Earlier this week, I had a blast speaking at the American Bar Association Forum On The Entertainment And Sports Industries. I spoke on the issue of high interest rate loans to athletes, and was somewhat surprised to find that much of those in attendance were unaware of the loans (not just “lockout loans”) that athletes have been taking out. Anyway, on to the next one, which will be the Sports Lawyers Association 38th Annual Conference at the end of next week. At the ABA conference, I sat on a panel with Gregory L. Curtner of Schiff Hardin LLP, who happens to represent the NCAA in many high-profile cases. At SLA, I get the opportunity to sit with his colleague, Donald M. Remy, General Counsel and Vice President of Legal Affairs, NCAA. Lots of NCAA in the span of a couple of weeks. Here are some stories I missed over the past seven days:
Football
- Josh Luchs gives praise to Pat Dye, Jr. [How Agents Influence the Draft].
- “Any agent who says that he can’t make a difference in the draft process shouldn’t be in this industry” [One former agent’s take on draft: It’s nervous time].
- $150,000 investment and only 1 draft pick? Ouch? [Niskayuna sports agent keys on NFL Draft]
- Rick Smith of Priority Smith refuses to represent two guys in the Draft that play at the same position [Sports agent drawn to three Michigan NFL draft prospects].
- Baseball has Bean Stringfellow. Football has Doc Ping [Doc Ping At Work on NFL Draft Day].
- Highlights Ron Slavin of BTI Sports Advisors [Sports agent and Janesville Craig grad says he’s ‘like a life manager’].
Baseball
- Arbitration claim for breach of contract filed in Dominican Republic [Claim filed against Yoenis Cespedes].
Sports Business
- Armato used to represent guys like Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Shaquille O’Neal [Leverage Agency Appoints Former Skechers CMO & President Fitness Group Leonard Armato as Chairman & Managing Director].