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Thursday, July 29, 2004
Update: Bears, Draft Pick Compromise
From the Chicago Sun-Times
Updating our July 23rd item, "Bears, Draft Pick Fighting Over Oral Promise", the Chicago Bears have reached a compromise with draft pick Tommie Harris and signed him to a five-year contract. The Bears wanted to hold Harris to the oral promise made on draft day by his former agent, Kennard McGuire, agreeing to a six-year contract. After firing McGuire and hiring Eugene Parker, Harris demanded that the sixth year of the contract be voidable at his option.
The parties reached a compromise on the sixth year by eliminating it entirely, giving Harris the right to become a free agent after five years (like he wanted) but taking away any commitment by the Bears to pay Harris during that sixth year (like they wanted).
What's interesting about the whole tussle is that (1) NFL contracts (with the exception of signing bonuses) are not guaranteed, so Harris technically is not getting any more or less guaranteed money than he would have under a six-year deal, and (2) NFL players re-negotiate their contracts in the midst of their term all of the time, adjusting upward or downward as necessary to maintain their place on the roster, based on their performance. When a player refuses to adjust his contract, teams simply cut the player. This is something that would never happen in baseball, where the contracts are guaranteed. The MLBPA is not in the business of allowing the reopening of a guaranteed contract unless the renegotiation is for more years and more money. As always, the whole dance in football is complicated by the NFL's salary cap rules as well.
Update: Indy Ball Team Faces $3m in Liens
From the Cincinnati Post
Updating our July 27th item, "Indy Ball Team Threatened With Eviction," the Florence Freedom of the independent Frontier League now faces $3 million in liens filed by unpaid contractors who worked on the team's still-unfinished stadium. As a result, the team's ownership "agreed to separate itself from the day-to-day operations of the team" and to seek additional investors to help salvage the franchise.
Having been a player on a team in a very similar situation in the past, and having watched that team collapse under the weight of its unpaid bills, I must say the future of the Florence team does not look good.
Dolphins To Enforce "Penalty Clause"?
From ESPN
The Miami Dolphins may demand the return of $8.6 million from former RB Ricky Williams based upon "penalty clauses" included in the two-year old revision to Williams' contract and triggered by Williams' abrupt retirement. However, the NFLPA has threatened to file a grievance on Williams' behalf if the Dolphins do make such a demand, on the grounds that the New Orleans Saints (and not the Dolphins) actually paid out some of the disputed money.
Williams was traded from the Saints to the Dolphins prior to the 2002 season, and the Saints paid Williams $3.3 million of the $8.6 million the Dolphins are seeking. The remainder of the money was paid via incentive clauses in the contract.
For its part, the NFLPA asserted that "penalty clauses . . . are unenforceable, depending on state law."
Williams, meanwhile, has posted a journal entry to his hand-designed, personally maintained website saying that he has "decided to tackle some more of the issues" in his life.
Spencer Suspended Without Pay
From the New York Times
Outfielder Shane Spencer has been suspended without pay by the New York Mets after being arrested for driving 98 miles per hour at 3:20 am after consuming "six or seven" drinks. Spencer was in Florida to rehab his heel, which was sliced open when Spencer stepped on broken glass in a bar. The MLBPA is investigating whether or not to file a grievance on Spencer's behalf, probably because of the rule preventing teams from releasing players who are on the disabled list. The Mets are likely to keep Spencer suspended until he is eligible to come off the DL, and then release him at that time -- resulting in the exact same compensation paid to Spencer as if he'd been released while still on the DL.
McCourt Defaults on Boston Loan
from the Boston Globe
Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt has defaulted on a loan used to purchase an 8-story office building in Boston: "The half-acre site is one of the pieces of a 24-acre puzzle that McCourt has put up for sale, though he has insisted that it is not imperative that he sell the land in order to hang onto his heavily leveraged Dodgers baseball franchise."
Tuesday, July 27, 2004
Indy Ball Team Threatened With Eviction
from the Kentucky Post
When you're a fledgling baseball team and the local government turns on you, it's never a good thing. That's the situation the Florence Freedom, a team in the independent Frontier League, finds itself in as it struggles to payoff the costs of its brand-new stadium.
The team faces the loss of its 30-year lease with the city, since that agreement forbid the team to allow any liens to remain on the stadium -- and to date over $1.7 million in liens have been filed by disgruntled contractors.
Friday, July 23, 2004
Bears, Draft Pick Fighting Over Oral Promise
From the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Bears first-round draft pick Tommie Harris has gone back on his verbal pre-draft agreement with the team. Harris and his former agent, Kennard McGuire, agreed to a six-year contract as a condition precedent to Harris being selected by the Bears. Harris fired McGuire after the draft, hired Eugene Parker, and accordring to the Chicago Sun-Times, "the defensive tackle is said to be balking at six years, preferring a six-year deal with a voidable final season based on reasonably attainable conditions in order to experience free agency in 2009. A straight six-year deal would provide more guaranteed money than a voidable contract."
Fox Sports To Appeal In Case Against Astros
From the Houston Chronicle
Fox Sports Net has filed a notice of appeal of the summary judgment granted in their case against the Houston Astros. The motion allowed the Astros and Rockets to "proceed with launch plans for their Houston Regional Sports Network" in lieu of their long-term contracts with FSN. The appeal will be filed with either the 1st or 14th Circuit Court of Appeals in about 60 days.
