Money Players

Money Players Links

Money Players is all about being the best resource for the business of being a professional athlete. Here are some links from around the web that we think are must reads for any current or aspiring professional athlete and their families.

• Sports agent C. Lamont Smith talks to Sports Agent Blog’s Darren Heitner about his new venture, jocklife.com. According to Smith, “Jocklife.com is for athletes of all levels: high school, college, and professional. The whole gist of the Jocklife platform is to bring some balance and fairness to the coverage of athletes…give athletes the opportunity to define themselves. Today, athletes are really defined by the coverage they get and the stories written about them. Very few times do they have the opportunity to define themselves in an extended fashion.”
  
  
• Slam Magazine’s Lang Whitaker interviews NBA agents Lon Babby and Jim Tanner. Tanner and Babby are known in NBA circles for their fee structure (hourly rather than percentage based) that saves their clients a lot of money.  They also are known as the agents that negotiated Josh Childress’ ground breaking deal with Greek professional team Olimpiacos.
  
  
• A nice piece by SI’s Kevin Armstrong on top high school basketball player Jordan Hamilton and his tight knit family. Hamilton’s mother mentions his intentions to sign a National Letter of Intent in the near future. Hopefully, she understands both the positives and the negatives of such a move.
  
  
• According to reports, Stephon Marbury has just spent $45 million to purchase a new private jet. Stephon has made a lot of money throughout his career (approximately $150 million), but this could turn out to be a purchase Steph will regret. Stephon probably has plans to lease the plane out when he is not utilizing it, but Scottie Pippen tried to do the same thing, and that didn’t end well for him. Stephon might want to put down the Bankruptcy Tonic and pick up a copy of Money Players.
  
  
• The Wall Street Journal with a report on how budget cuts in college athletic departments could hurt the U.S. in future Olympics.
  
  
• Another article on Baylor hiring the former AAU coach of top recruit John Wall. We first told you about this story in a previous set of Money Players Links.

-Nate Jones

For more in-depth information on the business of being a professional athlete, purchase Money Players: A Guide to Success in Sports, Business & Life for Current and Future Pro Athletes, written by our own Marc Isenberg.

Money Players Links

Money Players is all about being the best resource for the business of being a professional athlete. Here are some links from around the web that we think are must reads for any current or aspiring professional athlete and their families.

• Lester Munson with a great tribute to the late Gene Upshaw. Munson gives a very thorough breakdown of how Upshaw fought for and gained free agency rights for NFL players. You have to wonder what benefits NFL players would have today without the work of Gene Upshaw.
   
• On Ball Don’t Lie, Rod Benson wonders if his blogging might be part of the reason he hasn’t been signed by an NBA team. With more and more professional athletes starting their own blogs, one has to wonder if blogs help or hurt them. Some might say that Gilbert Arenas has both hurt and helped himself a ton with his NBA.com blog.
  
  
• More on Jameer Nelson’s “Building Magic” team building event. We have no idea if this will translate to wins, but this definitely shows that Jameer Nelson is a leader, through and through.
  
  
• According to bankruptcy papers, Michael Vick is losing $12K per month. Michael is going through tough times now, but he’ll have a chance to rebuild his life in the near future. Hopefully he’ll come out and be willing teach young up and coming athletes about the mistakes he has made, so that they won’t make the same mistakes in the future.
  
  
• According to NCAA President, Myles Brand, "NCAA amateurism regulations preclude individuals from receiving cash or the equivalent thereof (e.g. trust fund), as an award for participation in competition at any time, even if such an award is permitted under the rules governing an amateur non-collegiate event in which the individual participates."  The NCAA has dug its heels in on the amateur issue and shows no signs of relenting. Interestingly, the International Olympic Committee, which for many decades insisted that the amateurism was a core belief, dramatically relaxed its amateur rules. In 1974, the word "amateurism" was removed from the Olympic Charter, which eventually paved the way for the participation of athletes who received compensation, either through playing or endorsements. Regulating amateur athletes in a marketplace that places a high value on elite student-athletes is becoming increasingly difficult. The NCAA is in a tough situation. What do you think the NCAA and its membership should do? 
  
