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Why Not Let Andre Smith Speak For Himself?

andre smith24 hours later, and I have figured out who wants to be Andre Smith’s agent.  The only problem, is that I have no clue who he wants to be the person in charge of his contractual negotiations.

Yesterday, I reported that Andre Smith dropped his third agent (Rick Smith of Priority Sports) and rumor had it that he was planning on re-signing one-time agent of Smith’s, Alvin Keels.  By the afternoon, the world was once again turned on its head.

Rick Smith was proclaiming that Andre Smith decided not to fire Priority Sports and that the Smiths were still tight.  Meanwhile, at around 2 p.m. EST, Alvin Keels was using his new Twitter toy.  He wrote, “How about this Andre Smith story? I’m in a heated battle right now to win his business back. We are in the bottom of the 9th. Root me on!”  According to Rick Smith, the game was postponed, because Andre is not leaving.

Hopefully, Jim Trotter, the guy who originally broke the story of Andre Smith dropping Priority Sports and later informed everyone that Smith would be re-signing the company, is less confused than I am.  Once we figure something out, I am sure Andre will shake things up again…he would not be my favorite 332 lb. person without those crazy antics of his.  For the meantime, until Andre Smith officially informs the NFLPA that he is rescinding his termination of Priority Sports, the 5-day waiting period before Smith can hire a new agent will run.  If by Friday Andre Smith has not yet re-signed Rick Smith and Priority, Andre will be able to sign with Alvin Keels or any other NFLPA agent that he likes on that particular day.

If I were partaking in some NFL football betting, I’d say that Andre has a lot of people talking in his ears right now.  In fact, I don’t think he’s close to making up his mind on who to select.  One day it could be Keels, the next, Rick Smith.  The fact that I have no idea how this will turn out is exactly why I stay away from sports betting.

All I know is that Eddie DeBartolo must be laughing his ass off watching everything that has gone down since Smith originally moved on to Keels.

By Darren Heitner

Darren Heitner created Sports Agent Blog as a New Year's Resolution on December 31, 2005. Originally titled, "I Want To Be A Sports Agent," the website was founded with the intention of causing Heitner to learn more about the profession that he wanted to join, meet reputable individuals in the space and force himself to stay on top of the latest news and trends.

Heitner now runs Heitner Legal, P.L.L.C., which is a law firm with many practice areas, including sports law and contract law. Heitner has represented numerous athletes and sports agents as legal counsel. He has also served as an Adjunct Professor at Indiana University Bloomington from 2011-2014, where he created and taught a course titled, Sport Agency Management, which included subjects ranging from NCAA regulations to athlete agent certification and the rules governing the profession. Heitner serves as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Florida Levin College of Law, where he teaches a Sports Law class that includes case law surrounding athlete agents and the NCAA rules.