MLBPA Says Expos to Move to DC Area
From ESPN, the Washington Post, and MLB.com
According to ESPN's Jayson Stark, "there is now an overwhelming probability that [the Montreal Expos] will wind up in either Washington or Northern Virginia" for the 2005 season. However, according to today's Washington Post, "MLB President Bob DuPuy called the report that the Expos will be playing in the Washington area next year 'preposterous, not true.'"
Then again, a story on MLB.com indicates that "[Gene] Orza, the union's chief operating officer, said that a story quoting unnamed sources about the Expos' future that ran Thursday on ESPN.com was substantially correct."
Wednesday, July 21, 2004
Aussie Minor Leaguers Busted For Steroids
From the Sydney Morning Herald
Two Australian minor league baseball players who tested positive for steroids last winter while playing in Australia are now facing the consequences. One of the unidentified players accepted a two year ban from Australian baseball as punishment, and the other will appear in front of the international Court of Arbitration for Sport tomorrow to plead his case. Both players are still eligible to play in the United States. According to "an official from Baseball Australia," the player accepting the two-year ban "almost certainly" would have been on the Australian Olympic team, but for his positive test results.
M's to Risk Grievance?
From ESPN & the Seattle Press-Intelligencer
According to ESPN's Peter Gammons, the rebuilding Seattle Mariners are considering releasing 2B Bret Boone in order to avoid having to pay him $8.5 million next season, since that high of a salary the makes the .240/.298/.396 hitter essentially untradeable. Adding spice to the speculation is that the $8.5 million salary level is the result of a vesting option in Boone's contract that is triggered if he reaches 450 plate appearances in 2004. Boone is already at 363 plate appearances.
If the Mariners were to release Boone, it would likely trigger a grievance from the Major League Baseball Player's Association on behalf of Boone, since releasing a player to avoid having his option vest would appear to be a violation of the club's good-faith duty.
However, Gammons' report was met with much skepticism by the Mariners. "Consider the source [Gammons]," said Mariners GM Bill Bavasi, and Boone said his agent read the report and "was laughing" about it.
Stay tuned.
The Life of a Tennis Agent
From the Ventura County Star (free registration required)
This profile of SFX's John Tobias gives a glimpse into the life of a tennis agent. Of note is that tennis reps do not get a share of the athlete's prize money, since there is no player-team contract to negotiate like in a team sport. They have to hustle for endorsement deals, and take 20% of those.
Tuesday, July 20, 2004
Darren Daulton Arrested in Florida
From CBS Sportsline/Associated Press
Former major league catcher and three-time all-star Darren Daulton has been arrested in Clearwater, Florida, thanks to a warrant resulting from a missed court appearance. Daulton has weathered spousal abuse and drunken driving charges in recent years. Daulton was first charged with drunk driving in 1988.
Infighting at SFX Over Kobe
from Newsday (New York)
Looks like Carlos Boozer's ex-agent, Rob Pelinka, hasn't exactly been a model citizen in the past either:Bryant's agent, Rob Pelinka, resigned as Carlos Boozer's agent after Pelinka and Boozer reneged on their deal to re-sign with Cleveland for $41 million, taking Utah's $68 million. That's not good enough. Pelinka should be an SF-Ex agent; he should be out of the business, or out of SFX, or suspended, or sanctioned, or something.
The slimeball agent has contributed to the NBA lexicon. To 'Pelinka': to renege for personal profit. Word is, Pelinka stole Bryant from boss Arn Tellem and stayed at SFX only after Tellem fought him. Kobe and Pelinka deserve each other.
Five minutes after becoming an NBA player, Kobe demanded that Tellem drop longtime client Reggie Miller. Tellem refused, giving him the distinction of being the first person to stand up to the Boy King.
Abrams Weighs In
From USA Today
Roger Abrams (author of The Money Pitch and a noted sports law expert) has weighed in on the current procedural standards being used (or misused) in the investigation of athletes in the wake of BALCO:For any American looking at this thing, there's a fundamental issue of fairness, or lack of fairness, that's involved . . . When someone's reputation and livelihood are at stake, it seems like they're at least entitled to some of the same protections we'd give an accused criminal." It's hard to argue with that.
Sports + Law
from the Grand Island (Nebraska) Independent
Here's a non-traditional way for lawyers with a passion for sports to "scratch the itch" -- by contributing the management and organizational skills learned as an attorney to local youth sports organizations.
On Drug Tests and Pro Sports
from USA Today
Professor Thomas DiBacco of American University writes that the current furor over performance enhancing druge use by athletes threatens to trample the athletes' Constitutional rights. Like everything else in USA Today, the article is superficial and feels harshly edited, but DiBacco makes a good point.
Monday, July 12, 2004
Court Order Lets All-Star Team Play
From the San Jose Mercury News and the Valley (TX) Morning Star
A state judge in Texas granted a temorary restraining order allowing a PONY 13 year-old All-Star baseball team to play in a weekend tournament.
The team "sued PONY Baseball Inc. and the Boys & Girls Club of McAllen [Texas] after the PONY association, based in Pennsylvania, had declared seven of the 12 players ineligible because they had played for a team run out of the Boys & Girls Club. The lawsuit said the seven thought they were playing for a United States Specialty Sports Association team." Both the Boys & Girls Club and PONY Baseball said they planned to abide by the order.
In a separate article prior to the judge's order, a PONY spokesman provided a counterpoint to the judge's position: "Our rules and regulations state that no player or team can play in two separate Pony organizations... It’s unfortunate that people resort to this type of activity (a lawsuit) because they don’t follow the rules."
This is an interesting connundrum -- one one hand there is the necessary respect for the rules, and on the other is the irreparable harm done to children by preventing them from playing (especially if it is due to the misdeeds of adults).
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