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On To The Next One [Update]: Mark Teixeira

Almost exactly a year ago, I reported that New York Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira fired his longtime agent Scott Boras in the middle of an 8-year, $160 million contract that Boras negotiated.  Boras will continue to be paid his commission on said contract, which has a term that spans until 2016.

It’s hard to forget the things that Teixeira said when he determined that he would be leaving Boras Corp.

“There’s no reason to get into a lot of specifics right now, but sometimes business relationships just run their course.  For me and my family, right now this is the best decision for me.”

“I felt at times I was Mark Teixeira, Scott Boras client, instead of Mark Teixeira, baseball player.  We had a great relationship and he gave me everything that I asked for contract-wise.”

“He was obviously disappointed.  Scott and I have had a great relationship business-wise.  We both have worked well together.  I’ve known him for 12 years.  After 12 years, sometimes it’s just time to make a little bit of a change.  Hopefully when I see him, we’ll be able to shake hands.”

Teixeira has finally completed the change, hiring Casey Close of Excel Sports Management.  But it probably was not only Close and his big name clients such as Derek Jeter and Ryan Howard who swayed Teixeira to Excel Sports Management.  I suspect that former Career Sports Entertainment (CSE) employee Victor Menocal had something to do with it.  Menocal was not only teammates with Teixeira at Georgia Tech, he was Teixeira’s roommate.  And he is now an employee of Excel Sports Management.

Since Menocal left CSE, he has been influential in bringing in Jason Heyward, Freddie Freeman, and now, Mark Teixeira as Excel Sports Management clients.  Talk about a man pushing his weight.  I also think it is worth mentioning that Menocal is a class act.  Menocal started working with CSE in the Summer of 2005, when I was interning with the company.  From the day I met him, he was friendly and always carried a smile around the office.  It is nice to see someone like that having success in the sports agent industry at a young age.

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.