  
• Speaking of Brand, the Indianapolis Star gives us a report on Dr. Brand’s NCAA salary.  With an annual salary of $971,000, the NCAA President makes more than every public university president in the country. But he also makes less than ever major sports commissioner in the country. His job has similar requirements to both of those groups, so his salary being in between the two might be right on point.
  
  
• Brand was also in the Huffington Post this past week talking about the topic of pay for play in college sports.  In response, Brian Grummell of AOL’s Fanhouse gives us his take on the topic.  The comments section on Brand’s Huffington piece are also worth taking a close look at.
  
  
• The New York Times investigates if endorsement opportunities disappear for Olympic athletes that are injured before they have a chance to perform.
  
  
• Speaking of the Olympics, CNBC’s Darren Rovell has been doing an excellent job of covering the business side of the Olympics. We highly recommend rummaging through his blog archives over the last couple of weeks to soak up all of the information you can. You can start with this post on the most marketable non-team sport athletes following the Olympics.
  
  
• Check back Thursday for another set of must read Money Players Links.

-Nate Jones

For more in-depth information on the business of being a professional athlete, purchase Money Players: A Guide to Success in Sports, Business & Life for Current and Future Pro Athletes, written by our own Marc Isenberg.

 

 

Marc Isenberg Speaks to the Orlando Magic on the Business of Being a Professional Basketball Player

For the past three off-seasons, Jameer Nelson has organized an event that he calls the “Building Magic Week”, where he flies his Orlando Magic teammates into his hometown of Philadelphia for team/camaraderie building sessions. Jameer usually spends his own money to house his teammates in a hotel, pay for their meals, and provide basketball training and conditioning sessions. This year he added a little wrinkle to the “Building Magic” sessions, hiring our own Marc Isenberg to speak to the team about the business of being a Professional Basketball player.  You can read a full write up on this year’s “Building Magic Week” and Marc’s participation at the event on the Philadelphia Inquirer.

-Nate Jones

Money Players Links

Money Players is all about being the best resource for the business of being a professional athlete. Here are some links from around the web that we think are must reads for any current or aspiring professional athlete and their families.

• Sean Deveney reports on the National Basketball Players Association's high-growth entrepreneurship program. This summer the program offered NBA players four days of intense business classes and workshops at Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management, one of the nation's best business schools. This is something that any NBA Player with an interest in investing in or starting a business should get involved in. The gold in the article comes from, program director, Professor Steve Rogers: "Every single athlete is approached with get-rich ideas all the time," Rogers said. "But they don't have the tools to evaluate those ideas. Their focus is basketball. They should be saying no to these deals almost every time. At big venture capital firms, they will get 3,000 business plans per year, and they'll say yes to, maybe, eight of them. Of those eight, not all are going to work out. Sometimes a solid, legitimate business idea just doesn't work. What makes things harder for high-profile people like athletes is that a lot of the people who are offering them these deals are not legitimate. That's where this program is aimed to help."
  
  
• Speaking of athlete’s not being prepared to make sound business investments, Valley Wag composed a list of the worst athlete-backed internet startups of all time.
  
  
• Sam Smith gives us thoughts on the exodus of NBA players to Europe this summer. The comment section of the post is really pretty interesting.
  
  
• The Economist has a great special report on the globalization of sports.
  
  
• A lesson to be learned: Chose your agents and your business managers wisely. These are just accusations at this point, but $500K is a lot of money to lose.
  
  
• An outstanding breakdown by CBS Sportsline’s Gary Parrish on the quid pro quo aspect of college basketball recruiting. I would also recommend reading Parrish’s article on the Elite Camps.
  
  
• Sticking with the theme of Parrish’s article, Baylor hires the AAU coach of top recruit, John Wall, as their player development head.
  
