A Scott Boras Offseason

Keeping on the theme of baseball for the day, just came across an LA Times article highlighting Scott Boras.  I find it kind of humorous, because while there are a ton of agents who do great work for their clients, it seems like Boras and Rosenhaus are the only ones that the mass media finds sexy enough to write about.  We try to bring out information about the big wigs and the small guys (see our Interviews with Agents and Agent Spotlights).  Anyway, back to the LA Times article on Boras.  The usual topics were discussed: his high-end players, NASA trained employees, and the grandeur of his office.  But here is an interesting quote from Boras, showing just how much he is still the largest factor in the MLB agent business,

“We’re going to do $300 [million]-$400 million [this year] in contracts like we did three or four years ago.”

Do the math.  Boras Corp stands to make $15-$20 million based on contracts negotiated this year alone.  One would have to assume that the number does not drop off tremendously from year-to-year.  I bet those figures pay the bills.

I also happened to like Scott Boras’ quote concerning outside investment in his company (of which, there is none),

“You can’t have bills because your interest has to solely be on the athlete. In the corporate world, a lot of agents have demands on them from the board. They have to make revenue. My attitude is that whatever you do in this business, whatever you own, whatever you have has to be paid for. That way when you’re negotiating, you’re negotiating strictly for the client, not for the need for money.”

I cannot argue with Boras on a single point of that text.  I have gone back-and-forth in my mind about whether I would accept outside investment in Dynasty, and often have denied it based on the same reasoning that Boras put forth.  As the sole owner of my company, I know that the only people I have to answer to are my clients, which is really how it should be.  The less potential conflicts of interest, the better you can be at representing your clients.

But it also meant, Boras said, that he lost money in his first 10 years in the business. Even Scott Boras, someone all of us have at least at one point looked up to, struggled in the beginning.  So keep up hope.  Even though it is a struggle, when there is a will, there is a way.  To all those trying to make it happen, whether it be starting up an agency or making things happen in another agency, keep on trucking.  You may be the next Scott Boras or even better.