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NBA Coach George Karl Sued By Agent For Not Making $10,000 Monthly Payments

Denver Nuggets head coach George Karl during the press conference announcing him NBA coach of the year at the Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
Former Denver Nuggets head coach George Karl during the press conference announcing him NBA coach of the year at the Pepsi Center. Photo Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

“Agents can build expectations so high they can’t be met.”  That’s what attorney Bret Adams said in an interview 10 years ago for an article that highlighted how he lucked into his practice of representing coaches, media personalities and artists in contract negotiations.

10 years later and attorney Adams is suing one of his more prominent clients — longtime NBA coach George Karl.  The Columbus Business First has reported that Adams (a Columbus attorney) filed a lawsuit against Karl on the grounds that Karl has improperly withheld fees due to Adams based on their contractual agreement.

Sports Agent Blog has accessed the Complaint filed on September 11 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio.  The Complaint, which is barely 4 pages in length, says that the contractual agreement between Karl and Adams stipulates that Karl is to pay Adams a stipend of $10,000 per month and required Karl to grant Adams “new business opportunities” through introductions and referrals to other coaches in need of representation.

Adams alleges that he is entitled to payments through the 2018 NBA season, which would turn out to be hundreds of thousands of dollars in compensation.  The Complaint states that Karl stopped paying Adams this January.

Maybe Adams built his expectations too high in this case.

Bret Adams v. George Karl by Darren Adam Heitner

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.

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