Wendel: Illegal Procedure
Published by SURFACE, 1990 1 Syracuse University Magazine, Vol. 6, Iss. 3 [1990], Art. 6
https://surface.syr.edu/sumagazine/vol6/iss3/6 2 Wendel: Illegal Procedure "Payton's perfect for Busch's 'Know When to former Iowa running back Ronnie Harmon (now Say When' campaign," Ki les says, taking a quick with the Buffalo Bills) and Paul Palmer, the 1986 glance at his side mirror and then cutting for day Heisman Trophy runner-up from Temple. light. "He doesn't drink himself and he's already Among those who testified at the Walters-Bloom out there making appearances on the race circuit." trial was Michael Franzese, a captain in the With a B.A. (1975) and law degree (1978) Colombo crime family, who said he invested from Syracuse University, Kiles is one of a half $50,000 in the agents' business and gave Walters dozen SU alumni who are deal-makers in the permission to use his name to enforce contracts world of sports. Kiles, once the agent for Orange wi th players. men football stars Bill Hurley and Art Monk, has Even though some, most notably NCAA a practice with two offices on M Street in Wash executive director Dick Schultz, said the convic ington. He represents several members of the tion sent a clear message to players and agents National Football League Redskins, and works alike, others maintain the court case merely with companies that want to serve as corporate scratched the surface of the sleazy deals cur sponsors for the 1992 Olympics and 1994 soccer From the public's rently going down in sports. The general public, World Cup. point of view, in light of this case and others, must wonder how Ki les starts to pull around another string of an average sports agent conducts his business. cars, but his quick end-around immediately I'd guess an agent Can he remain ethical and still succeed with becomes a fast fade back to the slow lane. There, ranges some sports seemingly rife with under-the-table nego in Ki les's rear-view mirror, sits a patrol car, no tiations? SU alumni who have become sports doubt eyeing the game plan of this particular red where between agents, as well as the University itself, wrestle Porsche. awife-beater with these thorny issues on a daily basis. "That wasn't very bright," Kiles says. "Pass While agents are credited with forcing team ing a cop, doing 40 in a 30 zone." and debtor on owners to hike player salaries in recent years, For the remainder of the trip up Connecticut the list of they've also been accused and occasionally con Avenue, Kiles stays in the right lane and at the victed of bribing college athletes, urging clients speed limit. After a while, the patrol car peels off. ne'er-do-wells. to hold out for stratospheric contracts and play Kiles shakes his head in relief. ing Svengali to would-be superstars. In this It could happen to any brightly colored sports DonaMA. world of broken contracts and multimillion-dol car in the fast lane, but for Cronson'84 lar salaries, agents are a window on how the sys Kiles the incident must tem works-and fails. seem emblematic, consid ering the degree of scru !NCE T HE MID-SEVENTIES, SPORTS HAS tiny sports attorneys grown into a $52-billion-a-year business, are under these days. Swith agents as the industry's new power Last spring, a U.S. brokers. Few players today feel they can district afford to represent themselves. Long gone are court in the more innocent days when a college senior dared sign a professional contract with a scout victed agents Norby while walking off the field after his last college Walte rs and Lloyd game. Now there are signing bonuses, deferred Bloom of conspiracy, payments, and incentive clauses to worry about. fraud, and extortion "Everybody I know has an agent," says T im in connection with Green, a 1986 graduate of SU's College of Arts the signing of col and Sciences and a defensive specialist for the lege players to cli Atlanta Falcons. "It's a pretty important thing, ent contracts before especially when you're coming out of school. their eligibility end Now things are becoming more predicated on ed. T he major play ers in the case were
34 • SY RA CUSE U N I VER S IT Y MA GAZ I NE Published by SURFACE, 1990 3 Syracuse University Magazine, Vol. 6, Iss. 3 [1990], Art. 6 But you still need somebody at least to help you more intense. In many cases, there's a weeding with that initial contract." out period during the senior year when the The amount of money avai lable to agents, player often has a short list of four to six agents. especially those representing first-round draft This is the time, especially if the player is pro picks, can be staggering. Agent Leigh Steinberg, jected to be drafted early in the first round, that who is employed by NFL quarterbacks Troy the stakes and chances for shady dealing dramat Aikman, Warren Moon, Ken O'Brien, Tony ically increase. Eason, and Wade Wilson, negotiated contracts While attending such post-season, all-star worth $27 million this past spring. His cut was contests as the Senior Bowl and the All-Ameri more than $1 million. can