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Agent Talk Leading Up To The NFL Draft

We are just an hour away from the beginning of the 2008 NFL Draft. Here are some good reads to check out before the show kicks off.

Choosing an agent, players say, can be difficult because, as former CU guard Brian Daniels of the Minnesota Vikings warned, “They’re all going to tell you what you want to hear.” – Denver Post

[Paul] Lawrence, who lives in Everett, is an agent for Maximum Sports Management in Indiana, and eight players slotted to be picked in the first two rounds Saturday are MSM clients. “I’m almost excited as they are,” said Lawrence, whose agency represents five players expected to go in the first round alone. “These are like my little brothers now. I know what the critics were saying about them and all that they’ve gone through.” – The Daily Herald

“There’s a conflict of interest at the top of the draft,” says Scott Wright, a long-time draft follower who runs the website www.drafthistory.com. Wright’s ire is focused on CAA Sports, which represents three players projected to go in the top eight or nine picks. According to the NFL Players Association, 23 separate agencies represented the first-round class in 2000. By 2007, that number was reduced by just one. This year, though, the number shrunk to just 18 agencies representing the 32 players projected to go in the first round by Scouts, Inc. – Forbes

Drew Rosenhaus begs the Bengals to Free Chad Johnson through a YouTube video. Is this smart to do right before you start talking to teams about your current draft eligible players? Is it ever a smart thing to do? I gotta hand it to Drew, though. He has quite a nice South Florida tan going on.

By the way, with the NBA Playoffs, NHL Playoffs, and NFL Draft all occurring at the same time, it’s easy to forget about other things in life, like your momma! If you still have not purchased a gift for Mothers’ Day, you better get on it. Here is a link to Amazon’s catalog of gifts.

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.

2 replies on “Agent Talk Leading Up To The NFL Draft”

There a lot of good reads and answers in this website. Read up on all of the interviews that were done. A lot of the agents throw their rwo cents in and answer that question directly and indirectly.

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