Background

Scott Boras, Scott Boras Corp, is a former second baseman and center fielder who played in the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals organizations. After four years in the minor leagues, during which he never made it above Class AA, he retired due to three knee surgeries. The Cubs paid for him to attend law school at the University of the Pacific. He also holds a doctorate in industrial pharmacology, and during his law career, he specialized in medical litigation.

Boras started his career as an agent by representing his former minor league teammates just as they were about to enter the major leagues. Boras's first multi-million dollar contract, a five-year, $7.5 million deal with the Toronto Blue Jays, was for his former teammate Bill Caudill; Caudill had to retire three years into the deal, at the age of 31, due to arthritic shoulders.

Today, Scott Boras runs the Scott Boras Corporation, where he employs former major leaguers as scouts in Asia and Latin America. He has continued to negotiate deals for many of Major League Baseball's high-profile players in recent years, including Barry Bonds, Bernie Williams, and Alex Rodriguez; as of 2005, Rodriguez's deal, for $252 million over 10 years, is still the most expensive contract in U.S. professional sports.

Signing Bonuses and the Amateur Draft

Scott Boras is credited with allowing players to have more control over their salary when they are first drafted in the amateur draft. Boras told one of his first clients, the 1983 draft's top pick Tim Belcher, to hold out for a larger signing bonus. The Minnesota Twins offered Belcher $100,000, the same amount as the previous year's top selection, Shawon Dunston, and not much higher than the 1965 draft's top choice, Rick Monday. Instead, Scott Boras wanted Belcher to receive a bonus of $150,000. This essentially was what caused signing bonuses for amateur baseball players to escalate; high draft picks in the late 1990s and early 2000s routinely receive bonuses of several million dollars.

Several Scott Boras Corp clients were prominent in the 1996 draft. Boras found a loophole that granted free agency to four top first-round picks: Matt White, Travis Lee, John Patterson, and Bobby Seay. He was able to get White a $10.1 million deal from the Tampa Bay Devil Rays; White has never reached the major leagues, however. Seay, who signed with the Devil Rays for $3 million, was a reliever with Tampa Bay for four seasons and is now with the Colorado Rockies. Lee, a star with Team USA in the 1996 Summer Olympics, has been a solid backup for several teams, while Patterson is now a middle-of-the-rotation starter for the Washington Nationals.

J.D. Drew was another Boras client whose original team could not sign him. Scott Boras's demand was an $11 million contract from the Philadelphia Phillies; the Phillies' offer was $3 million. Drew ended up having to hold out, playing the rest of the season in the independent Northern League. Drew re-entered the draft the following season and signed with the St. Louis Cardinals for $8 million.

J.D. Drew's brother, Stephen Drew, and Jered Weaver (the brother of pitcher Jeff Weaver) were two Scott Boras Corp clients drafted in 2004 who held out almost long enough to re-enter the draft in 2005. Both ended up signing without having to reenter the draft, but neither could play professional baseball during the year that they were drafted due to their holdouts.

Controversy

A common controversy with Scott Boras is that he often secures contracts for his clients who appear to be far above their market value. Understandably, this draws the ire of fans of small-market teams, because small-market teams often avoid trying to sign Boras clients due to their needs to keep their budgets low. In addition, many teams avoid drafting Scott Boras Corp clients because Scott Boras tries to have his clients sign multimillion-dollar contracts before they even start playing in the minor leagues. For example, the New York Mets, despite not being a small-market team, refused to draft Rick Ankiel with the sixth pick in the 1997 draft; Ankiel was instead picked by the Cardinals with the 72nd choice. This is also the case with established major leaguers. Boras negotiated a seven-year, $87.5 million deal for New York Yankees center fielder Bernie Williams which he admitted was too expensive: "He was a 20-home-run center fielder, and we wanted 40-home-run money."

The one problem with negotiating long term contracts at apparently inflated wages is the larger probability that the client will not produce equivalent to what they are being paid. Some contracts have hamstrung teams for a few years when their contracted player gets repeatedly injured. Perhaps one of the most intriguing deals Mr. Boras worked out was between Kevin Millwood and Cleveland Indians general manager Mark Shapiro in 2005. Mr. Boras agreed to several performance clauses that would reduce his client's salary if he missed playing time due to arm problems. This injury clause protected a small market team like the Indians from getting value relative to what they were paying for. Kevin Millwood would end up winning the American League E.R.A., a spectacular pitching addition for the Cleveland Indians.

Another one of Scott Boras' agents scored a huge contract on December 20, 2005. Johnny Damon decided to leave the Boston Red Sox and sign with the New York Yankees. Boras negotiated a four-year-$52 million deal for Damon.

