The LA Times has reported that Nikola Vucevic is leaving USC early and has already signed with BDA Sports “to show he was making a firm commitment to the draft rather than just ‘testing the waters.’”  And while no large publication has announced it yet, I have heard from a credible source that JaJuan Johnson has also selected BDA Sports as his representatives for the NBA Draft.  Whereas Vucevic is leaving USC early, Johnson just finished his senior year at Purdue.  Thus, the decision to sign with an agent at this point in time is not as bold of a move.

Neither player is guaranteed to be a first round selection in the 2011 NBA Draft, but if more top prospects follow the lead of Jared Sullinger, who recently announced that he will be returning to Ohio State, and commit to staying at least one more year with their college basketball teams, guys like JaJuan Johnson and Nikola Vucevic can easily jump into the first round, giving BDA Sports a draft class reminiscent of 2009, when the company represented 6 first rounders.

BDA Sports Is Off To A Strong Start With Its 2011 NBA Draft Class from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

Drew Rosenhaus

Casey decided to forgo his senior season at USC when he originally signed with Impact Sports, which is based in Boca Raton, Florida.  His new NFLPA Certified Contract Advisor, Drew Rosenhaus, is located only a little over 50 miles south.

As far as we know, Allen Bradford, who is also a former USC Trojan, is still with Impact Sports and continues to train at the same Athletes Performance Los Angeles facility as Jurrell Casey.

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

I applaud the state legislators like Rep. David J. Sanders in Arkansas and those in the state of Oregon who care enough about the problem of inducements offered to student-athletes by sports agents, to propose changes within their states.  However, I think that these individuals have mostly missed the boat, which could end up harming true worthwhile reforms.  In a vast majority of states, athlete agent laws already exist.  In the states where they do not yet exist, legislators need to propose legislation based on the Uniform Athlete Agent Act (UAAA).  But if states with existing athlete agent statutes think that new legislation with harsher punishments for violators will serve as a noble deterrent to unscrupulous agents who will do almost anything to gain an edge over the competition for highly touted rookie players, they are certainly mistaken.  A deterrent is a state putting a sports agent in jail for ignoring its existing laws (see: Alabama).  A non-deterrent is beefing up an existing statute while failing to do something about a top tight end who had to sit out his senior season in 2010 (see: South Carolina).

South Carolina Sen. Joel Lourie is another legislator who really has fantastic intentions with regards to the protection of student-athletes and institutions of higher education within his state.  However, he has fallen into the same trap as many other congressmen throughout the country.  He believes that tougher athlete agent laws in his state will help regulate illegal contact between athletes and agents.  But most states already have the tools to regulate the illegal conduct under consideration.  Why wait?  Why not enforce the laws currently on the books?

Let it be known that I have nothing against the new legislation making its way through state legislatures.  However, the mere suggestion that the passing of new legislation will serve as some deterrent is a complete joke.  The only way agents will be deterred from ignoring laws is to actually enforce them.  Regulation is controlling through rules and regulations, not creating additional rules and regulations.

States Focused On New Athlete Agent Legislation, Not True Regulation from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

• Jimmy Sexton – Co-Founder, SportsTrust Advisors
• Tom Condon – Football Agent, CAA
• Rick Smith – Agent, Priority Sports
• Mark Levin – Director of Salary Cap and Agent Administration, NFLPA
• Ray Anderson – VP of Football Operations, NFL
• Julie Roe Lach – VP Enforcement, NCAA
• Rachel Newman Baker – Director of Agent, Gambling and Amateurism Activities, NCAA
• Stacey Osburn – Associate Director of Public and Media Relations, NCAA
• Mike Slive – SEC Commisioner
• Larry Scott – Pac-10 Conference Commissioner
• Multiple Pac-10 Athletic Directors
• Pat Haden – Athletic Director, USC
• Dave Roberts – VP Athletic Compliance, USC

I believe the most forward thinking idea proposed by Haden at the Summit was to hire a recent graduate “to act as an ombudsman who can be a counselor and be viewed as independent.”  If Haden and other Athletic Directors want this particular plan to be effective, they will have to choose someone for each campus who is close enough with the players to gain access when appropriate, but cannot be afraid to report violations.  Furthermore, I think the last thing this person would provide is newfound trust between student-athletes and school administrators.  How can a department claim that someone it employs is also independent?  Instead, the new ombudsman may further the divide and cause student-athletes to become more wary of administrators’ motives.  However, I agree that something must be done to curb violations, and this particular idea may be a good starting point.  Haden also talked a bit about using “extenders.”