  
• Tom Ziller of Fanhouse looks at the production of the 2004 NBA draft class last season versus the contract extensions they received. Just a hint: The order of salaries isn’t in step with who produces the most.
  
  
• Forbes has a cover story on the most powerful coach in sports: "[Saban] was given total control of the football program: recruiting, coaching, business administration and public relations. There are coaches at other universities who have similar salaries, like Charlie Weis at Notre Dame and Pete Carroll at the University of Southern California. But no coach, including those in the professional leagues, can match Saban's combination of money, control and influence. Saban, now entering his second year as the coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide, is the most powerful coach in sports.”
  

--Nate Jones

For more in-depth information on the business of being a professional athlete, purchase Money Players: A Guide to Success in Sports, Business & Life for Current and Future Pro Athletes, written by our own Marc Isenberg.

The Brandon Jennings Experiment

Those who follow college basketball are split on the implications of star basketball player Brandon Jennings' decision to go off overseas, rather than follow the traditional, established path to the NBA. I have a tough time criticizing someone who decides that college basketball and college are not for him. I think it is premature to judge Brandon, mostly because the public and the media does not know all the factors that went into his decision. Clearly, he is not academically motivated, which for 99.999% of the population is not a good thing, but in Brandon's situation this may turn out to be fine. Hopefully, he is motivated to learn about those things that most directly impact his responsibilities and opportunities as a professional basketball player. The college basketball community and media will be watching to see how the Brandon Jennings Experiment turns out. If he succeeds in Europe, basketball's most likely "one and done" prospects will have a viable option. If Brandon fails he might end up becoming a cautionary tale, although the population of one does is still not a sufficient sample to reach any meaningful conclusion.

Let's look at a sampling of opinions:

ESPN's Doug Gottlieb (subscription required) thinks Brandon is getting in over his head, writing "Jennings is not ready for the culture shock of playing overseas, for the challenge of playing grown men as opposed to over-matched high schoolers, for the huge drop in the NBA draft stock. Yet that might not be enough to deter him from skipping school. And in the long run, he might end up a lower-rated NBA prospect but a better player and more well-rounded, grounded person."

Jason Whitlock "Why risk being the next O.J. Mayo, the USC one-and-done-er done in by sloppy ESPN reporting, a former, opportunistic friend/ex-drug-dealer and antiquated NCAA rules?" Comment: The problem going forward is every top basketball must be prepared to the get the full O.J. Mayo Treatment. If they have any skeletons in their closet or even just some questionable associations, the media and rival fan sites will bury the kid.

Sports agent David Bauman (and an Emory classmate of mine) on how the college basketball might change if Brandon succeeds: "College would be a bunch of nobodies. TV interest would drop and the overall product would suffer."

Comment: College basketball will be fine, even if the top 5 to 7 players bypass college. In fact, I think it might be even better. The focus can turn to those who want to be in college and have the ability, the interest and the motivation to do the academic work.

Several interesting comments from a Washington Post article on the topic:

Syracuse basketball coach Jim Boeheim

"[Jennings is] only doing it because he's desperate. He wants to be a one-and-done player. So he doesn't sit out [a year] some place, he wants to go play. I'm not even sure he'll be that wanted in Europe. He's a thin, little guard, and European basketball is pretty good these days. It's not like he's going to go over there and be a star."

Comment: Sour grapes. Was Syracuse's most famous one-and-done any more academically prepared and motivated than Brandon? From my perspective it is inappropriate for a college coach to comment on a player's academic background, especially since he has no direct connection to him. Also, while I respect Boeheim's coaching ability and also his international experience, since when did he become an expert on European professional basketball?

NCAA president Myles Brand

"Before the rule took effect and we had some young men jump from high school to the pros, we had a successful game and March Madness pulled in millions of dollars. After the rule, we've had some success and March Madness has pulled in millions of dollars. Either way for us is fine. It's up to the young man."

Comment: Agreed! For those who accuse the NCAA of being a monopoly, the argument weakens if players have viable options.

