Advisors/Agents Questions

quote:

Originally posted by sportsfan5:
We've started receiving calls & letters from Advisors introducing themselves and their companies to us. I'm not at all familiar with this process and really don't feel that it is the right time to seriously even consider such a service. But, some coaches & scouts close to my son feel that it will be in the near future.

This is what happens this time of year, be careful who you speak with. I recieved a call from a parent here who was contacted by an advisor, all he spoke about was how he could market that player and taking his 4% if he was to be drafted. This doesn't make for a good first introductory phone call, IMO. The player has yet to receive a commitment from school, but the advice was, "why go to school when you can play pro ball".

With that being said, I have a couple questions for those who have been through this or at least know the process better than I.

At what point did you know that the time was right?

In HS we spoke to a few advisors, but we listened to one that made the most sense in sons particular situation. That advisor would not even represent him if he did sign, as they only take on those that will be high picks. Obviously mine was not on the first, second or even fifth round consideration, and he wouldn't sign after HS unless earlier round pick. He felt that it would be son's best interest to go to school and then consider going pro later on.

Did you seek out companies or did you just listen to those who contacted you?

We didn't seek out anyone, who contacts you is indicative of your son's talent. If you get a call from some of the top agencies, you know your son mihgt have the stuff that MLB players are made of. The only person we contacted was the above and that name was given to us by someone we trusted. The person we contacted (now son's agent) was also a former player of the school son was attending, so some may say his advice was a bit skewed. However, looking back now, it was the best advice we received.

What Advisor or company did you decide to go with, and why?

It takes time to build a relationship, this is not something you just jump into. An advisor/agent needs and should work hard to gain your trust, which for you would include finding out who he does business with and if his players sign or don't sign or get drafted or not, what round, etc. I have heard people say, oh he represents so and so, but that doesn't mean he is good or that he is good for your player. Do your homework.
Also, this person should be out watching your son several times, who wants to go with someone who saw your son with one at bat?

Is it really necessary?

NO, not at this time, but you can still speak with people and pick their brains if you want.

Lastly, if you wouldn't mind, what questions did you ask to these guys that helped you make your decision?

You want an advisor that is a licensed agent and recognized with the MLBPLA, this means he has at least one player on the 40 man roster. You don't just want anyone who has a stable of milb players, but MLB players as well. If the guy contacted you is telling you he is trying to get there like the big agents (just starting out), you don't need him to use your son to do it, for 4% of his signing bonus. You also want to ask if he has relationship with sports equipment companies to provide either his equipment (which is expensive on a milb salary) or a deal with a company that supplies you everything from shoes to your sliders. Can he get you a card deal? Does he have resources free to son (taxes)and does he have contacts with financial advisors or is it done in house. My son's agency does NOT handle his finances. For some this could be a conflict of interest. Ask if he has he been through arbitration with a player. Who you deal with makes you credible as a player. GM's may not like Scott Boras, but they know his potential clients have MLB star quality. Don't let anyone tell you they have an "in" with teams or scouts. My son's agent knows some GM's on a personal level, yet they didn't draft son. Those "ins" may just get you a very late round. Your best resource is your son's coaches, they are allowed to speak on your son's behalf, something you need to be careful with if your son is in HS. Do not agree to put anything in writing with anyone.

I'm sure there are a lot of other questions or determining factors that I haven't even began to think about yet so any other advice would be greatly appreciated.

My son's agent is a former college and MLB pitcher. Son feels that he understands what obstacles he will need to overcome, that is important to him, being on a personal level and someone he can get in touch with immediately.

Thanks

Parents, there are people out there that make claims that they can't deliver, there are people out there that want to make money off of your son. Make sure that who you talk to is really interested in your son as a person, and his future as a player, and is willing to be with him through the good times and bad ones. He has to be able to be someone who is willing to stick with your son for years.

All you should be doing at this time is listening to the scouts that may come to speak with you and your player, if no scout has done that, why worry about an advisor/agent?

Great response, TPM!

yes TPM great response. A++++.

TPM had a very good reply.... Do your homework.. as if he is a top prospect you will get everyone within the woodwork calling eventually...

I actually used TPM as a source when my son was going thru the process.... and so feel free to PM me or any of the others that have been thru the process.