Dave Roberts also talked about the use of “extenders” to help educate players.  And he recognizes that the education needs to occur at a very early stage.

Talk is great.  Actions are better.

University of Southern California’s Agent Summit from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

Provided such a regulatory mechanism, the NCAA could directly enforce the activity of agents wanting access to athletes; the concept of transparency plays a large part in my recommendation. The idea that those agents who are entirely transparent and work ethically with universities to provide all necessary information in the best interest of the student-athlete, are given the right to develop a relationship, is conceivably a mitigation mechanism for diluting rogue agents and runners.

Despite any effort on the state or federal end in terms of legislation, something must be done at the university level, otherwise players will continue to take money from promoters and rogue business people attempting to gain access to important decisions that should not be under the influence by anyone but the athlete, his family, and a registered advisor.

In fact, why not have a three-tier system, with the NCAA having its own registration process, the respective player associations with their’s as well, and the federal government with its own clearance and oversight process– all for the greater good of the student-athlete. Take a hard look at comparables such as investment professionals, attorneys, accountants, or medical professionals – they all must pass or be acknowledged by several organizations inclusive of a government entity. They adhere to the law or they lose the right to practice their skill-set indefinitely.

The root of the problem is that there are too many shady people involved, coming in at vulnerable points of athletes’ lives (need of money for family, media speculation about upside of pro future, etc..). A long-term decision can affect not only an athlete, but a family or even an entire community for years to come. The best recruiters don’t always make the best agents or advisors.

Representing young adults is a privilege not a right. If someone goes behind your back (i.e. agents not working through university compliance offices – even those who “do,” but then use runners to do the work), wouldn’t you be pissed?

If the NCAA established a mandatory policy in accordance with respective professional players associations and the federal government (do away with individual state athlete agent laws – confusion), then combating all the ridiculous issues such as giving improper benefits (giving money, using company golf cart to transport players, etc…), improper influence by early adoptive leeches (AAU promoters, staff, “friendly’s”), and unsolicited contact by agents would eventually be mitigated.

Visualize it as a three stage water filter with each stage, (I) NCAA registration, (II) Player’s association registration, and (III) a Federal clearing and oversight process, taking what was a murky and shady atmosphere (runners, AAU promoters, lurks, users, etc..) into something pure and potable for a long-term career as a professional athlete without the typical 2 to 3 year learning curve seen so often with athletes switching to agents they actually like and trust (not to mention equipped to serve client in best way). Let’s face it, agents and those around them come into the picture quite early, especially with highly talented athletes.

I imagine some will grumble or argue, why should the NCAA be accountable beyond providing guidance and education or even why should such a “large scale” effort be applied to mitigate such a seemingly ‘small’ problem? Well let’s take a hard look at the industry and each league’s respective collective bargaining issues. It’s all about the dollars, and in the decades to come, billions of them – from salaries to licensing. The collective bargaining talks should indicate where professional sports at-large is heading. If you’re a doctor, an attorney, or even an investment professional, what’s your risk vs. reward? Even more importantly, what if you mess-up? Sport as an industry is becoming a premier opportunity to earn a living and it better be under the same microscope as other professions when it comes to those actually creating that value, the clients.

Follow me on Twitter @wadesenti

Should the NCAA Register Agents? from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

Now that this all happened, I have to watch myself and stay within the rules even tighter, but I am not going to sit back.

While I have not heard much at all from or about Egan since his NFLPA certification was revoked, his company, 1st Round Entertainment, made a few stories at the end of last week for allegedly being associated with a Las Vegas party being thrown by former USC DE Everson Griffen.  Was this an attempt for 1st Round to be proactive and not “sit back?”  Administrators at the University of Southern California told their football team that they were not permitted to attend the party.  Specifically, USC Athletic Director Pat Haden and VP for Athletic Compliance David Roberts,wrote the following in an email to the team:

“Because of the NCAA rules concerning gambling, impermissible extra benefits and the conduct of agents, we believe that there is a significant chance that the eligibility of any student-athlete who participates in such a trip would be jeopardized.  Therefore, you are not permitted to partake or participate in the Super Bowl Weekend trip that has been arranged and promoted by Mr. Griffen or Mr. Campbell under any circumstances.”

