Drew Rosenhaus has had his fair share of clients that he represented prior to and during the NFL Draft, but he is mainly known for the sheer number of players who switch to him when it is time for them to re-negotiate their contract or sign their big second contract. Rosenhaus’ competition hates it, and so they should. As an NFLPA certified advisor, you most likely have to pay for your clients’ training, food, and housing prior to the draft (and anything else that comes up). Then, if you are lucky enough to have your clients drafted, you will take a meager 3% at tops (many agents charge less just so they can compete with guys like Rosenhaus) of their professional contracts. For non-first rounders, that figure does not come out to much. Last, you can’t sleep at all because you are always worried that your clients will make a switch to a different agent before you are actually able to negotiate the big contract and make some sort of money to live off of. Only to possibly lose your client to a guy like Rosenhaus. Rough life, but you chose to live it.
In baseball, we rarely discuss a guy like Rosenhaus, who players flock to once they are ready to negotiate a big contract. Scott Boras grabs all the bonus babies before they are drafted and rakes in his nice 5% advising fee early in their careers. Sure, some players leave their agents for Boras, especially right before becoming arbitration eligible, but we don’t hear about it ALL that much. In fact, Boras recently lost a big fish to a rival agency; one that might start making a name for itself as one that picks up players after they make it to the pros.
Hendricks Sports Management is run by Randy and Alan Hendricks. The brothers started the firm in the 1970s, sold it to SFX, and then re-formed the agency in 2003. They have been in the business for a very long time, are connected to basically every important person in the business of baseball, and have seen their fare share of arbitration cases. There’s a certain comfort factor for players who are looking to make a switch in representation. And they are quiet about the clients they actually represent (their website does not list any). Once a team that represented 16% of all Major League players, after they re-formed the agency in 2003, they say that they are more selective about who they represent.
So why the possible relation to the Rosenhaus brothers? Well, last year, the Hendricks brothers grabbed Rick Porcello from none other than Scott Boras Corp. Recently, they signed former Cuba defector, Kendry Morales, who used to be represented by David Valdes. Is this the start of a new business model for the Hendricks brothers or did they just offer to represent two players who were upset with their previous representation? Definitely something to keep an eye on.
4 replies on “Hendricks Brothers = Rosenhaus Brothers, Of Baseball?”
Definitely something worth looking out for. I think having a sports agent unit such as two brothers is definitely a huge advantage in part because there are two people doing the work but also because they have a high probability of thinking alike.
Hey Darren, don’t forget to now add Aroldis Chapman to the Henrick’s growing list of grabbed clients! I am sure this switch does not surprise anyone in the industry. I am sure it must put just a little smile on your face to know that word might be spreading about what type of operation they are running over at API. You hate to see this happen to anyone, especially an upstart agency, but if thy are doing some under-handed stuff over there, it might be best for everyone!
Come back tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. EST to hear what I have to say about Chapman’s switch.
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