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Basketball Agents Are Greedy Twitter Campaigners

“By some combination of mendacity and greed, the agents who are looking out for themselves rather than their clients are trying to scuttle the deal.  They’re engaged in what appears to be an orchestrated Twitter campaign and a series of interviews that are designed to deny the economic realities of the proposal.” – NBA Commisioner David Stern on 11/12/2011

I must have the wrong agents listed on The Master Twitter list of sports agents/agencies, because I have missed any semblance of a “Twitter campaign” led by agents who hope to quash a potential deal to end the labor battle between the NBA and the NBPA.  In fact, most agents that I talk to are eagerly anticipating the day that a new collective bargaining agreement will be struck, albeit with terms more favorable to the agents’ client.

Are agents looking out for themselves?  You better believe it.  But they are also looking out for their clients.  While money is not the be-all and end-all for every player, many of them are genuinely interested in keeping the various exceptions to the salary cap, increasing minimum salary, etc.  Agents certainly fear an environment where there is little room for contract negotiations, because that takes away their ability to legitimize a full 4% commission on individual contracts.  However, players should also be concerned about implementing any new restrictions on negotiating their salaries.

Stern is right about one thing, though.  Decertification is a losing strategy.  But it is not a losing strategy for the players.  It is a losing strategy for the entire NBA, which includes all owners and players.  Decertification will likely end the hope of any kind of 2011-12 NBA season, force the NBA and NBPA to spend a large amount of money to their respective lawyers, and kill whatever goodwill the league earned in a fantastic 2010-11 NBA slate of games.

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.