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Schilling Teaches And Learns Free Agency

Honestly, I am not a huge fan of Curt Schilling’s blog. In fact, I am not a big fan of Schilling at all (must have something to do with rooting for the Yankees). But today’s post may be the first one in a long line of thoughts that I actually enjoyed reading. The subject: Free Agency.

Schilling discusses what it is like to be a free agent at the age of forty, and for the first time in twenty one years of playing professional baseball. I really do not sympathize with him or send him congrats that he will now make even more money. However, I think that his post is a good read because it explains a bit about how free agency works in baseball. Schilling gets to experience it up close, as he will represent himself in any negotiation.

From Schilling’s site:

For the next 15 days I can speak with other teams, and they can contact me, but no details can be discussed. They can only express interest. For the next 15 days the team that remains my first choice, the Sox, have exclusive rights.

So this huge thing, free agency, was accomplished by doing the following. Place a phone call to the MLBPA, tell them you want to become a free agent, hang up. Weird. Something that can be so life altering was pretty much a 48 second phone call. They file a letter with the commissioners office “A letter of intent” that lists all the players filing that day, and it’s official.

This shows the relative ease of filing for free agency. Most interesting about the entire post is that Schilling listed the teams he is considering if the Red Sox do not submit a generous offer that he is willing to accept. The list is not in alphabetical order, so may we assume that after the Red Sox, his first choice would be Cleveland followed by Detroit?

-Darren Heitner

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.