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No Media Love For Eugene Parker

Eugene Parker has had a very rough 2009 (minus the pleasant commissions that he takes).  Michael Crabtree‘s holdout was the story that would not go away.  It lasted from the start of training camp all the way to Week 5 of the regular season.  All the while, Parker kept himself away from the media.  No pictures, no video, and no quotes.  There are definitely benefits of staying out of the public eye, especially when you are the agent for someone who is talked about daily.  However, Parker may not be getting tarnished for staying TOO far away from the media’s purview.

When Crabtree eventually signed with the San Francisco 49ers and held a press conference, Parker was nowhere to be found.  Perhaps it is because there is no way to justify such a long holdout when your client accepts an offer that was on the table months ago.

So the Crabtree saga is done…for now.  Time will tell if the 49ers wasted a 1st round pick or not.  But what about this Dez Bryant story?  You know, the Oklahoma State football player who was ruled ineligible for this past weekend’s game (and possibly the entire season) after lying to the NCAA about going to Deion Sanders’ house and training at his facility?  Yeah, he even wrote about it on his Facebook page.

dez bryantDeion has been training players for the NFL through his company, Prime U.  Pushing cars looks like a big part of the program.

Okay so Dez Bryant gets busted for talking with Deion Sanders…where does Parker come into the picture?  As the Tulsa World reported,

[Deion] Sanders resides in the Dallas area and is associated with sports agent Eugene Parker. As an NFL player, Sanders was Parker’s client. [Dez] Bryant admitted to participating in a training session with Sanders at a Dallas-area gym and to having dinner at Sanders’ home.

Oy vey.  Are we looking too far into the connection, or is there credence to all of this?  Apparently Sanders had a strong hand in Crabtree’s holdout, so perhaps Deion is an intricate part of Parker’s arsenal.  Crabtree, like Bryant also worked out at Prime U.  For now, Parker’s name is not involved in the Dez Bryant issue; however, I am sure that the last thing the agent wants at this point is his name in the media because of any possible connection.  At least Sanders is going to bat for his former agent.

“Eugene has nothing to do with this,” Sanders said in a telephone interview. “Eugene don’t do that. He’s never been in this situation.”

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.

7 replies on “No Media Love For Eugene Parker”

And I love how OSU explained Bryant missing the Grambling game as a hamstring issue, when it was really due to all this.
Pretty unfortunate situation, but Sanders (and maybe Parker) need to stay away from everyone for a while before they mess anything else up. The whole “you lied, you’re ineligible” thing is pretty lame to me, but I guess they have to protect the integrity of their investigations if they want to make an attempt to catch problems.

I read that the 49ers was offering 5 years $20M and then I saw Crabtree was getting $28M over five. Someone! anyone! who can do math, tell me how is that the same deal from months ago?

I agree in full force with you Bill. The truth be that Eugene has always been the best football agent in the NFL especially considering he is one of few African American agents in the business. He has not done no sub par deals that I have seen and he has taught other agents like Rose Barnes to do record breaking deals. I even read somewhere that he even taught a young whiz kid Craig McKenzie how to do record contracts as and he doing it big in european basketball. So to all you haters kiss my …

Mr. Dantzler I agree!! Eugene Parker and Roosevelt Barnes are the best contract negotiators in the business..They take care of business….There success is proven..As a matter of fact they are the best in the business!!!! Darren, you are going to be one of the best upcoming agents as well!!! They negotiate record-breaking deals..It’s just what they do!!!

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