Notable Clients

Alex Rodriguez

Carlos Beltran

Adrian Beltre

J.D. Drew

Derek Lowe

Jason Varitek

Kevin Millwood

Background

Steinberg is best known as Tiger Woods' agent, but he also represents the No. 1 woman golfer in the world, Annika Sorenstam, and has helped her become a household name in the last few years. Steinberg negotiated Woods' deals with Nike, Buick, American Express, Tag Heuer watches and EA Sports, from which the golfer earns an estimated $75 million to $80 million annually. Steinberg negotiated deals with Callaway, Mercedes, Cutter and Buck and Kraft for Sorenstam that pay her $4 million to $5 million annually.

Notable Clients

Tiger Woods

Annika Sorenstam

Background

Tom Condon, now with Creative Artists Agency, is universally regarded as the most powerful agent in the NFL and led IMG Football’s representation of more first-round NFL draft picks than any other agency, including 33 since 1997. He negotiated the richest contract in NFL history for Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning - a $98 million deal, including a record $34 million signing bonus, and has negotiated 7 contracts with at least $20 million in guaranteed money. He represents 75 current NFL players and several top NFL draft prospects. Tom was also a starting guard in the NFL for 12 seasons and is a licensed attorney at law.

Notable Clients

Peyton Manning

Eli Manning

Marvin Harrison

Simeon Rice

LaDainian Tomlinson

Chad Pennington

Background

Bill Duffy has been involved in professional sports representation for over twenty years and is one of the first agents to place American athletes in Europe and bring Europeans to the NBA. BDA Sports International currently represents 30 NBA players including Carmelo Anthony, Steve Nash and Tayshaun Prince. Duffy is a member of Team Yao, the representation team of Yao Ming. Duffy was named the "Agent of the Year" in 1998 and 2001 by the Black Sports Agents Association. Bill also had a successful career as a player, from his college days at Santa Clara University, to being named the Denver Nuggets fourth pick in the 1982 NBA Draft.

Notable Clients

Carmelo Anthony

Steve Nash

Tayshaun Prince

Yao Ming

Antonio Davis

Juan Dixon

Drew Gooden

Michael Olowokandi

Background

Don Meehan's agency represents more than 100 NHL players and is now regarded as the most successful NHL player agency in the hockey industry worldwide. An important voice in NHL labor issues, Meehan is staunchly a pro player but not always in the corner of NHLPA boss Bob Goodenow. He was the most prominent player rep, by far, to join an agents association that was viewed in many ways as a challenge to Goodenow. Don is licensed to practice law in Ontario, he has been a certified NHL sports agent since 1996 and has represented players since 1981.

Notable Clients

Trevor Linden

Chris Pronger

Alexander Ovechkin

Curtis Joseph

Pat LaFontaine

Al McInnis

Background

Goodwin is influential because he represents LeBron James, the most exciting, marketable athlete to emerge since Tiger Woods. Goodwin negotiated James' $90 million deal with Nike, as well as deals with Sprite/Powerade, Bubblicious and Upper Deck. He and his brother recently formed a production company called Dotties Boys Productions to explore film and TV projects for their NBA clients. Other NBA clients include Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Brandon Armstrong, Todd MacCulloch, Gary Payton and Damon Stoudamire.

Notable Clients

LeBron James

Dwight Howard

Shareef Abdur-Rahim

Brandon Armstrong

Todd MacCulloch

Gary Payton

Damon Stoudamire

Background

Drew Rosenhaus is a 1987 graduate of the University of Miami and, in 1990, obtained a law degree from Duke University School of Law. Drawing heavily on his college connections, sixteen of Rosenhaus' 90 NFL clients are fellow University of Miami alumni.

Rosenhaus is believed to be a member of the "Miami Mafia," a small but very tight-knit group of prominent, influential University of Miami alumni involved in business, politics and sports. The group, which includes University of Miami alumni from the 1980s and early 1990s, is known for their close and sometimes secretive professional and social collaborations that usually have included extensive reciprocal professional support for each other.

Advocating Holdouts and Other Aggressive Tactics

Rosenhaus is famously known both for his aggressive and sometimes risky approaches to the representation of his NFL clients, and also for often generating unpredictably large contracts for them. He represents some of the best-known and most flamboyant personalities in professional football.

Due to his aggressive dealings, some of Rosenhaus' competitors claim Rosenhaus sometimes violates NFL Player's Association (NFLPA) rules by illegally contacting clients signed with other agents. Rosenhaus and his clients deny this charge. His competitors also claim that Rosenhaus uses players to vigorously recruit other NFL players and prospects, which, if true, also would represent a violation of NFLPA policies. According to the NFLPA, however, there have been no formal findings of violations of their policies by Rosenhaus, though Rosenhaus' approach to client representation are considered some of the most controversial in professional football.

1998: A Shark Never Sleeps

Rosenhaus is the subject of a 1998 biography, A Shark Never Sleeps: Wheeling and Dealing with the NFL's Most Ruthless Agent. In addition to his appearance in Jerry Maguire, Rosenhaus appeared in another movie about professional football, Any Given Sunday, released in 1999.

2003: Representation of Willis McGahee

One prominent example of Rosenhaus' success as an agent was his representation of former University of Miami star running back Willis McGahee, who, in January 2003, suffered a disastrous, potentially career-ending knee injury in his final college game (the Fiesta Bowl, which was the national championship game that year; Miami lost to Ohio State in overtime) and, one month after the injury, signed with Rosenhaus with the goal of obtaining an NFL contract.

Rosenhaus predicted that, under his representation, McGahee would be a first-round NFL draft pick in the 2003 NFL draft. A seemingly arrogant prediction at the time, Rosenhaus also offered to waive his standard three-percent commission and work for free if McGahee failed to be drafted in the first round. During the Draft, cameras would cut to live shots of McGahee and Rosenhaus talking on their cellular phones, giving the impression that they were communicating with teams interested in drafting McGahee. What wasn't known until after the Draft was that McGahee was, in fact, talking to Rosenhaus, seated right next to him. Surprising to many, the Buffalo Bills picked McGahee in the first round as the 23rd overall choice in the draft. This was despite the fact that McGahee, still suffering from a devastating knee injury, started his career with the Bills not only unable to play, but barely able to walk. After successful reconstructive surgery and intensive rehabilitation, McGahee signed a five-year contract with Bills worth about $16 million. McGahee is currently one of the NFL's most promising young running backs.

July 2005: Saving a life in Orlando

While Rosenhaus is unpopular in some corners for his confrontational negotiation on behalf of his NFL clients, he received very positive national attention on July 19, 2005, when he saved the life of a four-year-old boy, Maurice Hill. Hill had no pulse and had essentially drowned in the pool at the Grand Floridian Hotel in Orlando. Rosenhaus, a former lifeguard, dove into the pool, pulled Hill out of the pool and administered CPR until paramedics arrived and restored the youngster's breathing.

Rosenhaus was credited with saving the young boy's life. Regarding the event, Rosenhaus joked that he "put down his phone" for a change. "I was thrilled to help the boy. It was nice to be a good guy for once," Rosenhaus said.

Notable Clients

Terrel Owens

Javon Walker

Jeremy Shockey

Warren Sapp

Clinton Portis

Background

Mark Bartelstein heads a firm that represents more than 30 NBA players and more than 70 NFL players. His firm employs four NFLPA-certified agents and four NBPA-certified agents. Their NFL players include quarterbacks Kurt Warner, Jake Delhomme, and Robert Gallery. In the NBA, his firm represents Ron Artest and Brian Grant.

Notable Clients

Kurt Warner

Jake Delhomme

Robert Gallery

Ron Artest

Brian Grant

Background

Peter Carlisle has been at the forefront of the booming action sports industry for more than a decade and is recognized for his involvement and expertise in action sports. He represented four snowboarders who won medals at the 2002 Winter Olympics - Kelly Clark, Ross Powers, Danny Kass and Chris Klug. Carlisle has successfully created national partnerships between his clients and corporations including negotiating the largest ever multi-year athlete Olympic endorsement deals (Matsunichi/Phelps); world's largest swimming endorsement deal (Speedo/Phelps); only post-Olympic national TV ad campaign following the 2002 Olympics (NESTEA/Powers, Kass and Thomas); developed Disney's Swim with the Stars following the 2004 Athens Olympics, the first-ever post-Olympic swimming tour; served as Executive Producer of "Unfiltered", a groundbreaking documentary film that explores the lives and rivalry of Olympic gold medalists Michael Phelps and Ian Crocker.

Carlisle is a member of both the State Bar Associations for Maine and New Hampshire and serves as an adjunct sports law professor at the University of New Hampshire.

Notable Clients

Michael Phelps

Natalie Coughlin

Kelly Clark

Ross Powers

Hannah Teter

Apolo Anton Ohno

Katie Hoff

Seth Wescotts

Chris Klug

Background

Leigh Steinberg, Leigh Steinberg Enterprise, is widely recognized as the country's leading sports attorney. During his remarkable 41-year career, Steinberg has represented over 150 professional athletes in football, baseball, basketball, boxing and Olympic sports. His firm, Leigh Steinberg Enterprises, maintains a client roster that is highlighted by some of the most high profile names in sports. Athletes such as Troy Aikman (Dallas Cowboys), Steve Young (San Francisco 49ers), Ricky Williams (Miami Dolphins), Mark Brunell (Washington Redskins), Ben Roethlisberger (Pittsburgh Steelers) and Heavyweight Champion Lennox Lewis have been among his esteemed group. He has represented the No. 1 pick overall in the NFL draft a record eight times, a milestone unrivaled within the sports industry.

What distinguishes Steinberg from others within his profession is his desire for athletes to make a positive contribution to society. Steinberg insists that every contract negotiated for his players include clauses that require the athlete to give back to their hometown, high school, university or national charities and foundations. According to Steinberg, this allows the athlete to function as a positive role model by repaying the community that helped shape him. As a result, Steinberg's clients have donated over $60 million to hundreds of charities and scholarships nationwide.

Always one to practice what he preaches, Steinberg contributes his time and efforts to a variety of humanitarian causes. He has actively been involved with the Human Relations Commission, Children Now, Children's Miracle Network, CORO Fellows Program and the Starlight Foundation. He founded and underwrites the Steinberg Leadership Institute, a nationwide program run by the Anti-Defamation League preparing students to fight racism and inequality throughout the world. He has endowed scholarships at his high school, donated time and resources to organizations such as Special Olympics, Juvenile Diabetes Foundation and Junior Achievement. He has also endowed a classroom at Boalt Hall at the University of California at Berkeley. Steinberg's community activism has drawn praise from the political world. He has received accommodations from Congress, State Senate, State Legislature, The Los Angeles City Council, Orange County Board of Supervisors, President Reagan, President Bush and President Clinton.

Setting the standard for athlete marketing and positioning, Steinberg has helped pioneer the convergence between the sports and entertainment industries. He has developed original television and film content for Fox Television, Warner Brothers Studios, ABC Entertainment and HBO. He has been at the forefront of the Internet revolution, creating and building sports web sites, strategically aligning his firm with ESPN's Sportzone and developing online marketing courseware for professionals and students alike. He has lent his marketing expertise to the video game software business and serves as a member of the Board of Directors for two software manufacturers. In an effort to share his 41 years of experience in the sports business world with others, Steinberg wrote a best selling book in 1998, Winning with Integrity, providing readers insight on how to improve their life through non-confrontational negotiating. True to form, a majority of the proceeds raised on his 1999 book tour were donated to the Junior Achievement Educational Foundation.

With an abundance of resources and experiences unrivaled in sports representation, Steinberg is frequently sought out to act as a consultant on a variety of entertainment projects. He has received screen credit as a Technical Consultant on the following feature films: "Jerry Maguire," starring Tom Cruise, Oliver Stone's latest feature, "On Any Given Sunday" and "For the Love of the Game," starring Kevin Costner. He has also worked as a consultant for the HBO original series, "Arli$$" and serves as the title sponsor of the annual Newport Beach Film Festival.

An accomplished speaker, Steinberg has traveled the world addressing topics ranging from sports and entertainment, to political and economic issues. In 1992, Steinberg helped lead a successful campaign to prevent the San Francisco Giants baseball club from relocating to Florida. For his efforts, then San Francisco Mayor Frank Jordan honored him by declaring "Leigh Steinberg Day" in the city of SF soon after. In 1994, then Oakland Mayor Elihu Harris utilized Steinberg as a consultant in his successful bid to prevent the Oakland Athletics baseball club from relocating to Sacramento or San Jose. Steinberg also served as Co-Chairman of the "Save the Rams" committee in its unsuccessful attempt to keep the franchise from leaving Southern California and has been active in pursuits to attract a new football franchise to locate in Los Angeles. He has been featured on national television programs such as "60 Minutes ," "Larry King Live," "The Today Show" and in magazines such as Business Week, Sports Illustrated, People, Success, Forbes, Playboy and GQ.

Steinberg was born and raised in Los Angeles where he attended Hamilton High School. He attended the University of California at Los Angeles for one year before transferring to the Berkeley campus. At Berkeley, he was elected student body President and subsequently attended Berkeley's Boalt Hall School of Law where he was elected President of his graduation class and met his first client, Cal quarterback Steve Bartkowski.

He lives in Southern California and has three children.

Notable Clients

Ben Roethlisberger

Steve Young

Warren Moon

Troy Aikman

Drew Bledsoe

Derrick Thomas

Kordell Stewart

Eric Karros - MLB

John Starks - NBA

Oscar De La Hoya - Boxer

Background

Dunn represents the highest value of contracts of any NFL player agent. But since losing a $44.6 million lawsuit to his former partner in November 2002, Dunn has suffered a number of setbacks. The NFLPA's disciplinary committee voted to suspend him for two years, but Dunn filed for personal bankruptcy, which halted all administrative actions against him. His partner, Joby Branion, began serving a nine-month suspension this month. If we did this list nine months from now, Dunn may not make it, but he's battled the odds before and came out ahead.

Notable Clients

Matt Hasselbeck

Drew Bledsoe

Kerry Collins

Ahman Green

DeShaun Foster

Zack Crockett