Oakland Athletics second baseman Jemile Weeks has switched representation, going from Williams & Connolly (Washington D.C.-based law firm) to Casey Close of Excel Sports Management. Weeks was a Williams & Connolly client when he was selected by the A’s with the 12th overall pick in the 2008 MLB Draft. He played his college ball at the University of Miami. Rickie […]
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 […]
There are a lot of exciting sports agencies to follow as of late. There is Excel Sports Management, which has added a baseball division under the guidance of former Creative Artists Agency (CAA) baseball agent Casey Close and former Career Sports & Entertainment baseball agent Victor Menocal, along with a brand new golf division headed by former IMG golf agent Mark […]
Just yesterday, Mark Steinberg officially decided his new agency destination after leaving IMG roughly a month-and-a-half ago. Steinberg had been the Director of IMG’s Global Golf Business and was responsible for the representation of Tiger Woods, Annika Sorenstam, and other golfers. I had speculated for quite some time that Steinberg would seriously consider joining up […]
Last week, MLBTradeRumors.com speculated as to which baseball agency had the biggest offseason, which Tim Dierkes defined as the period between October 1, 2010 – April 30, 2011. Adrian Gonzalez signed a mega-contract worth $154 million, and over the past couple of weeks, he has been earning every penny of that deal (while destroying me […]
Over the past few years, Career Sports Entertainment, re-branded as CSE, has seemed to focus less on the representation of athletes with regards to their contractual negotiations, and more on assisting major brands in their sponsorship initiatives, aiding television networks with content and production, and providing full service support to sports properties. However, the company’s […]
Casey Close represents Derek Jeter, Ryan Howard, and Derek Lee (amongst other baseball players). He is a former Michigan baseball player who won Baseball America’s National Player of the Year award in 1986. Close is a member of the fairly new MLBPA Player Agent Advisory Committee. He is nothing less than one of baseball’s major power […]
I am heading to Tampa for the weekend to experience Gasparilla for the first time. While everyone has been complaining about the snow, it has been absolutely beautiful down here in South Florida. Hate to rub it in, but it feels real good. Here are a couple of clips (Part 1/Part 2) from last weekend’s […]
As of October 1, 2010, the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) has a new set of Regulations Governing Player Agents. I am currently working on Co-Authoring a major law review/journal piece that will provide a complete synopsis of the 2010 Regulations. In the meantime, if you want to read through the entire document, feel […]
Today marks Sports Agent Blog’s 5th anniversary. What started off as a 2005 New Year’s Resolution by yours truly, has turned into its own successful and profitable business, and a publication (call it “blog” – I am proud of that word) that has at least been discussed (if not read) by every sports agent in […]