The sport that I am most interested in is baseball, but I do love all sports (except for hockey…which is more like a bloodbath with a puck that shuffles around on ice…I kid). Anyway, I figure that I will tackle the important aspects of the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) today and leave the rest for another time. Here are the facts that I found would be most relevant for any future Baseball Agent.
- In 2005, the average salary for an MLB player was $2,476,589.
- In 2006, the minimum salary for an MLB player will be $327,000 (as discussed in a prior thread).
- A player may become eligible for salary arbitration one of two ways:
- A player with less than 6 years in the MLB, but 3 or more years at that level
- A “Super Two”: A player with at least 2 years in the MLB, but less than 3 years at that level. He must have accumulated at least 86 days of MLB service during the past season and rank in the top 17% in total service in the class of Players who have at least two but less than three years of MLB service
- The majority of arbitration cases are settled before the actual hearing.
- A player with 6 or more years of MLB service is eligible for free agency.
- The current Collective Bargaining Agreement expires on Dec. 19, 2006 (I will make a post updating the state of baseball…don’t worry)
- A player’s agent must be certified by the MLBPA after his/her client is placed on a 40-man MLB roster
- There are over 300 certified MLBPA agents.
- The agent fee IS NOT limited by the MLBPA. An agent fee may not be created if the player is not making more than minimum salary (listed above). If the player’s salary is above minimum salary, the agent may not acquire a fee large enough to pit the player’s salary below the minimum after the fee is extracted.
I think that should be enough information for today. I plan to read the current CBA soon and tackle the important sections within the document. There are many interesting points listed above, and I hope to gain some insightful comments (now that they are working).
[tags]mlb, baseball, mlbpa, baseball agent, sports agent, cba, agent fee, free agency, arbitration[/tags]
5 replies on “Want to be an MLB agent? (Part I…of many)”
Great site, but how do you break into the field?? I’m actually in law school, but I’m just not sure how I break into the sports agent field. Baseball is my life and I’d love to stick w/ it!!
Breaking in is the difficult part, and once you break into the industry, you must make sure that you don’t make any mistakes…because Agents are very expendable.
My suggestion is to start making any connections that you can while you are in law school. Meet athletes, potential athletes, current agents, etc. Start talking to the big firms, start talking to athletes about what you want to do. Just getting the Law Degree won’t do anything for you.
[…] This post seems apropos since it is February, and February is the season for abritration. In a previous post titled, “Want to be an MLB agent? (Part I…of many)”, arbitration in baseball was briefly discussed. It was noted that: […]
[…] As was reported last week by MLB.com, Luke Hochevar (1st overall pick in the 2006 MLB draft) has been signed by the Kansas City Royals and now has a 4 year Major League contract [Royals agree with top pick Hochevar]. Why is it particularly important that Scott Boras got his client a Major League contract? The answer is that now Hochevar must be placed on the 40-man roster immediately and will have to be placed on Kansas City’s 25-man roster within three years, or Hochevar will be able to go to another team through waivers [Royals Sign No. 1 Draft Pick to Major League Contract]. Hochevar will be eligible for free-agency and arbitration earlier, as he will start his major league service immediately. […]
As far as breaking in to the industry, the networking aspect is the key. The more agents your contact (in any manner) the better chance you will have. It is true, that even if an agent/firm takes a chance on you, you need to prove yourself to the “nth” degree. They know what they are looking for and will decide if you can cut it within a short period of time. So know your stuff!