Bowl, Green witnessed agents playing dom For every top-round player, there may be 15 inoes-$1 00 per game-with athletes and losing or more agents trying to sign him to a client con game after game on purpose. "Everybody knew tract. Don Cronson, who graduated from SU's what was going on," says Green, who was College of Arts and Sciences in 1964, says the drafted in the first round by the Falcons. "I saw a only way to win this mating dance is "to find the Everybody thinks lot of guys flown around in Lear jets- given pressure point-the one individual besides the this is aglamorous women, cars, and cash." player you need to convince." That pivotal per T here are many in collegiate sports, from the son can be the player's mother or father, coach, or business, but coaches to the boosters, who deserve blame, but even girlfriend or grandparent. Cronson's sales H's uonen much agents often are the most visible fall guys. tactics get results. His Roundball Enterprises in "From the public's point of view, I'd guess an New York City has a dozen major sports clients, more competitive agent ranges somewhere between a wife-beater including football's Ed "Too Tall" Jones and for over the last and debtor on the list of ne'er-do-wells," says mer Orange basketball star Dwayne "Pearl" Cronson. Washington. 20 years. Still, for every Leigh Steinberg or Don Cron FTHE HALF-DOZEN SU ALUMNI WHO HAVE son there are many more agents who are lucky to Norman Blass '49 I served as sports agents on a regular basis, no break even. At a recent conference on Capitol one devotes all of his time to it now. John F Hill of the Sports Lawyers Association, it was Marchiano, who holds SU degrees in politi- estimated that there are three times more agents cal science (1973) and law (1976), recruited ath in the marketplace than athletes who have a rea letes for several years before seeing one too sonable chance of playing professional ball. Such many deals evaporate because somebody else intense competition is the beginning of most abuses. "The basic problem today is too many repre sentatives for the number of players who can NCAA Legislation Governing Sports Agents
possibly turn pro," says agent Norman Blass, 12.3 Use of Agents who graduated from SU's College of Arts and 12.3.1 General Rule. An individual [student] shall be ineligible for participation in an intercol Sciences in 1949. "Everybody thinks this is a legiate sport if he or she ever has agreed (orally or in writing) to be represented by an agent for the glamorous business, but it's gotten much more purpose of marketing his or her ath letics ability or reputation in that sport. Further, an agency con competi tive over the last 20 years." tract not specifically limited in writing to a sport or particular sports shal l be deemed applicable to all sports and the individual shall be ineligible to participate in any sport. A lawyer based in New York City, Blass cur 12.3.2 Legal Counsel. Securing advice from a lawyer concern ing a proposed professional sports rently represents professional basketball players contract shal l not be considered contracting for representation by an agent under this rule, unless the Roy Hinson, Vern Fleming, and Derrick McKey lawyer also represents the student-athlete in negotiations for such a contract. (who, ironically, was one of Norby Walters's cli 12.3.3 Athletics Scholarship Agent. Any individual, agency or organization that represents a ents before the recent court decision). In 1970, prospective student-athl ete for compensation in placing the prospect in a collegiate institution as a Blass had four of the top 16 coll ege players cho a recipient of institutional financial aid shall beconsidered an agent or organization marketing the in dividual's athletics ability or reputation sen in that year's National Basketball Associa 12.3.4 Career Counseling Panel. It is permissible for an authorized institutional career coun tion draft, including future all-stars Bob Lanier seling panel to: and Dave Cowens. Twenty years later, no agent (a) Advise a student-athlete about a future professional career, can reasonably aspire to such success. (b) Review a proposed professional sports contract, and (c) Meet with the student-athlete and representatives of professional teams. As a star player's college career draws to a close, the jockeying between agents becomes
