Categories
Contract Negotiation Headline MLB Players MLB Rules MLB Teams Sports Agents Sports Law

Will Advisor Communication Hurt Karsten Whitson?

I want to start this article by stressing that the point of this article has nothing to do with getting any player in trouble.  The reason that I wrote this post is to once again try to point out how ludicrous the NCAA’s no-agent rule continues to be.  It was struck down by a court of law, only to be re-instated after a player (Andrew Oliver) settled with the NCAA so that he could move on to focus on becoming a Major League baseball player (which he did very fast!).  Even since the rule’s was re-established (the NCAA would like you to believe that it was never actually off the books), it has proved to be nearly impossible to enforce, yet the NCAA continues to try to find ways to use it.  I know that because advisors tell me about some of the questions the NCAA has asked the players they are advising over the past year.

Yesterday, I talked about The Continuance Of Advisor/Club Communication.  I discussed James Paxton’s punishment for not complying with NCAA demands after the NCAA had reason to believe that his advisor had direct communication with the Blue Jays, the likelihood that the same could have happened to Jameson Taillon, had he not signed with the Pirates, based on what was said in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and concluded with the statement that advisors are going to continue to talk directly to teams, no-agent rule or not.

While Taillon is immune from the NCAA coming down on him for what was written in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, might Karsten Whitson not be as lucky after he failed to sign with the San Diego Padres?  The tall right-hander from Chipley, Florida could not come to terms with the Padres, and will instead play at least three years at the University of Florida.  People are already clamoring about how college hitters will have no chance against his slider.  But a couple of articles mention that Whitson might not have been doing his own negotiating, having his advisor, Troy Caradonna of SFX Baseball do the talking.

From Corey Brock of MLB.com,

“San Diego owner Jeff Moorad, a former agent himself, said he was disappointed that the first number presented to the team by Caradonna was just 15 minutes before the deadline and was $2.7 million, and that he felt sorry for Whitson in the end.”

And from Nick Canepa of the San Diego Union-Tribune,

Moorad: “… We feel were misled by the agent, and it’s something we won’t forget. Lesson learned.”

If Caradonna was not doing the negotiating, Moorad should have known better than to say those words to a reporter, since it was not all that long ago that Moorad was in Caradonna’s shoes.  The NCAA follow up on this with some questions for Whitson.  I am hoping that Moorad’s statements do not end up hurting Whitson, though, and not only because he is committed to play at my alma mater.

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.

4 replies on “Will Advisor Communication Hurt Karsten Whitson?”

If, in fact, some sort of NCAA sanction came down on Whitson, would Caradonna also get into any legal trouble? If so, can Whitson and/or Caradonna file any sort of suit against Moorad in this case?

What could Moorad possibly be guilty of? Publication of private facts? The NCAA can’t take legal action against the advisor. Whitson could possibly take action against Caradonna.

By Post Author

This seems like another example of teams going along with the whole agent/advisor ruse UNTIL things go wrong. I doubt it was an accident that Moorad, Hoyer, and DePodesta all referred to Caradonna as an “agent” rather than as an “advisor.” If any team should know better, it would be the (former-) agent-owned Padres.

Comments are closed.