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On To The Next One: Jeff Niemann

Many agents take little to no commission on a client’s signing bonus when he signs a professional contract after being drafted in the MLB First-Year Player Draft.  Thereafter, at a minimum, the client will ask his agent to pay for his equipment.  Over multiple years, this cost adds up.  All the while, the agent continues to earn no commissions, as it is unheard of for an agent to request a portion of the paltry salary collected by a Minor League Baseball player.  Once the client breaks onto his club’s 40-man roster, the player will earn minimum salary, or a little bit above minimum salary.  If the client is earning minimum salary, the agent cannot take any commission per MLBPA regulations.

You get the point.  It is a long process before an agent ever earns anything substantial from his baseball client.  The first instance where the agent expects a nice payday is when his client becomes eligible for arbitration, which is after the player’s third year of Major League service, or after his second year if he happens to have qualified as a Super Two.  So it hurts a lot when that client leaves his agent right before he finally becomes arbitration eligible.  For my football guys, equate it to representing an athlete through training for the draft, signing his first contract, and then losing him right before he signs his second NFL contract, which finally would net you decent money through your 3% commission.

The reason for this long winded explanation is that Jeff Niemann of the Tampa Bay Rays has switched from Creative Artists Agency (CAA) to Hendricks Sports.  Niemann is a 6’9 260lbs pitcher who played at Rice University prior to being drafted as the fourth overall pick in the 2004 MLB Draft.  He is not off to a great start this season, but the season is young, and if he manages to turn things around, the Hendricks brothers will hope to generate some nice new revenue from Niemann in the offseason.

Update (12:20 a.m. 4/18/11): I received note that Niemann actually switched agents quite a while ago, even though MLBTradeRumors.com reported that it was a recent change. Thus, the arbitration eligibility discussion regarding Niemann does not apply; however, these types of switches right before players become arbitration eligible do exist.

By Darren Heitner

Darren Adam Heitner, Esq., is a preeminent sports attorney and the founder of Heitner Legal, P.L.L.C., a Fort Lauderdale-based law firm specializing in sports law, contract negotiations, intellectual property, and arbitration. He earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Florida Levin College of Law in 2010 and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, magna cum laude, from the University of Florida in 2007, where he was named Valedictorian of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Admitted to practice in the state bars of Florida, New York, and the District of Columbia, as well as multiple federal courts, Darren also serves as a certified arbitrator with the American Arbitration Association.

As an adjunct professor, Darren imparts his expertise through teaching Sports Law at the University of Florida Levin College of Law and Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) at the University of Miami School of Law in the Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law LL.M. program. His scholarly contributions include authoring several books published by the American Bar Association, such as How to Play the Game: What Every Sports Attorney Needs to Know, and numerous articles in prominent publications like Forbes, Inc. Magazine, and Above the Law. His thought leadership in NIL has earned him recognition as one of the foremost experts by The Wall Street Journal, USA TODAY, and On3, and he has been lauded as a “power player in NIL deals” by Action Network and a “top sports trademark attorney” by Sportico.

Darren’s passion for sports law led him to establish Sports Agent Blog on December 31, 2005, initially titled “I Want To Be A Sports Agent.” The platform, created as a New Year’s resolution, has grown into a cornerstone of the sports agency community, offering in-depth analysis of industry trends, legal disputes, and agent-player dynamics. His commitment to the field is further evidenced by his representation of numerous athletes and sports agents, as well as his prior role as an Adjunct Professor at Indiana University Bloomington, where he developed and taught a course on Sport Agency Management from 2011 to 2014.

Darren’s contributions have been recognized with prestigious honors, including the University of Florida’s 40 Under 40 Award, the University of Florida Levin College of Law’s Outstanding Young Alumnus Award, and designation as the best lawyer in Fort Lauderdale by Fort Lauderdale Magazine. He remains an active voice in the sports law community, sharing insights through his weekly NIL newsletter and his X posts, engaging a broad audience on legal developments in sports.

One reply on “On To The Next One: Jeff Niemann”

He signed for $3.2 million, so assuming a 4% take, the agency earned $128,000. Doubtful his expenses came close to anywhere near that figure as he probably had glove, shoe, apparel contracts. Even though they lose out on the arb years and free agent contracts, we should not act like the agency went broke on him.

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