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Advisors For Players Selected In Top 10 Rounds Of 2009 MLB Draft

This week, BaseballAmerica released its listing of the players selected in the top 10 rounds of the 2009 MLB Draft and their advisors (if they used one).  Below are my notes.

  • CAA dominated all other agencies in the 2009 NFL Draft.  BDA Sports was king of the 2009 NBA Draft.  Scott Boras Corp killed it in the 2009 MLB Draft.  Boras is advising the top 3 picks of the draft, 6 of the 32 players taken in the first round, and 9 players through the end of the second round.  Dream about those commissions starting…now.  Luckily for the competition, Boras did not do much after the second round, but I am sure that the company does not mind after they finish bathing in stacks of $100s.
  • After Boras’s top 3 picks, the #4 overall pick, Tony Sanchez, was advised by Mike Zimmerman of ACES.  Aces is advising 9 players in the top 10 rounds, and none in rounds 7-10.  Not too bad.
  • Not many companies have big time success in more than one sport.  Don’t tell that to WMG.  Wasserman had 7 players taken in the top 5 rounds.  4 of those players were taken in the second round.
  • CAA destroyed the football draft, did very well in the basketball draft, and also had an amazing presence in baseball’s draft.  The company had 14 players drafted in the top 10 rounds, including 3 first rounders and 7 through the supplemental first round.  Boras Corp should make more money than CAA on commissions from advising, but not by all that much.
  • Congratulations to Career Sports who had 4 players taken in the top 10 rounds.  Keith Grunewald and Victor Menocal are class acts who taught me a lot in a short period of time.

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.