Screw Nightmare Clients of the Week today. If you committed a stupid act over the past two weeks and possibly put your professional career in jeopardy, at least you will get a pardon from seeing your name on this website. That is my Holiday gift to you.
In addition, here are my Visionary Post Of The Months. Below I will link to what I feel have been the most influential/thought provoking/interesting posts that have been made on this site each month over the past year. Enjoy.
January 2006 – Should a Sports Agent go to Law School? – A common question that I receive in comments/e-mail is whether a person looking to be a Sports Agent should go to law school. I personally believe that one should. It may have not been as important in the past, but I believe that in the future it will almost be a necessity.
February 2006 – Arbitration…good or bad? – A good discussion about the facts behind when a client becomes arbitration eligible and why it may not be in an agent’s favor to actually have the hearing.
March 2006 – Can Olympic/Student Athletes Obtain Endorsements? – A look at Jeremy Bloom’s case and the NCAA Bylaws gives some insight into the answer.
April 2006 – Is Being A Sports Agent Rocket Science? – The importance of personal relationships among other qualities a Sports Agent must have. A look at the agent histories for Vince Young, Lance Berkman, and Jonathan Vilma.
May 2006 – What are the Fee Regulations in Major U.S. Sports – Another common question in my inbox. This post should set the commission fee ceilings straight in the four main American professional sports.
June 2006 – NFL Holdouts – Are players and their agents in the wrong when they decide to holdout? Deion Branch’s case stirred up some good conversation.
July 2006 – Clients on Social Networking Sites – Social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace get tons of hits per day and reveal plenty of information about its users. Should an agent allow his/her client to use such sites? This post was featured on Sports Business Daily.
August 2006 – Agent or Advisor? – Benefit of being labeled an advisor early on in negotiations instead of being a player’s agent (highlighting baseball).
September 2006 – Is It Really Worth It? – One of the main goals of this site is to try to curb NCAA violations and illegal acts made by Sports Agents. This post highlights the Reggie Bush scandal and asks if it was really worth it to violate the rules.
October 2006 – Will The Yankees Success Hurt Agents? – One of our many posts featured on Deadspin.com, this post examines whether or not agents should be seeing lower commissions as teams realize that money does not always buy success.
November 2006 – Big Ass Roundup Of MLB’s New Labor Deal – A synopsis of important changes and how those changes may affect agents.
December 2006 – No More Commissions – A look into whether or not more Sports Agents will bill their clients by the hour instead of take a commission on contracts that are signed. Also whether or not this is a good idea for the athlete.
And last, I leave you with my Prediction for 2007: Cyber athletes continue to gain prominence in America and Sports Agents begin to capitalize on their increasing gain of wealth. Sponsorships and endorsements increase and more agents enter the arena so that cyber athletes can remain focused on their game playing skills.
Once again, Happy New Year!
-Darren Heitner
