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Johnny Damon Loves Octopus And The Red Wings

Is Johnny Damon getting more press as a free agent than he did with the most popular baseball team in America (the New York Yankees)?  Everyone is speculating that Damon will have to take less than the Yankees original offseason offer (speculated around 2-years, $19 million) if he hopes to play in 2010.  And he continues to be written up in major regional/national papers.  A recent, interesting write-up may be found in the Detroit Free Press.  You know it’s going to be a doozy when a story starts with the title, Johnny Damon likes Yzerman, Tigers.  Of interest to very few people, but still placed in the piece, are the following statements:

Damon has rooted for the Red Wings for years. He started doing so because of how much he likes [Steve] Yzerman. Damon’s agent, Scott Boras, talked Monday about Damon’s fervor for the Red Wings.

“When he and I go to a Greek restaurant, he always orders octopus,” Boras said.

It’s a cute line by Boras.  Boras has received some heat for saying it.  But it has given his client relevance and has made many people keep Damon on their minds.  A lot of that has to do with the fact that newspapers will print whatever Boras speaks.  Do you think that the Greek restaurant line was a smart and/or calculated play?

Personally, I mind the Greek restaurant line less than the following paragraph in the article:

“Johnny came to me about Detroit,” Boras said in a telephone interview. “He told me, ‘If I can’t play for the Yankees, I want you to let the Tigers know I want to play for them. I can make that team a winner.’ “

That particular line makes me believe that Boras and Damon are getting desperate for an offer.  To me, the line only seems to diminish Damon’s leverage in any current or future negotiations with Detroit.

I’ll close this with a great quote from Ty Duffy of TheBigLead.com,

Johnny Damon is from Orlando. His offseason home is in Windermere, Fla. I will extol Detroit’s virtues to anyone. But, no person in the history of humanity who lives in a posh part of Florida has said, “You know what? I want to spend more than half the year in Detroit.”

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 “Johnny Damon Loves Octopus And The Red Wings”

I can see how this will have both positive and negative effects on leverage in negotiations .

One thing that is important to understand is that Detroit is a very sensitive city. It looks like Boras understands this and is trying to get the city behind his client. I feel like us Detroiters will embrace someone at the slightest positive thing that person says, and Boras recognizes this as well.

Also, you wrote that the first quote you placed in the article is “of interest to very few people.” I would disagree considering the article was in a Detroit newspaper and written by a Detroit Free Press columnist. The quote is definitely of interest to a great many people here in Detroit and the response on sports radio here has been positive. There are few people who embody the character of Detroit better than Yzerman, and Boras/Damon know that. I feel like this was just another measly shot at the sport of hockey, which has been outplayed since 2005.

If I were Boras, and I’m serious about this, I’d have Damon driving a Ford, GM, or Chrysler immediately.

It looks like Boras knew what he was doing. The Tigs offered Damon a one-year K worth $7M and a two-year K worth $14M. The next highest offer was $4M for one year.

Apparently Illitch didn’t want to pay for a young outfielder who is already producing and still has tons of potential, but will pay for an older outfielder who is past his prime.

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