--Marc Isenberg

UPDATE: Sporting News college basketball writer Mike DeCourcy emailed: "Any idea if this David Bauman fellow was living in Singapore or something from 1995-2005, a period during which college basketball missed out on Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James -- and still landed a $6 billion TV contract for its postseason tournament alone?"

Comment: College basketball is a marketing juggernaut. The D-League unquestionably has more talented basketball players, but how many people follow the league? The college basketball consumer is not savvy enough to figure this out, nor do they even care. DeCourcy also writes one of the more well-reasoned articles on the topic. David may not understand the popularity of college basketball, but he certainly understands NBA free agency.

Lakers-Celtics: Looking carefully at the Celts (not so) uniforms

A great tip from my friend Jeff "The Hawkeye" Fellenzer: Did you notice in the montage of photos on the first page, bottom left photo, of the series coverage in this week's Sports Illustrated, that Celtics players in the early '60s apparently wore road jerseys with either "Boston" or "Celtics" on them at the same time? Sanders' jersey says "Boston," Russell's says "Celtics." Typical Russ...his own man. I'd never noticed that before, or remembered it. A uniform that wasn't, well, uniform!

If anyone has a digital image, please email marc.isenberg@gmail.com. Thanks.

Great footage from Lakers-Celtics finals past.

Let the games begin. Prediction: Lakers in 7 games. And I'll take 7 overtimes.

 

ESPN investigates OJ Mayo and Rodney Guillory

Last week, I was critical of people who came forward with secondhand, flimsy information alleging agent impropriety. Well, Louis Johnson, a former business associate of Rodney Guillory, blew the whistle on alleged improper relationships involving O.J. Mayo, Rodney Guillory (an LA-based promoter with a questionable past) and Bill Duffy & Associates, a sports agency. Johnson, who does have some character issues, spoke at length with ESPN’s Kelly Naqi.

A disclaimer: I am friends with Bill Duffy and Calvin Andrews. In fact, Bill gave me a nice endorsement quote for my book. I would be disappointed if it is proven that BDA was bankrolling Guillory, particularly without Mayo’s knowledge. I also know the whistleblower, Louis Johnson.

I’ve written a lot about the specter of agents providing direct and indirect benefits to high school and college players. While there are relevant issues related to NCAA rules and amateurism, I doubt I have anything new to add. Definitely read Yahoo!'s Dan Wetzel. And listen to Dan Patrick's interview with Sonny Vaccaro. My focus is on elite athletes negatively impacted by agents and their intermediaries who use money to buy them on the cheap.

I tell athletes, hypothetically, if the NCAA said tomorrow it was no longer a violation to take extra benefits from agents and runners, I would still argue strongly that they absolutely should not accept agents' money. The reasons have been discussed ad nauseam on this blog. Most important, when it comes time to select an agent, I want athletes choosing the best agents based on merit, not illicit relationships and benefits. 

A few interesting exchanges and tidbits from Kelly Naqi's investigation:

Mother's intuition
Kelly Naqi interviewed O.J.'s mother in February 2008
Naqi: Do you trust Rodney?
O.J.'s mother: No.
Naqi: Why?
O.J.'s mother: It's a mama feeling. I don't  know yet. If Rodney's intentions are good, fine. If it ever plays out that it's not, it's going to go be terrible.

Selling O.J. on the cheap
Lous Johnson on how much money BDA provided to Guillory
"I know there were roughly anywhere between $200 and $250,000 in cash and other benefits that came from the relationship with BDA.
On how much went directly to O.J.
"My best estimate would be maybe $30,000 max for him and the people that were associated him. Most of that stuff never really made it to O.J. OJ really saw a lot of the scraps. The fact of the matter is OJ has been pimped by Rodney."

Complicity
On whether O.J. was complicit in his dealings
Johnson: O.J. wasn't as complicit in some of the things that happened. And I think I've proven that because he wasn't the direct beneficiary of a lot of things that was happening.
Naqi: But he got something he wouldn't have access to he wouldn't to otherwise and he got what he wanted.
Johnson: Yeah, but at the same time, how can you, I or anyone else really sit here and blame him when his circumstances?...He played within the rules of the game. And this is the game: runners, agents, shoe companies, other elements. This is the game. He had no choice but to play it considering his circumstance, considering what was going on in his life, considering how he was living.

