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Basketball Agents Getting Fired; Nothing New

On Sunday, Bob Finnan of The News-Herald wrote,

There has been a flurry of agents who have been dropped by major clients in the last few weeks.

If players don’t get the kind of contract they think they deserve, they fire their agent. That’s the new trend in the NBA. Players are changing agents like they change socks.

The agents, at times, become scapegoats for their clients’ shortcomings. It’s a tough market out there right now. Teams aren’t throwing money around like they once did, especially with a possible lockout on the horizon.

The list of agents who have been fired recently is staggering: Chris Paul fired Lance Young from Octagon; Dwight Howard, Al Horford and Rodney Stuckey fired Aaron Goodwin; Ike Diogu fired Arn Tellem; Roger Mason fired Mark Bartelstein; O.J. Mayo fired LRMR; Andray Blatche fired Eric Fleisher; Lou Amundson fired Mike Higgins; and Marc Gasol parted ways with Herb Rudoy.

Sometimes players think agents can wave a magic wand and get things done. It’s not that easy. Teams have salary cap and luxury tax issues that the players don’t seem to comprehend.

Other times, a player’s entourage gets in his ear and fills his head with nonsense. “You should be getting $10 million a season,” they’ll say.

Next thing you know, that player has a new agent.

It is not just in basketball.  Players change agents with regularity in football and baseball, and baseball does not have the salary cap issues that Finnan cites as something basketball players do not seem to comprehend.  And it is not only the small agents who are being fired for those with impressive client rosters.  Arn Tellem, Mark Bartelstein, and Aaron Goodwin are amongst the biggest names in the industry, yet each has been fired by at least one client this year.  It seems as though Goodwin has had the most difficult year of the crew.

Sometimes agents are fired because they have acted in a way that has hurt their clients.  Other times there is absolutely no grounds for the change of representation.  An agent might even give all of his time and energy to servicing a client, earning that client publicity and off-field/court contracts that no other agent would have been able to provide the client, yet the client still decides to make a change.  It often appears that this type of behavior occurs more in the agent profession than in any other profession.

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.