Sorry for the absence the past couple of weeks, but I was busy exploring South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Namibia and Botswana with my newly minted wife as we thoroughly enjoyed our honeymoon. It was a trip full of animal viewing (we got to see the “Big Five” — lion, elephant, rhino, buffalo and leopard — and much more), went to the top of Table Mountain, viewed Victoria Falls and so much more than that. I think I’m fully recharged after the wedding and honeymoon, and ready to attack 2018 with vigor. I really disconnected from politics and sports while I was gone, but saw updates about which teams were advancing in the NFL playoffs. Anyway, here are some sports biz stories over the past week:
Football
- Tennessee-based agent Brandon Smart is being investigated for possibly violating North Carolina’s athlete agent law [NC authorities reviewing NFL agent’s contact with UNC player].
- If Barkley is drafted in the top 10, it will be the 4th time in 4 years that Miale has rep’d or co-rep’d a top-100 NFL draft pick [Roc Nation’s Miale adds to NFL client roster with Saquon Barkley].
- 80-year old Jack Mills scores a big fish [How Baker Mayfield wound up with Boulder-based agents Jack and Tom Mills].
- Blanding is projected to be a first round pick by many [NFL bound UVA safety Quin Blanding signs with Drew Rosenhaus].
Baseball
- Joe Longo says the relationship between player and team is “irrevocably broken” [Agent: Christian Yelich ‘needs to get on with his career’].
Soccer
- Fernando Felicevich will earn up to 15 million pounds from Sanchez’s transfer alone [Meet the man behind Alexis Sanchez’s transfer to Manchester United].
Sports Business
- BrightLights monitors and reviews pro athletes’ finances for fraud [Vanguard Sports Group Forms Strategic Alliance with BrightLights Financial Monitoring].
Sports Law
- Bill Horn plead guilty to 2 felony tax charges and was given a 15 month prison sentence as well as a fine of roughly $698k [Sports Agent Sentenced to Prison for Misusing Charity Funds].
