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Shelvin Mack Makes His Decision: Doug Neustadt

Shelvin Mack’s agent selection process was fun to watch.  On May 9, 2011, I noted that he had narrowed the agencies down to three: Octagon, The Neustadt Group, andASM Sports.  Each group had plans to visit Mack and his family in Louisville, Kentucky.  One week later, and Mack has made his decision.  He will be represented by Doug Neustadt of The Neustadt Group leading up to the 2011 NBA Draft.

Neustadt emerged victorious even though he was up against two juggernauts for the right to represent Mack.  ASM recently took a blow in the New York Times, which was probably brought up by Neustadt and Octagon in discussions with Mack and his family.  But Neustadt, the former Octagon employee, was able to beat out his former boss when it mattered most.  Along with Mack, Neustadt is representing Chris Wright, who just finished his senior season at Georgetown.

Mack and Wright are joined by Steve Novak, Boras Diaw, and Jonas Jerebko as Neustadt clients.  Compare that to Octagon’s laundry list that includes Rudy Gay, Kirk Hinrich, Wesley Matthews, Stephen Curry, and Landry Fields.  Victory for Neustadt.

By Darren Heitner

Darren Heitner created Sports Agent Blog as a New Year's Resolution on December 31, 2005. Originally titled, "I Want To Be A Sports Agent," the website was founded with the intention of causing Heitner to learn more about the profession that he wanted to join, meet reputable individuals in the space and force himself to stay on top of the latest news and trends.

Heitner now runs Heitner Legal, P.L.L.C., which is a law firm with many practice areas, including sports law and contract law. Heitner has represented numerous athletes and sports agents as legal counsel. He has also served as an Adjunct Professor at Indiana University Bloomington from 2011-2014, where he created and taught a course titled, Sport Agency Management, which included subjects ranging from NCAA regulations to athlete agent certification and the rules governing the profession. Heitner serves as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Florida Levin College of Law, where he teaches a Sports Law class that includes case law surrounding athlete agents and the NCAA rules.