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Woeful Weslye Saunders Now Draft Eligible

It looks like Woeful Weslye Saunders will enter the 2011 NFL Draft after all.  Yesterday, ProFootballWeekly.com reported that the NFL announced that the former University of South Carolina tight end is eligible to be selected, changing its former stance of disallowing the player from being a part of the draft after he failed to file paperwork necessary for all football players who sit out their senior seasons yet want to retain draft eligibility.

This is certainly good news for Saunders and his agent Butch Williams, but I bet that it will not halt rival agents from throwing the mishap in Saunders’ face, hoping that he may eventually find himself on our “On To The Next One” feature.  Furthermore, we still have no explanation for why Saunders has declined his official invite to the NFL Scouting Combine.  He better hope that he has a stellar Pro Day, because it will be his only opportunity to prove his skills in front of all NFL scouts at the same time.

Update (3:03 p.m.) – Butch Williams has just informed me that Weslye Saunders will, in fact, be participating at the NFL Scouting Combine.  Williams claims that Saunders never turned down his invitation, but that it was rescinded when the NFL initially declared Saunders ineligible for the NFL Draft.  Now that he is draft eligible, he has once again been offered the opportunity to participate in the Combine.  He is scheduled to report with the rest of the Tight Ends.

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.

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