Mr. Campbell is Jordan Campbell, a former LB at USC.  Campbell and Egan were pledge brothers at the Phi Psi Fraternity, and Campbell currently holds some sort of role at 1st Round Entertainment.  However, Egan and Griffen have claimed that 1st Round had absolutely no association with the proposed Super Bowl party.

Griffen ended up cancelling the Super Bowl party and apparently blamed the NFL for putting an end to the extravaganza.  It’s probably a good idea that Griffen stay away from the nightlife scene for a bit anyway, after getting arrested twice in the span of one week (for public intoxication and battery).

But what about Egan and 1st Round getting their name in the Sports section again?  Will we see those names anytime again soon, and for what reason?

Southern California Gets A Scare When 1st Round Pops Up Again from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to speak at length with Teague Michael Egan, who was rather receptive to speaking to me on the record.  After letting the media talk for the past week or so, Egan was ready to tell his story.  Egan was home for the Thanksgiving holiday, and was not taking a break from trying to build his company, 1st Round.  In fact, he was headed to Pine Crest High School, one of the two high schools in South Florida that he attended prior to enrolling at USC.  Pine Crest has an exceptionally talented basketball program; University of Kentucky freshman Brandon Knight is a graduate of Pine Crest.  Later that day, Egan planned on visiting St. Thomas Aquinas, the second South Florida high school he attended.  He was on the school’s golf and track team; St. Thomas is known nationwide as having one of, if not the, toughest football programs.

Egan was born on July 6, 1988, making him 22-years-young at the date of this article being published.  I believe that Egan felt comfortable speaking with me, as I had also started my own sports agency at the age of 22, as an undergraduate at the University of Florida.  The following contains the parts of our discussion that have not yet been mentioned.

Darren Heitner: Why did you transfer from Pine Crest to St. Thomas Aquinas in high school?

Teague Egan: I transfered from Pine Crest to St. Thomas Aquinas in my Junior Year.  My brother [Riley Egan] wanted to transfer because St. Thomas had a much better track team, which ended up winning the state championship after the transfer.  I was and still am very close with my brother, and I wanted to go where he went.  My brother runs the Pictures Division of 1st Round.

Heitner: What gave you the idea to start 1st Round?

Egan: I was in between businesses.  I had started a couple businesses in high school and college.  These were big business ideas.  I felt like like I was over my head, though.  I had just pledged a fraternity called Phi Psi.  Sterling Brewster was in my pledge class; he became a partner in 1st Round.  A couple of football players also pledged the same fraternity.  Daniel Harper, Everson Griffen (drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the 4th round, but Egan referenced him as a projected 1st round pick), Spencer Spiegel, and Jordan Campbell all pledged with me.  I became great friends with Everson, Daniel, and Jordan.

In the Spring of Sophomore year, I went to Jordan and said that should start a business.  I came up with the name “1st Round” because a lot of my boys were going to be drafted in the 1st Round, and I thought it was cool.  I grew up with signed helmets, footballs, and jerseys all over my room.  I played 5 sports in high school.  I had season tickets to the Heat and Dolphins.  I loved sports.

I started throwing parties with Jordan.  We went head-to-head with 28th Street Entertainment (Egan stated that this was USC’s top nightlife promotion group).  We threw an entire party for free, but negotiated a huge percentage of the bar.  We provided free transportation to club, free admission, and blew 28th Street out of the water.  The party was packed with hundreds of kids from USC, UCLA, and LMU.  We lost money on the party, but 1st Round Entertainment was officially established.  I was busy throwing parties, having great times with friends, and had an “in” with all the cutest girls.  All of Jordan’s friends on the USC football team started coming to my parties as well.

That summer, I was up on Nantucket Island on the beach hanging out on the 4th of July.  One of the guys I brought out to the beach was the best freestyle rapper I knew.  It suddenly hit me that that I wanted to start a record label.  At the time, I was questioning the success of 1st Round Entertainment, because I was throwing fun parties, but losing money.  But I  had a good name.  I started the record label and signed Sam Adams (the freestyler who accompanied him to the beach).

