Entries from March 2008
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Gridiron Bash, intended to turn spring football games at 16 NCAA schools into a weekend of entertainment, was cancelled due to concerns that student athletes were being used improperly to promote the event.
Categories: Colleges and Universities · National Football League · UConn Sports
In Connecticut, the lack of professional sports combined with the astronomical prices of attending major league venues has created strong interest in minor league sports. Minor league baseball, with teams in New Britain, Norwich and Bridgeport, enjoys particularly strong fan support. Now imagine if you could invest in your favorite minor league ball players from the Rock Cats, Defenders and Bluefish. Should your player-investments make the big leagues, you get paid - the ultimate in fantasy baseball.
In an extremely interesting article in msn.com’s money section, the concept of athletes selling shares of their major league earnings is discussed. Randy Newsom, a minor league pitcher, has started his own company, Real Sports Investments (RSI), which sold shares in his future earnings should he make the majors. Presently the business is not selling any shares, as Newsom is trying to address concerns raised by Major League Baseball (MLB).
Without firsthand knowledge of MLB’s concerns, I have some questions of my own:
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RSI’s website includes the slogan “Now You Are the GM.” Does that allow investors to weigh in on various matters relating to their investment’s career, such as with what team to sign; whether a player should demand a trade; whether a player should comply with a position change (think Tim Wakefield) or alter his pitching motion; or whether a player should demand a contract renegotiation?
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What relationship and interactions would the investors have with the player’s agent? Should an agent or a board of directors be negotiating on behalf of the player?
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RSI claims that the business provides a form of insurance for players, who may or may not make the major leagues. That makes sense. But RSI also claims that this type of arrangement is common in professional golf and bowling. Both golf and bowling are individual performer sports. But baseball is a team sport, with owners and a union. Can this concept work in a team sport?
In general, RSI’s idea is novel and carries appeal, especially to fantasy sports junkies. Furthermore, it builds upon a trend of increased interest in the future stars - witness the NFL Draft’s television-friendly format this coming year; the exposure that ESPN gives to high school football players on national signing day; and the rise in scouting services that provide in-depth analysis of amateur players. However, whether RSI presents a workable model, or whether fans will be allowed to invest in the futures of their favorite minor league athletes remains to be seen.
Categories: Individual Performer Sports · Minor Leagues
Tagged: Bluefish, Defenders, earnings, Fantasy, invest, Major League Baseball, MLB, Newsom, Real Sports Investments, Rock Cats, RSI, share
I sent an email to Brad Blank, agent for Ricky Santos, in hopes of receiving his perspective on the NFL’s rule that excluded his client from participating at BC’s Pro Day. Blank stated that the issue is “spilled milk” and he does not wish to dwell upon it, however he was able to clarify the rule and put it into perspective. Here are the highlights of Blank’s response:
The Rule: There is no 30-mile limit. A player may work out at any pro day in the same state in which he plays college football. Additionally, a player may work out at a college that is within the “major metropolitan district” in which he resides as defined by the Rand McNally Atlas. The Atlas indicated that Bellingham is not within the same metroplitan district as Chestnut Hill.
The Justification: the NFL’s rule exists to prevent “forum shopping” or in this case pro day campus shopping. The NFL also doesn’t want to encourage players to jump from pro day to pro day in an attempt to maximize performance and exposure.
Blank also added that as a purely legal matter, he believed the NFL to be well within its rights.
Many thanks to Brad Blank for taking the time to respond to my email and offer his insight. The NFL’s decision may have hurt Santos’ draft status, but there will be no shortage of fans rooting for Santos to get a shot to play in the NFL.
Categories: Colleges and Universities · National Football League
60 Minutes recently aired a story about the financial impact of David Beckham’s 2007 transfer to the Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer (MLS). Despite the less than stellar success of his move to L.A. on the field (the Galaxy missed the 2007 playoffs), the financial triumph of the deal is already apparent. More than 300,000 Beckham jerseys have been sold nationwide (all sporting the logo of Herbalife, which paid an estimated $25 million for the privilege of sponsoring the Beckham-led Galaxy for five years), making it the highest selling sports jersey in the United States. Galaxy ticket sales climbed, as did ticket prices, providing a double bounce to the bottom line. Preseason Galaxy barnstorms to New Zealand, Australia and the Far East added visibility and money to the coffers of AEG (the Galaxy’s primary owner).
The Beckham Bounce has trickled down throughout the league; ticket sales were up a reported 9% in 2007 and league average attendance hovers around the 17,000 mark. Two new franchises (at an estimated 30 million dollars in franchise fees each) are entering the league in the next two years and at least half of the teams in the league boast multi-million dollar jersey sponsors that include such prominent corporations as Best Buy, BMO and Glidden. Most of the teams will have their own stadiums by 2010, thereby shedding franchises of costly rental fees and concession splitting. League sponsors such as Dick’s Sporting Goods and Adidas are pouring money into the league and for multiple networks (including omnipresent ESPN) are paying MLS for the right to broadcast their games.
Whether these financial advances are attributable to Beckham is questionable (most of the stadiums were in the works before his arrival), yet it is inarguable that his presence has coincided with a stunning influx of cash for a league that had hemorrhaged money during the first decade of its existence. More MLS teams turned a profit in 2007 then in any previous year, a trend that seems likely to continue. Nevertheless, player salaries remain low; with team wages capped under $3,000,000 (each team has the right to pay one player outside the cap using the “Beckham Rule”).
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The League’s growth has provided an array of opportunities for sports legal professionals. Soccer’s arcane transfer rules and international flavor require diligent and complex player and franchise representation. Small errors in transfer paperwork regularly torpedo well-publicized transfers and improper Visa applications leave newly signed players unable to compete for their new teams. The explosion of sponsorship deals, the expansion of soccer related media and the massive amounts of soccer related construction have opened new arenas of soccer/legal partnerships. Beckham’s impact on the fortunes of the LA Galaxy’s on-field product remain to be seen, but his economic impact throughout MLS is already apparent.
Attorney Ben Berger, an avid fan of soccer and MLS, is an attorney at Updike, Kelly & Spellacy in Hartford, Connecticut. Ben can be reached at bberger@uks.com or at 860-548-2636.
Categories: Major League Soccer
Ricky Santos, the record-setting quarterback for the University of New Hampshire, was denied an opportunity to display his skills in front of NFL coaches and scouts at Boston College’s Pro Day last week. The NFL apparently requires that a player eligible for Pro Day either attend college in the same state or live within a certain distance (30 miles, I believe) from the school at which the particular Pro Day is held. Santos hails from Bellingham, Massachusetts, located about 38 miles from BC’s Chestnut Hill campus.
After failing to garner an invite to the NFL combine despite a reportedly solid showing in the Hula Bowl, BC’s Pro Day would have provided Santos the opportunity to work out in front of representatives of 22 NFL teams. Santos was initially invited to work out at BC by Eagles Head Coach Jeff Jagodzinski. The NFL, however, did not allow Santos to participate, over the protestations of his agent Brad Blank:
”It would have been a real opportunity for him…We looked into it, and the league explained that Bellingham is not in a major metropolitan region, as explained by Rand McNally. It’s a shame.”
After having been left out in the cold by the NFL, Santos was left to work out in a dusty indoor track at UNH (as opposed to BC’s indoor facility), with scouts from a mere 3 teams (Eagles, Patriots and Steelers) in attendance.
The NFL’s application of this rule appears to accomplish little, besides denying Santos the opportunity to get a legitimate NFL tryout. Consider the following:
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William Green, a former BC player originally from New Jersey, who last played for the Cleveland Browns, attended Pro Day and worked out at BC; and
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Because of the presence of
Matt Ryan, the consensus top QB in the draft, the coaches and scouts in attendance not only represented 22 teams, but represented 22 teams that were presumably interested in drafting a
quarterback. Wouldn’t the NFL coaches and scouts prefer seeing 2 quarterbacks perform rather than 1?
I simply cannot discern the NFL’s rationale for this rule. I could understand if there was concern that players would be Pro Day-shopping, searching for the most advantageous location. I could also understand a concern for unqualified players looking to attend Pro Day on a lark. But in Santos’ case, he is from Massachusetts. There is no comparable Pro Day at UNH or anywhere closer than BC. Moreover, people believe that Santos can play - as evidenced by his invitation to BC. What could be wrong with a special invitation for a local player like Santos? Wouldn’t scouts rather see him at BC and save the trip to UNH?
In practice, it appears that the players hurt by the NFL’s rule are those on the fringe of the NFL draft, like Santos. The top prospects have plenty of opportunities to display their talents at the NFL combine and their own school’s Pro Day. Nevertheless, here’s hoping that Santos gets a real shot to prove his worth in the NFL.
Categories: Colleges and Universities · National Football League