MAR C H 1 99 0 • 35 https://surface.syr.edu/sumagazine/vol6/iss3/6 4 Wendel: Illegal Procedure offered cash or a new car. Although Marchiano what Hunter found himself competing against still does contract negotiations for athletes (his for Rozier's signature on a client contract. clients include Tim Green), he focuses on other "It's the incident that finally drove me out of aspects of law and recently served as city attor that line of work," says Hunter. "Some of my ney for Henderson, Nevada. contacts with players were enjoyable, but for the "The basic problem is that people have been most part I found them pretty fi ckle. handing these kids something since they were "I became disillusioned when I saw what was really young," he says. "Now they just expect going on around Rozier. ... I couldn't compete some kind of payoff. I had a kid ask for money. with other agents and the unethical acts. Some He didn't get any, but I didn't get that kid were offering money, some were offering either." women, some drugs. I couldn't compete in that Kiles says he is now concentrating on sports arena. All I wanted to sell were my services as an business deals and promotions, like the one attorney. In Rozier's case, it wasn't nearl y involving Payton, because college athletics has enough." become such a minefield. Only five years ago, he I got sick and tired Nor was it enough for Kiles when he was try represented 50 to 60 athletes, mostly football of having dinner ing to convince football star Lawrence Taylor to players. Today, he has 10 such clients and sign on with him. Kiles visited the All-America doesn't solicit coll ege seniors anymore. "I got with 21-year-olds linebacker at the University of North Carolina sick and tired of having dinner with 21-year-olds who thought during Taylor's senior year. who thought they knew everything and "I knew everybody was after him," Kiles expected the moon," Kil es says. they knew every says. "And early on in our talks I asked him Blass adds that many athletes have been thing and expected point-blank-how many agents he had already "wined and dined since junior high." T hey see signed with." agents, and whatever they may be offering, as the moon. Kiles says Taylor replied, "I don't know how one of the fi nal payoffs before the ultimate many." reward-a professional contract. James J. Kiles Ill With Kiles's help, Taylor regained control of Marchiano remembers when he first got into '75, G'78 his agent situation, perhaps saving his senior the business, "you could get by on a handshake. Now there's no loyalty. There isn't an agent out there who hasn't been put through a lot of crap Probabilities of Advancing to Professional Football and still lost a kid." ~Represents 10,000 athletes Perhaps no one as much as G. Wi lliam Hunter, a 1964 graduate of SU's College of Arts and Sciences. A litigation lawyer in Oakland, California, Hunter was one of a dozen agents vying to represent former Nebraska running back and 1983 Heisman Trophy-winner Mike Rozier. Just 16 hours after his Cornhuskers lost in the O range Bowl to Miami, 31-30, Rozier was reportedly signed to a three-year, $3-million contract with the Pittsburgh Maulers of the now defunct U.S. Football League. His agent, who had appeared on the scene only hours after the Orange Bowl defeat, was Mike Trope, who has admitted he gave money to college players with eligibility remaining. Rozier's signing and Trope's sudden appear ance raised eyebrows and, in subseque nt
months, Rozier admitted he took nearly $2,400 Gray: Approximate number of players in high school football (750,000) from sports agent Bruce Marks, who was work Black: Approximate number of players in college football (40,000; 5 percent of high school players) ing for Trope. Marks and that kind of money is ·Approximate number of players in professional football (2,300, 6 percent of col lege players) 19861igures, according to A Sociological Perspeclive ol Sport, by Wilbert Marcellus Leonard II (1988: Macmillan Publishing Co.)
36 • S YRACUS E U N I V ER S I T Y MA G AZI N E Published by SURFACE, 1990 5 Syracuse University Magazine, Vol. 6, Iss. 3 [1990], Art. 6 year of eligibility. The linebacker had signed cli to go back home and show that you're making it. ent contracts and taken money from at least five That's why so many of these players are suscep agents. Kiles asked Redskins general manager tible to under-the-table deals." Bobby Beathard to convince a Chapel Hill bank to loan Taylor money based upon his expected NDER NCAA RULES, COLLEGIATE PLAY earnings as a certain number-one pick. With the ers are prohibited from signing agreements bank loan in hand, Kiles instructed Taylor to Uwith agents or accepting money from them repay the money he had accepted from agents as until their eligibility expires. well as pay off a BMW automobile another agent "Under the rules, I can talk with players," had "given" him. Cronson explains. "Of course, I can't offer them And so what happened after Kiles saved Tay money or compensate them in any way until lor from what could have been a highly publi they're out of school." cized mess? T he first-round pick of the New Some schools attempt to extend the NCAA York Giants turned around and signed with one buffer. At SU, for example, agents are not of the guys he'd originally taken money from. Now there's no allowed in the locker room or in the players' dor No wonder Kiles is branching out. loyalty. There isn't mitories or apartments. Agents, however, are Even though Green says his signing with an under no legal obligation to adhere to a school's agent was relatively "cut and dried," opting for an agent out there procedures. For example, Andy Brandt of the Marchiano at the suggestion of his friend and ex who hasn't been Washington, D.C.