I first named my record label “Lazy Boy Records.”  I decided to change it, though, and make all of my companies reflect the 1st Round Brand.  I made the decision to do so after reading a book about branding that was written by Richard Branson.  I liked the whole “Virgin” idea and keeping everything under the same brand.  In the near future, I will be doing a management deal with Lady Gaga’s management, for Sam Adams.

Anyway, when Jordan transferred to Louisville, we started the sports agency.  The division is far bigger than negotiating 3% for the athletes we represent.  We want the sports division to be the next Nike.  We don’t want to just deal with contract negotiation.  Instead, we want to manufacture merchandise and apparel.  I structured 1st Round after Nike.  Nike has the swoosh, 1st Round has the wings; easily identifiable.  The slogan is also based after Nike.  Theirs – “Just Do It” vs. ours – “Go Higher” – everyone can identify and relate to it.

Heitner: But it does seem like you also want to represent athletes, no?

Egan: I officially became certified by the NFLPA on October 1, 2010.  My Nike goal is down the road.  I want 1st Round to be a “full service sports franchise.”  The word “agent” has such a negative connotation.  We will provide anything the athlete can want.  I want to do a lot of athlete branding.

Heitner: What is the make-up of your company?

Egan: I structured my company with 6 different divisions.  Each division has a different President.  I also incorporated the “crossover effect,” where each division can help out the others.   Sports, records, pictures, entertainment (parties, but I eventually plan to own restaurants, clubs, entertainment venues), capital, and philanthropic.

Heitner: Tell me a little more about your capital division.

Egan: This division began based on my and my dad’s background.  I have has several investments in many fields, stocks and bonds (he says that Apple is his biggest holding), money in BlackRock, global allocation funds.  The main area that I am looking at is venture capital and investments into small, upcoming businesses that have huge potential for growth.

Heitner: What are your thoughts on what has been written about you thus far?

Egan: What I have done is almost revolutionary. I have gone into unchartered waters. I am one of, if not the youngest certified agent, and I am an undergraduate student at a university.  Everything that has happened is absolutely ridiculous.  It is such a unique situation.  The rules are in place to prevent people like Cam Newton from getting $180,000 or Reggie Bush from having houses bought for his parents, not to prevent students from getting rides in golf carts from other students.  They try to stress “student” coming before “athlete” in almost everything.  If you want to claim that, then I am a “student” first and then an “agent”.  Call me a “student-agent.”

Heitner: People are calling out the NFLPA for granting you certification while you are a still a student.  What do you have to say about that?

Egan: Athletes should be able to have whoever they want represent them, as long as the person has experience and capability to represent properly. The fact that I am a student should not prevent me from representing an athlete. If a student has sufficient negotiating experience that meets the qualifications the NFLPA deems acceptable, there is no reason he should be denied.  I am a born negotiator.  I have a lot of negotiating experience.

Heitner: What about the criticism regarding Jordan Campbell, a current student-athlete, being a part of your organization?

Egan: Jordan never actually signed the LLC documents.  I believed that it was a bad idea and a potential conflict.  I am going to wait until after his eligibility to make him an official partner.

Heitner: What is your plan for 1st Round Sports in the immediate future? Are you going to wait until the criticism subsides before you go out and recruit players?

Egan: Now that this all happened, I have to watch myself and stay within the rules even tighter, but I am not going to sit back.  The #1 thing was to make sure that my friends did not get hurt.  Now that they are back and reinstated, I feel free to talk with the media.  I will be putting the golf cart up on Ebay and will have some of the proceeds go back to USC Football.  I am looking at baseball and basketball on top of football, and already represent an MMA fighter (Ryan McMahon) and have connections to the UFC.

Heitner: What about the threat of getting in trouble for rules violations?

Egan: Rides to clubs, free entry to clubs, and golf rides around campus were given to everybody.  There was no special treatment being given to athletes.

Heitner: What kind of advice would you like to give people who dream of becoming sports agents?

