panels.. [Time for Transformative Change in Intercollegiate Athletics].
• Class action Complaint alleges that the NCAA has engaged in a long-established pattern of negligence [College Athletes Move Concussions Into the Courtroom].

Baseball

• I provide an in-depth look into how and when MLB players compensate their representatives (unfortunately it is behind a pay wall) [Darren Heitner on MLB Player-Agent Comp].
• The new collective bargaining agreement supposedly reduces the number of rounds in the Rule 4 Draft from 50 to 40 [CBA Links: Michael Weiner, Draft].
• I have a feeling this fight is not yet over [Checking In With Albert Pujols’s Agent, Who Threatened To Sue Us Before He Knew What We Were Going To Write].

Shabbat Shalom: Friday Wrap-Up (12/2/11) from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images

The biggest news of the weekend was undoubtedly the proclamation that there will be a 2011-12 NBA season (albeit reduced from 82 regular season games to 66 regular season games). The announcement was made between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. early Saturday morning. The season will tentatively kick-off with 3 Christmas Day games, including the Dallas Mavericks vs. Miami Heat.

While the big problem regarding the split of Basketball Related Income (BRI) between the players and owners has been rectified, there are still a variety of “B issues” (including drug-testing and whether players will have to be 20-years old and 2 years out of high school to be eligible for the NBA Draft) that remain to be resolved. Once the parties come to an effective agreement on all issues, a majority of the owners and a majority of the players must vote to approve what will become the NBA’s next collective bargaining agreement. The NBPA must also reclaim interest in representing the players as their official bargaining entity. If a majority of either the owners or players are not in favor of the agreement, then the announcement of a 2011-12 season starting on Christmas Day was all for naught, and the players’ lawsuit filed in Minnesota against the NBA and its member teams will resume (the lawsuit has not yet been dismissed).

From what I have read, it seems that the players and owners have agreed to a 50/50 split in BRI with the possibility of that split sliding to 51/49 in either direction, year-to-year, based on meeting certain projections, which will be fleshed out once the agreement is finally (hopefully) signed. Players had been taking 57% of the BRI under the previous deal.

An important note for agents – free-agents will be permitted to sign with NBA teams as early as December 9, 2011 under the new agreement, if executed. December 9 will also be the official opening of training camps, although I am told that many agents working with their clients to put together more organized “un-official” workout program.

Another thing to follow – what will happen to the NBA players who signed in China? The biggest name to sign was Wilson Chandler, who is playing for Zhejiang Guangsha in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). Due to the fact that Chandler, and all other NBA players who signed in China this offseason, acquiesced to China’s demand that no opt-out clause exist in his contract, he is effectively prevented from leaving his CBA team and signing with an NBA team.

NBA and Players Close To New Deal; Is Wilson Chandler Happy? from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

Baseball

• “I am embarrassed for the people who are behind this. I want to make sure that people hear that.” [Pujols sticking with Lozano as his agent].
• Can’t wait to see the policy governing the use of Social Media [Summary of MLBPA-MLB Labor Agreement]
• It may be difficult for teams to justify drafting two-sport stars [CBA Reactions: Marlins, Twins, Amateur Draft

Basketball

• Bartelstein says what we all know – it’s not fun to not be getting paid [NBA lockout costs Chicago agent, but he says it’s worth it
• Key question: Is the disclaimer of interest enough to end the non-statutory labor exemption and lower the antitrust shield? [NBA Lockout: The NBA’s Nuclear Winter — Where Do We Go From Here?
• Maurice Clarett’s counsel could be involved [Extended NBA lockout could lead to legal challenges of draft eligibility rule

NCAA

• It would be nice if states then decide to drop their registration systems.. [NCAA nears revamp of sports agent oversight to include runners, eyes national registration
• More pub for Arkansas [UAAA Summit reinvigorates agent oversight

Shabbat Shalom: Friday Wrap-Up (11/25/11) from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

Last week, Caron Butler, Ben Gordon, Anthony Tolliver, and Derrick Williams filed a Class Action Complaint against the NBA and its member teams in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.  At roughly the same time, another class of NBA players filed a similar lawsuit in the Northern District of California.  The California lawsuit has since been dismissed without prejudice, and the Complaint filed in Minnesota has been amended to include the Plaintiffs from the California suit.

The following list displays the current class of Plaintiffs in the Minnesota lawsuit along with their respective agents.

• Carmelo Anthony – Leon Rose (CAA)
• Chauncey Billups – Andy Miller (ASM Sports)
• Caron Butler - Raymond Brothers
• Baron Davis – Bill Duffy (BDA Sports)
• Kevin Durant – Aaron Goodwin (Goodwin Sports Management)
• Ben Gordon - Raymond Brothers
• Kawhi Leonard – Brian Elfus (Impact Sports Management)
• Steve Nash – Bill Duffy (BDA Sports)
• Leon Powe – Aaron Goodwin (Goodwin Sports Management)
• Anthony Randolph - Bill Duffy (BDA Sports)
• Rajon Rondo - Bill Duffy (BDA Sports)
• Sebastian Telfair - Andy Miller (ASM Sports)
• Anthony Tolliver - Larry Fox
• Derrick Williams - Rob Pelinka (Landmark Sports Agency)

With the addition of the new Plaintiffs, there no longer appears to be a claim that all Plaintiffs are somehow tied to the state of Minnesota (other than the fact that they all travel to Minnesota in away games against the Timberwolves).  My friend Marc Edelman, who I consider to be one of the leading experts on Antitrust in Sport, believes that the NBA players smartly dismissed their California Complaint in favor of joining up with the class in Minnesota.  He feels that it will be easier for the class to argue market power in the Minnesota jurisdiction as opposed to the Northern District of California jurisdiction, where precedent may have worked against the players’ arguments.