-based sports agency ProServ SU defensive end Blaise Winter, he remembers knew nothing of SU's specific school rules when the misconceptions he had about the process of put through alot he was in the process of signing ex-Orange nose turnmg pro. of crap and still guard Ted Gregory. Brandt took a more tradi "1 felt 1 deserved all the laurels and benefits. I tional route: having one of his major clients, Ben was so excited things were going to pay off," lost akid. gals quarterback Boomer Esiason, who grew up Green says. "But I look back on that time and with Gregory, "talk up" the SU defensive star. realize how foolish I was. Thankfully, I found John F. Marchiano Among the SU agent-alumni, the prevailing John [Marchiano]. He was a godsend, and he '73, G'7G opinion is that only the most corrupt agents are made all the right moves as far as I was con likely to be caught today. With agent misconduct cerned. gaining attention, politi "But if I hadn't found somebody that good I cians are getting into the don't know what would have happened. I didn't act. In Ohio and Michigan, want anybody making my business decisions for for example, me, but I didn't really know what those deci has been intro sions required. If somebody had told me back duced that, then, I wonder ifl would have listened." if enacted, Whe n his school was recently accused of would place the strong NCAA violations- it's alleged that players sold est state restrictions yet sneakers and tickets for cash-North Carolina on agents and their deal State basketball coach Jim Valvano admitted his ings with athletes. Last players were at fault. But he's not surprised by year Major League their actions. "We're taking kids, many from Baseball established a impoverished backgrounds, and setting them certification proce down in the middle of campus like this," he told dure for its agents, ESPN. "I may disapprove [of what they did], and the NFL Play but I understand it." ers Association has "Lack of money is how this whole thing is toughened its certi perpetuated," says Kiles. "Going back to the fication process. ghetto, it's a big deal to have a car, gold chains, or On Capitol Hill, money to spend. I've seen the same wants in Rep. John Bryant kids from middle-class backgrounds. You want (D.-Texas) is put-
MAR C I-l 1 990 • 37 https://surface.syr.edu/sumagazine/vol6/iss3/6 6 Wendel: Illegal Procedure ring together federal legislation calling for the short for a player, especially a high draft choice, creation of an association to regulate and monitor to sort through who's who." sports agents nationally. The bill empowers the Mike Trope, who practiced what he preached secretary of commerce to make rules and in the Rozier fiasco, says in his book, Necessary guidelines governing the new body, which Roughness, that "to assume that it's wrong for a would be similar in structure to the American player to seek an advisor before his last college Bar Association. game is to assume that his best interests are "The purpose of this legislation is to prevent being looked out for by someone else, namely unscrupulous sports agents from taking advan the school. That's a theory that colleges like to tage of young athletes who have a future in ama promote. It's a false theory." teur sports," says Bryant, a graduate of Southern However, Tim Green believes that allowing Methodist University. His district includes more time to legally sign with an agent would SMU-which is playing football again after a further complicate things between athletes, two-year NCAA "death penalty" - as well as the agents, and coaches. NBA Mavericks and the NFL Cowboys. Some [agents] "If a player was injured, and was already com Fifteen states currently have guidelines for were offering mitted to an agent, I could see a real conflict," he sports agents, and the majority of members in says. "You could have the agent telling a player the Sports Lawyers Association support such money, some were not to play because it may hurt his investment, legislation on the federal level. offering women, while the coaches would be wanting a player to "It's the only answer," says Hunter. "Agents probably play. A player would be caught in the have to be regulated like any other profession, some drugs. middle." and once the laws are on the books they have to Ali i wanted to sell The marketplace itself may eventually cause be enforced. Cali fornia has an agent law, but only a shaking-out among sports agents. Green says the most corrupt are ever caught. was my services after the initial professional contract is signed, "There are many more Norby Walters out as an attorney. what a player needs more than an agent is a there," he adds. money manager. "And those two are rarely the Several of the SU agents are skeptical that G. William same person," he cautions. additional legislation- federal, state, or Kiles warns, "Any player who lets an agent NCAA--can solve this problem. Hunter '84 have anything to do with the investment of his "Such laws have to be appropriate," dollars, other than to talk to him about it, is