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Scott Boras Justifies Increase In Players’ Salaries By Citing Baseball’s Burgeoning TV Revenue

When Scott Boras speaks, the baseball industry listens.  And not too long ago, Boras spoke to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  Of note,

“The good news for [team executives] is that every team is going to have another $25 million in revenue through the national TV packages,” Boras said, in reference to the contracts that will increase to roughly $50 million per annum, per team, beginning in 2014. “They’re going to be making between $110 million and $120 million (including other revenue streams) before they sell a ticket. It’s a different financial model. Every team can afford to keep a franchise player now.

“For the same product, major-league teams just got $25 million more. So, for players, the same performance should get you grandly more. The quid pro quo has to continue: If revenues go up, player salaries go up.

“This is recognition for the value of performance. All of this is a byproduct of performance. Cement and grass doesn’t sell. Performance sells.”

Whether or not he is correct in his assertions, Boras gets paid to convince team executives that as revenues go up, his players should receive more money.  MLB’s financial success has a lot to do with the league’s own ingenuity and innovation, but with no salary cap in place (and despite the existence of a salary tax threshold), agents like Boras can continue to push the envelope and request higher compensation for their clients.  And Boras stands to make a lot of money this off-season.  Morosi predicts that Boras’ free agents will sign for an aggregate of roughly $200 million.

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.