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Manny Being Influenced To Be Manny?

Should Boston fans really be upset with Manny Ramirez?  The guy sure bitched a lot about the city in the past few years, but was there another reason for Manny’s move to Los Angeles?  This other reason is so important that MLB has launched a full investigation into the background of the trade.

Manny Ramirez was eying the end of his contract with the Red Sox; an eight-year deal worth a total of $160 million.  The Red Sox had an option to hold onto the slugger for $20 million in 2009 and 2010, but Manny apparently wanted to test the free-agent market.  He fired his former agent, Greg Genske, who took over LS Legacy Sports Group when Jeff Moorad left to become CEO of the Arizona Diamondbacks.  Genske has a very impressive list of clients, including Pat Burrell, C.C. Sabathia, and Scott Kazmir, but Ramirez was not happy.  In February of this year, he dropped Genske and picked up Mr. Boras.

So why the investigation?  Maybe Manny was content playing in Boston, but Scott Boras was inconspicuously pushing him to move, putting money into Boras Corp sooner than later.  Had Manny stayed in Boston, Boras Corp could have been representing Ramirez for the next two years without any commission (if Boston chose to retain Manny’s services at $20 million per year).  Personally, this scenario is hard for me to believe.  I do not think that Scott Boras or his company would be interested in having Manny’s options dropped just so that they could rake some quick dough.  Would an agent ever tell his client to play at half speed just to have his club’s option dropped due to a trade?

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.

2 replies on “Manny Being Influenced To Be Manny?”

I think a potential conflict of interest is always at hand when one agent respresents multiple athletes, especially when they play for the same team. It would be in an agents benefit to have players on different teams to maximize each of their earning potentials. The fact that Boras wasn’t recieving a commission on Manny’s current contract only fuels those assertions.

It may be easier to get Manny more than $20 million in LA than it would have been in Boston, where he also has to try and work out a deal for Varitek after milking them for $70 million (J.D. Drew) and having Johnny Damon sign with the Yanks.

Perhaps Boras was only one half of the equation – maybe the Red Sox didn’t want to re-sign Manny and didn’t want to just let him walk, fearing criticism from the fans. Maybe both sides wanted to split and worked together to make it seem logical rather than being based solely on financial reasons.

At the end of the day we will probably never know, but I agree, it does seem very shady to say the least.

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