Egan: It’s all about relationships.  How is anyone supposed to be a sports agent if he is not friends with the athletes and is some random 30 or 40 year old guy?  It is all about trust.  I have amazing relationships with the guys.  They know and trust me.  It’s not the grades you make, it’s the hands you shake.

Interview With The Agent: Teague Egan from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

The golf cart displayed a 1st Round Enterprises logo.  A USC student named Teague Egan is the CEO of 1st Round, which seems to be a start-up agency that works with sports, entertainment, movies, and music, but also includes a financial and philanthropic wing.  Egan seems to already have some experience on the music side of the biz.  He and his company represent an artist named Sam Adams.  This is what Alex Monroe of a website titled, “GetYourBizSavvy” had to say about Egan (written August 20, 2010):

To tell you a little more about Teague, he’s a serious entrepreneur. He started his first business in high school and prior to starting 1st Round Records, he was working on 1st Round Entertainment full time, which is a company that promotes and throws parties in the Los Angeles area. Teague actually made 1st Round Records a branch off of his entire 1st Round company. In addition to the 1st Round Records branch there is 1st Round Sports, 1st Round Capital, 1st Round Pictures, and 1st Round Entertainment. Pretty intelligent of Teague to form a whole plethora of companies around the main one. We asked Teague his goals for 1st Round: “What were really going after with 1st Round is to make it a lifestyle brand where the term 1st Round is all about being in the winners circle.”

Lets hope that Egan’s connections to student-athletes at USC begins and ends with Baxter; USC really does not need to find its name mentioned by the media for any more agent-related activities.

Another red flag - Jordan Campbell is a partner at 1st Round.  Campbell, a “founding father” at 1st Round, is a student-athlete (linebacker) who transfered from USC to Louisville.  Conflict of interest?

Is Southern California Going To Receive A 1st Round Knockout? from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

Remember when I took roughly a week of your time going on a rant about interference with contractual relations?  If you need a refresher, see: Sports Agents Interfering With Contractual Relations, Digging Deeper Into The Contractual Interference Claim, and The Interference With Contractual Relations Conversation Continues.  In those posts, I looked into the claim that a sports agent may have when a rival intentionally acts to steal clients away.  If you have time, I suggest reading through each in their entirety.

This claim based in tort may have other applications in the sports world as well.  The Tennessee Titans plan to give it a try against former Tennessean, Lane Kiffin.  It is based on the possibility that Kiffin intentionally recruited former Titans running backs coach Kennedy Pola in an effort to add him to the USC football staff, even though Kiffin had an understanding that Pola was under contract.

Michael McCann of the Sports Law Blog points out that the lawsuit against Kiffin mentions that the coach maliciously interfered with Pola’s contract.  What seems like an enhanced claim is based on the fact that the under Pola’s contract, the Titans required that Pola obtain written permission from the Titans president and GM before entertaining any competing offers.  If Kiffin knew about that clause, yet willfully and wantonly disregarded it in his recruitment of Pola, could we possibly see punitive damages awarded as well?  The Titans have at least mentioned punitive damages as a possible remedy in its complaint.

As for the complaint that was filed:

Titans v Kiffin

Lane Kiffin Revives Our Interference With Contractual Relations Convo from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

Baseball

• Who gave Torii Hunter a first place vote? [Derek Jeter Again Tops The Daily's Most Marketable In MLB Survey].
• Saying no to $2.4 million? [Kyle Parker Spurns Rockies Offer; Will Quarterback Tigers in 2010]

Football

• When the states get involved, it’s time to take things seriously [N.C. Secretary of State starts agent probe].
• Let’s see if the same is true for the NFLPA [De Smith: "God help those agents" who violate rules regarding paying college players].
• Blake Baratz joins the crusade [RandBall Q&A: One sports agent's thoughts on Nick Saban and the ethics of the business].
• Perhaps the NCAA should not be bragging at this point [Is The NCAA Really Boasting About Agent Regulation?].

Sports Business

• SportsAgentBlog.com remains independent.  Our asking price is $1 billion [With Traffic Surging, SB Nation Buys One Blog And Starts Another].

Sports Law

• Lozano left BHSC, not BEST, but still a good post [When The Agent Is Sued And The Player Is Caught In The Middle].

Shabbat Shalom: Friday Wrap-Up (7/23/2010) from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules