Yankees Consider Use of Disparagement Clauses
Following the release of a book in which Joe Torre discusses his years with the New York Yankees, sometimes in unflattering terms, the Yankees are considering inserting disparagement clauses into its coaching and managerial contracts. For a legal analysis of the use of such clauses, see Michael McCann’s article on SI.com. McCann identifies three key points:
- If a player is traded, can he share inside information about an ex-teammate?
- These clauses could dramatically influence relations between media and players
- For ex-players who go into broadcasting, this could have a chilling effect
NFL Coaching Carousel
Robert Boland of the National Football Post offers his analysis of the winners and losers of this year’s coaching carousel. In an interesting note, Boland reports that new St. Louis Rams coach Steve Spagnuoulo has an opt-out clause in his contract should the team be sold. Boland also discusses how the timing of some coaching changes may prevent teams from receiving an off-set for the former coach’s salary:
Despite having offset provisions in virtually all NFL coaching contracts that allow owners to get off the hook for part of a fired coaches pay if they work again, Denver and Tampa Bay will pay around $15 million dollars this year to coaches who won’t coach for them or anywhere else this season.
It’s cool!