The most direct, damning evidence
In an ESPN Chat on Monday, Kelly Naqi wrote, "OJ told [ESPN's Andy] Katz last night that he did not 'receive any money from Calvin or Rodney or anything.' However, the cell phone number that Katz used to get that quote from Mayo was the same number that shows up on Mayo's September cell phone bill, which we obtained, which shows that that number was billed to Guillory's non-profit organization in California called the ICR Foundation. We also obtained proof that Guillory made the initial purchase of that particular cell phone of OJ's."

Best warning since, "Bin Laden Determined to Attack Inside the United States"
In an October 2006 article CBSSportsline's Greg Doyel forewarned: "Burned by Bush, Southern California should be of wary Mayo."

The fallout
While Johnson's claim that he is trying to save O.J. is dubious, I think basketball on many levels will benefit from these poorly-kept secrets being exposed. Kelly Nagy said in an ESPN chat earlier today, "The NCAA has already contacted me about my report. Based on that conversation, I suspect they'll be looking into this." Stay tuned.

--Marc Isenberg

Reebok's Chris Rivers on NCAA-NBA partnership

At the Final Four the NCAA and NBA announced an "historic partnership" to improve youth basketball. My friend Chris Rivers, Reebok's director of basketball sports marketing, writes a must-read column in Basketball Times. This month he offers his thoughts on the NCAA/NBA partnership to "raise awareness rather than offend."

From Chris Rivers, Reebok:

I applaud the fact that [the NCAA-NBA Partnership has] raised $5 million dollars to put together a task force of "later to be named" individuals to work in a "later to be named" location and specifically address "later to be named" issues.

Below are just some thoughts that make you go "hmm."

• When was the last time anyone saw David Stern or Myles Brand at a youth basketball game?
• If the NCAA's primary concern is education, how can teams fly three hours for an NCAA Tournament game – two days before it starts – and then tell parents that their son needs to attend summer school to make up for the time missed while traveling?
• If college coaches and universities can have million-dollar shoe contracts and multimillion-dollar all-school deals, why are the July shoe camps being "redflagged" as something that isn't good for the game?
• If the NCAA seems so concerned with a certain element that surrounds youth basketball, why have such a high percentage of college coaches evolved from this same system?
• Who was the last NCAA head coach who used his own personal credit card to make sure his program had hotel rooms during a recent road trip? What about airline tickets? Meals? Rental cars? Keep thinking.
• If youth basketball is in such need of a developmental overhaul to produce better fundamentally sound players, why do underclassmen annually dominate the NBA draft?
• I agree that our system should have more regulations and better training and coaching, like our national soccer system. I have studied some of their infrastructure, and they are very impressive at the youth level. But let's just hope that our international performance record is better than our soccer brethren, which last won the World Cup in 1950.

Excerpts published with permission from Basketball Times. Subscribe at www.basketballtimes.com.

BTW-- Chris has a significant role in the upcoming basketball documentary Gunnin' for that Number #1 Spot."

Cheating accusations are not cheating...

and why college athlete cheaters won't prosper

Earlier I posted on CNBC's Darren Rovell interview with sports agent David Falk. Falk laments that the "sports agent business has become so corrupt." Falk made a vague accusation that an unnamed agent paid an unspecified player college player $500,000. Now that the rumor is out there it will undoubtedly pick up steam quickly, particularly since there are only a few likely candidates.

Cheating explains a lot, especially when some event doesn't quite make sense. Examples: A 170-pound shortstop hits 30 home runs; ergo he took steroids. A McDonald's All-American signs with Podunk State U; ergo he was paid. It's like the old joke explaining why Sam Bowie stayed at Kentucky five years. Answer: He didn't want to take a pay cut.  It gets a laugh, but was there ever any proof?