a He adds that fool." politicans Looking to fill this void is the Cleveland shouldn't based International Management Group (IMG). simply rubber This organization's presence could affect the stamp the NCAA future ofthe sports agent industry more than any regulations because pending legislation or university guidelines. "those ru les are a joke." IMG currently has nearly 100 sports clients and Many agents would like to see it is offering players a full-service management graduating seniors allowed more package that includes contract negotiation, time to choose an agent. Besides investment strategy, and product endorsements. selecting an agent, athletes in IMG could become the sports equivalent of the their senior year often attend William Morris and Creative Artists agencies, scouting combines and all-star which handle 90 percent of the major talent in games before the professional the entertainment world. drafts in the various sports. "This is the opportunity for exposure in a "The window is too small," says multitude of arenas outside football for me and Cronson. "The players need my clie nts," Ralph Cindrich, who heads up some access to agents prior to IMG's football division, told Sports inc. maga- the end of their careers. Right
38 • S YRA CUS E lJN I VE R S IT Y MA G A Z I N E Published by SURFACE, 1990 7 Syracuse University Magazine, Vol. 6, Iss. 3 [1990], Art. 6
zine. "Talk about an organization that does it all. turned over to the appropriate player in its For God's sake, these guys did the marketing for entirety at the end of the season. Football coach the Pope." Dick MacPherson also sends letters to agents who have contacted players, telling them about LOT OF PLAYERS MEET VETERAN PLAY the panel and emphasizing that "no direct con ers who tell them about agents," says Syra tact is to be made with a Syracuse University Acuse law professor Travis Lewin. "They player during our season." learn very early. Unfortunately, they're learning about this in much the same way those That's direct language, but again there's in my generation learned about sex on the street. nothing to prevent agents and players from "This problem isn't going away. At a school meeting. "SU's making an attempt at the situa like Syracuse, that has seen such success in bas tion with their panel," says Green. "They're ketball and now football in recent years, it may identifying what should be done, but I wish they actually be getting worse. Last year we saw an had more clout." agent come inhere and sign up 12 kids in no time." Even Lewin admits that the panel is strictly Lewin is a member of SU's Athletic Career Agents are like "informational and advisory." For instance, it Counseling Panel-an example of the steps anything else. cannot grade agents or tell players to avoid cer schools take in lieu of strong national regulation. tain ones. The panel advises players and sponsors discus Tllere's good ones "We walk a narrow line," Lewin says. "If we sions with agents. and bad ones. came out and said an agent's no good, we'd have In the past these sessions have only involved a lawsuit on our hands. It's a delicate situation seniors. But in the future Lewin would like to It's an open because we're dealing with University rules and see freshmen on up invited. "Kids are being market, and I was regulations, not the law. Players have a ri ght to reached before their senior years," says Lewin. fortunate to find a talk to anybody they want to. I'd suspect the kids "We're discovering they need this information know more than we on the panel know some much earlier." good one. times, and that's a large part of the problem." Lewin hopes SU's counseling panel provides enough basic information that players can make lim Green 'BB HETHER SPO RTS EMBRACES IMG OR informed choices in the time they have. Ronald looks to federal legislation or leaves mat Cavanagh, SU vice president for undergraduate ters to colleges and the NCAA to finally affairs and chairman of the panel, keeps a fi le of decide this issue, the so-call ed mating agents interested in each SU athlete. T he fi le is dance between college athletes and agents goes on. How many players are finding responsible representation this way is anybody's guess. "Agents are like anything else," says Green. $425,000 "There's good ones and bad ones. It's an open , . market and I was fortunate to find a good one." . Others aren't so lucky. And with SU's rising ,'.·· ,.• •• position, ranking annually among the top 20 in .l football and basketball, the odds of more ath ..,, letes being burned can only rise with each pass .... , mg spnng . .·.·· ,, "I be lieve the bad agents eventually get .· , caught," says Lewin. "Until then, kids will con ., , .·· tinue to be hurt. Anytime you have a pot of gold, .· and that's how these players are often viewed, ...·· :·· people will be chasing it." :. •• # .•• #
1967-1968 1979-1980 1986-1987 Based on A Sociological Perspec/ive of Sport, by Wilbert Marcellus Leonard II (1968: MacMillan Publishing Co.)
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