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MLB Players Recruiting Sports Agents

Aroldis Chapman Finds A New Home

Last week, the world baseball community was abuzz about the news that one of Cuba’s top young pitchers, Aroldis Chapman, defected from the Cuban national team and was roaming around somewhere in Europe.  Fantasy baseball players immediately jotted his name down, baseball columnists were wondering what team he would be signed by, and I was trying to figure out which agency would get the rights to represent the Cuban defector.

I thought maybe it would be my Twitter buddy, Joe Kehoskie.  He is an established agent who, on his LinkedIN profile, claims to specialize in the representation of Cuban baseball defectors.  He has represented more Cuban defectors than any other active baseball agent and ranks in the top three historically.  I am not sure if Kehoskie was actively recruiting Chapman, but Chapman ended up going with a different agency: Athletes Premier International.

API is a young agency.  Three Co-Partners founded API in 2006, and they decided to elect Edwin Leonel Mejia as the CEO.  The website, which is less than a week old, does not list any client names and only has one press release.  That press release is the announcement of Chapman signing with the company.

API is also on Twitter.  Exactly a week ago, CEO Edwin Mejia wrote,

WATCH OUT Scott Boras there is a new kid on the block and we coming for that number 1 SPOT!!! www.athletespremier.com

A day later,

paparazzi are no joke!!! Gotta be real careful from now on! The Bomb almost got DROPPED!!!! Stay tuned… www.athletespremier.com

And then on Friday,

Ok this is just friggin crazy! Dudes are just out right trying to buy us now! Even the juggernauts of this game are getting worried! API

I sense a little excitement.

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.

3 replies on “Aroldis Chapman Finds A New Home”

Since writing this post, Athletes Premier has deleted about 75% of their tweets. They even wiped the ones that announced Chapman as a client.

Thanks to Joe Kehoskie for pointing that out to me.

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