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MLBPA Player Agent Advisory Committee Established

As of October 1, 2010, the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) has a new set of Regulations Governing Player Agents.  I am currently working on Co-Authoring a major law review/journal piece that will provide a complete synopsis of the 2010 Regulations.  In the meantime, if you want to read through the entire document, feel free!

One consequence of the 2010 Regulations is that the MLBPA will need a lot more manpower to ensure proper oversight of the new rules.  In my future article, I will attack many of the 2010 Regulations’ provisions based on a variety of reasons, most importantly that they are not in the best interests of the players that the MLBPA is supposed to represent.  But I digress.

The 2010 Regulations call for Michael Weiner, the current Executive Director of the MLBPA, to appoint a Player Agent Advisory Committee “for the purpose of reviewing and discussing the MLBPA’s implementation, interpretation and enforcement of the Regulations, any potential amendments to the Regulations and relations among Players, Players agents, and the MLBPA…”  This information may be found in Section 9 of the 2010 Regulations, which is page 40 of the document (if you were brave enough to click on the link above).  Section 9 states that the Committee will consist of 5-7 active, certified Player Agents, yet Mr. Weiner has appointed a total of 9.  The following individuals were recently appointed:

  • Casey Close, CAA (New York)
  • Keith Grunewald, Career Sports and Entertainment (Atlanta)
  • Damon Lapa, All Bases Covered Sports Mgt (Valencia, CA)
  • Sam Levinson, ACES (Brooklyn, NY)
  • Alan Nero, Octagon (Chicago)
  • Mike Nicotera, Sparta Group (Parsippany, NJ)
  • Jim Munsey, Munsey Sports Mgt (West Palm Beach and Durham, NH)
  • Mark Pieper, SFX (Northbrook, IL)
  • Larry Reynolds, Reynolds Sports Mgt (Riverside, CA)

Each of the aforementioned agents will serve on the Committee for 2 years; however, the first 3 members appointed will have a 3 year term.  There has been no indication as to who were the first 3 agents selected.  Jay Reisinger has been asked to serve as outside legal advisor to the Committee.  Scott Boras’ name is nowhere to be found.

Mr. Weiner had the challenge of creating a diverse Committee representing various categories of the agent population such as experience level, geography, size of agency, etc.  How would you grade Mr. Weiner based on the committee listed above?

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.