NBA players will now put up a fight, in unison, in the same court that NFL players were heard within the past year.  The Honorable Patrick J. Schlitz is the judge that has been randomly selected to hear the NBA case.  As Michael McCann has pointed out, Judge Schlitz was a lawyer in the case concerning the Timberwolves’ attempt at relocating to New Orleans and has represented the NFL in several cases.

NBA Amended Complaint in Minnesota

Players Add Plaintiffs, Amend Their Minnesota Complaint v. NBA from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

Basketball

• Agents want more tools in their toolboxes [Some agents believe recent NBA deals are diminishing their power].
• Mark Bartelstein says that the owners are being greedy, not the agents [Agent fires back at Stern over 'greed' comment].
• I say the answer is no [Would decertification kill current contracts?].
• Some agents were unaware of the NBPA’s decision to disclaim interest [Agents irked as NBA players say no].
• We may be seeing lots of lawsuits [Agents may sue league on behalf of locked out rookies].
• Early concessions by the NBPA could have damaged negotiations [Agent says NBA players did what they had to]

Shabbat Shalom: Friday Wrap-Up (11/18/2011) from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

“By some combination of mendacity and greed, the agents who are looking out for themselves rather than their clients are trying to scuttle the deal.  They’re engaged in what appears to be an orchestrated Twitter campaign and a series of interviews that are designed to deny the economic realities of the proposal.” – NBA Commisioner David Stern on 11/12/2011

I must have the wrong agents listed on The Master Twitter list of sports agents/agencies, because I have missed any semblance of a “Twitter campaign” led by agents who hope to quash a potential deal to end the labor battle between the NBA and the NBPA.  In fact, most agents that I talk to are eagerly anticipating the day that a new collective bargaining agreement will be struck, albeit with terms more favorable to the agents’ client.

Are agents looking out for themselves?  You better believe it.  But they are also looking out for their clients.  While money is not the be-all and end-all for every player, many of them are genuinely interested in keeping the various exceptions to the salary cap, increasing minimum salary, etc.  Agents certainly fear an environment where there is little room for contract negotiations, because that takes away their ability to legitimize a full 4% commission on individual contracts.  However, players should also be concerned about implementing any new restrictions on negotiating their salaries.

Stern is right about one thing, though.  Decertification is a losing strategy.  But it is not a losing strategy for the players.  It is a losing strategy for the entire NBA, which includes all owners and players.  Decertification will likely end the hope of any kind of 2011-12 NBA season, force the NBA and NBPA to spend a large amount of money to their respective lawyers, and kill whatever goodwill the league earned in a fantastic 2010-11 NBA slate of games.

Basketball Agents Are Greedy Twitter Campaigners from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

Sports Law

• Do you have it in you? Top notch publication [Call for Papers: Harvard Journal of Sports and Entertainment Law].

Shabbat Shalom: Friday Wrap-Up (11/11/2011) from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

Yesterday, I spoke to the Union Internationale des Avocats’ (UIA – International Association of Lawyers) 55th Congress on the current issues in Sports Law, with a specific focus on what is going on in the world of athlete agent regulation and discipline.  More than 1,200 lawyers from more than 70 countries around the world have attended the entire event.  Luckily for me, the Congress was held in Miami, Florida.  However, today I am doing quite the traveling.  I am in New York for the New York Law School Sports Law Symposium, and I am flying out of New York tonight to go to Arizona, where I will be speaking at Arizona State University’s 2nd Annual Conference on Sports and Entertainment Law.  Here are some stories I’ve missed over the past week:

Basketball

• Let “the hurt” commence [Why Is NBA Labor Deal Closer? Players Get Last Check On Monday].
• Mark Bartelstein sheds some light on the fact that owners are not asking for a true 50/50 BRI split [Analysis: Sides get closer, but NBA lockout keeps rolling on].
• Amazing how the labor battle has recently focused on Billy Hunter vs. Derek Fisher [Hunter’s actions in NBA labor talks weaken union].

Shabbat Shalom: Friday Wrap-Up (11/4/2011) from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

You probably have never heard of the Student Basketball Forum, but if author/speaker/businessman Marc Isenberg and Nolan Smith of the Portland Trail Blazers (and former Duke Blue Devil) have their way, the “Forum” will gather the strength to empower the next generation of great college and pro basketball players and great leaders.  The gentlemen have made their presence known on an official Facebook page and they received some positive press a few days ago in the Wall Street Journal.

The Forum’s missions are as follows:

• Empower: We believe uninformed and misinformed athletes are easy marks for unscrupulous coaches, boosters, agents, financial advisors and even friends and family. The Forum will educate and empower players to take a more active role in shaping their future success—and give hem the educational tools necessary to do so.
• Advocate: College basketball is a great game, but it is a questionable business, especially when viewed though the athletes’ experience. College players need a group dedicated to their interests.  Think about it: Every other group within the NCAA’s hierarchy has an group that represents college presidents, athletic directors and coaches. It’s 2011: College basketball players deserve an organization that unapologetically serves them.
• Mentor: Too many professional athletes end up experiencing problems— financial, physical and mental. This is a reversible trend—at least for those who are willing to put in the time necessary to learn how the business of sports works. In order to help basketball players succeed, The Forum will build a trusted mentorship network to help the next generation of players succeed.

A Student Basketball Forum To Empower And Mentor Athletes from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules