Comments on: About those glossy free agent brochures …

By: victormilan

victormilan — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 18:27:19 +0000

Why not? After all, an agent actually has to market him or herself to two parties: his client as well as the client’s perspective employers.

As someone who’s dealt with agents in my own professional life, I can say that evidence that the agent actually gives a damn is reassuring. In the case of high-ticket sports stars, an agent can get pretty rich just sitting on her ass and taking whatever deal a club offers.

Nor is what GMs say – even if they honestly believe it – necessarily the final word. Funny, even empty little gestures can have profound subconscious effects. Think about military medals, or how avid some smart, successful people are for honorary doctorates.

By: paperlions

paperlions — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 18:19:17 +0000

Excatly! Scott Boras is scrappy, he brings a veteran presence to the office, and he just knows how to win..er…close a deal.

By: proudlycanadian

proudlycanadian — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 18:07:51 +0000

I suspect that Boras prepares similar brochures when he is courting draft eligible prospects. In these cases he would be both selling himself and would also be telling the prospect what he will be saying in order to extract extra bucks from the team that drafts the prospect.

By: amhendrick

amhendrick — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 17:37:30 +0000

I don’t know. It looks like Crawford had pretty much the same reaction as Epstein.

By: Detroit Michael

Detroit Michael — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 17:03:09 +0000

I think agents probably do provide substantial value, but you’re right that in this instance it’s just client relations.

I recommend reading “Licensed to Deal” for those who haven’t done so. Fine book.

By: fquaye149

fquaye149 — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 17:02:28 +0000

Also, another impact such a medium might have is that it will make an exec much more likely to actually read the material if for no other reason than out of acute curiosity at how the iPad can present such information. Now, Theo Epstein is probably not going to be swayed by agent-stats, since most GM’s have their own rigorous research compiled by their own parties, but the agents make those stats to be read, and anything that makes those stats more likely to be read is probably something an agent (and his client) will value. Or, you know, something like that.

By: scottp9

scottp9 — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 16:34:25 +0000

I’d assume that marketing materials are not just directed at an organization’s baseball sophisticates (if they are at all) but rather at those who might be more susceptible to these sorts of pitches and might or will have an influence on the club’s big-ticket decisions – owners, upper level executives, local media, etc.

By: fquaye149

fquaye149 — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 16:27:56 +0000

You’re probably not nuts, but then again, you might be wrong. Of course Theo doesn’t think he was swayed by an iPad presentation, but then again, who thinks they are swayed by advertising? No one thinks Google’s targeted ads are affecting them, but it’s a multi-billion dollar industry. No one thinks that stadium naming rights cause them to switch cell phone providers or pet food suppliers, but the businesses feel like the branding is worth multi-million dollar contracts. I doubt the iPad thing does much, but for a percentage of a percentage of the agent’s take in a contract, it might do SOMETHING, no?

By: gammagammahey

gammagammahey — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 16:27:47 +0000

Exactly. Teixiera recently recently dropped Boras because he no longer needed a negotiating/contracts agent and more of an endorsements/charities agent.

By: dreamkafka

dreamkafka — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 16:25:13 +0000

You’re very wrong in your analysis, some agents are just more clutch at keeping clients.

By: bigxrob

bigxrob — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 16:25:00 +0000

I would think agents are more valuable for marketing the athlete for endoresments, commercials and the like. I have no evidence of this, just a thought.

By: marshmallowsnake

marshmallowsnake — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 16:20:18 +0000

I think the agents are there just for the legal side. If contracts were easy, then there would not be a need for the agents.

By: mrhojorisin

mrhojorisin — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 16:12:00 +0000

You’re not nuts. If the client can get the same deal without the pitch package, what does he need the agent for? So, the agent makes as much noise as possible and by all accounts looks indispensible.

By: ThatGuy

ThatGuy — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 16:03:14 +0000

Plus you have to have something for those interns to work on…