Falk's friend says this kid took money from an agent, but why put it out there as rumor rather than produce hard evidence? For sure we know it is an NCAA violation for a college athlete and his family to receive $500,000. There's also a 72% chance that this is a violation of a state's Uniform Athletes Agent Act (UAAA), since it is now against the law in 36 states. The next to last thing I want is for rumors to turn into witchhunts. The last thing I want, however, is for cheating agents to prosper.

I do not agree with every NCAA rule. I have spoken and written extensively about things the NCAA and its members can do to improve college athletics, BUT...I still tell any athlete or parent who listens that it is absolutely foolish to take money from an agent or their representatives.

My reasons:
1) Whatever benefit that is offered is not sufficient compensation to risk their college eligibility. That agent is knowingly exposing an athlete to a minefield of potential hazards (no eligibility = no opportunity to impress pro scouts, lawsuits, etc.)
2) I don't like blanket statements, but here's one: a cheating agent is a bad agent. He can't compete by selling vague concepts such as competency and ethics, so he diverts attention from the real issues and, instead, focuses on cold, hard cash.
3) Payments by agents are not gifts, but loans that must be repaid. $500k might sound like a lot, especially to an unpaid "amateur," but even at a 10% interest rate, this is a $50,000 annual benefit. Chump change to an athlete about to turn pro.
4) Taking money from an agent is a sure-fire way to either sign with a bad agent and/or become a victim of blackmail (see Marcus Camby, Reggie Bush). Cheaters cheat because they believe they won't get caught. However, as the media, rival fans and the Internet become more aggressive, the chances of getting caught, I believe, are increasing. You too can be an NCAA sleuth!!

--Marc Isenberg

UPDATE: David Falk explains his "$500,000 and three years too late" comment to Henry Abbott's True Hoop.

The bad business of basketball

Darren Rovell interviews sports agent David Falk, who offers some interesting comments about what he (and definitely others) think is wrong with basketball. While I don't like to deal in rumor and innuendo on this blog (not that there's anything wrong with that Buzz Bissinger), I think this is worthy of further discussion. A few snippets (definitely read the entire interview, which also talks about Falk's $5 million donation to Syracuse to start a sports management program):

Darren: How hard is it to be an agent these days?

Falk: It's easier these days because the role of agents is being diminished every year as the leagues continue to pass rules that dramatically restrict what agents can do. In the NBA, they have the rookie scale and the max deals, so they are capping salaries on the front and back end so at every turn you lose your ability to be an entrepreneurial dealmaker. I'm not angry about it. It is what it is. But it just goes to show you the nature of the leagues and their relative strength against their unions.

Darren: There's a reason that the business has a dirty reputation. What's your take on it?

Falk: Instead of evolving, the sports agent business has devolved. ...[W]e're dealing in a world where agents are splitting fees with AAU coaches all the time. And it's getting worse. I wanted to meet a college player who I really enjoyed watching this year. So I asked a friend of mine, who is a very powerful man in the game, to introduce me to him. And he said, "I'd like to help but I can't." And when I asked why. He said, "You are three years and $500,000 short."

Darren: How much are the players to blame in all of this?

Falk: They definitely play a part. I bumped into a player the other day and he said he was on his third agent in 10 years in the league. And this agent was calling him every day and I said to him, "Did you jump from high school into the league?" And he said, "Yeah." And I said, "You're 28 now. Why are you still acting like you're in high school? If you need someone to call you everyday you should have probably gone to college.
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If the basketball biz is so dirty, what can be done to improve?

Last month the NCAA and the NBA announced a partnership to address some of the corrupting influences associated with basketball. The NCAA and NBA have provided few details about exactly what they will do to improve the basketball culture. John Feinstein has his doubts [NBA, NCAA Plan to Make Plans].

My small -- but hopefully effective -- solution was to write Money Players, a book to help athletes (and their families) understand the business and ultimately make better financial decisions. Let me know what you think, either by posting a comment below or by e-mailing.

--Marc Isenberg