With baseball Slotting system... its hard to conceive how an agent can really change your status... except for the top 10 or so players. I've been following the draft since 2000 when a neighbor got drafted and the hope for my son became a possiblity. But for a long time I felt I could do a job as well as most agents that contacted us... and still feel I could do a better job than 75% of the ones who contacted my son....

With that said... let me tell you... Now that its done and over... MLB is a business and you need someone who knows the wars..... I am so glad my son picked the agent he did... (Scott Boras)

It's funny how the ownership side of baseball goes out of its way to pillory Boras ... and yet, his job is to make his clients happy. SDBB's endorsement tells you how that stacks up.

We never got to talk to the man himself. Somebody in his agency called one day. I did have to laugh, because he came across like the Jon Lovitz "lying guy" on the phone. We later did meet a different guy from the Boras agency who seemd more down to earth, but we never got to the point of meeting the big cheese. Maybe someday?

We got calls and packages in the mail from all over. One guy called and made a point of telling me how he worked closely with his wife, who worked for one of Philadelphia's top law firms. Which firm, I asked. He answered with one I'd never heard of, not realizing that as a lawyer I would indeed recognize the top firms' names. Turns out his wife had hung out her shingle with one partner a year or so back. The point being, some of these guys have absolutely nothing on the ball, nothing they can offer you. They just hope your kid signs so they can make a buck. And that means there will be bias in their advice in favor of encouraging your son to sign now, i.e., skip college.

In the end, we decided we wanted someone we could hold accountable, someone we could sit across a table from and talk things through. So we went with a locally based agency with a decent stable of clients that was sufficient to let us know they knew what they were doing. That firm has one fellow who specializes in dealing with HS guys in the draft.

The most help was in his being able to find out where Midlo Son was falling on draft boards, and what our bargaining opportunities would be (or rather, the limits of them in our case). That helped us to prepare for draft time rationally, without getting crushed by the sheer weight of the decision in a last-minute rush. In the end he confirmed our inclination to go to college first. Far from pushing us into the pros, the advisor was willing to be patient and do what was best for Midlo Son. At the moment he was drafted, Midlo Son was pitching in the state semifinal game, completely able to put it out of his mind, knowing he wasn't going to sign anyway.

BTW, Jerseydad & his son use the same guy. Jerseyson got enough to feel he should sign, and he did. So in our case, our advisor was not wedded per se to one direction or the other, but rather, was willing to tailor advice to what was best for each player given the options they had.

Now, we have no contract to deal with this guy into the future and he knows that. But when the time comes, I'll remember how helpful he was, how knowledgeable he was, and in the end how he put my son's interests first.

[quote]Do not agree to put anything in writing with anyone.[/quote


great advice given by everyone.but this may be the most important statement.

OMG, SDBB, that seems like a lifetime ago..LOL.

Good advice from all, the most important thing is that you often have to go to battle and you need someone to do it, and those that do are the higher picks or the ones who fall due to signability. It is not something that you have to to decide upon until you feel the need to. In the case of SDBB's son, Midlo's son and Jerseydad, these were players who where projected high, so therefore they needed to be prepared. And there is a big difference between decisions made for HS players vs. college players.

As Midlo tells of his experience, go along with an advisor who is willing to give INDIVIDUAL advice because each player, each position, each slot that you are drafted, different teams makes a huge difference in the final outcome.

The big thing is, there are 30 teams out there. Each one will evaluate a player differently. It really helps if someone is sounding out folks to see who is more interested, who is less interested, etc.

You cannot give them authority to bind you. That forfeits your amateur status. But to the extent the teams will talk to them, because they have built up a network and a level of trust over the years, it's a big load off your mind if you're a HS kid with no way of knowing otherwise, if someone can gather up info and give you a report once in a while.

Also, some teams will pressure you, some are quite pushy and intrusive. It's nice to have a sounding board, someone to ask, do I really have to do that? Are they being straight with me? (Often times, not.)

sportsfan5,
I just realized that your son is a 2010.
So therefore, IMO, he doesn't need an advisor at this time.
First step is to secure the college scholarship, you can worry about the advisor/agent stuff his draft year.

Midlo pretty well sums up what an agent can do for you before the draft... Then come afterwards, with certain contract clasues... IE standard minor league contract has a clause where if you quit baseball before 7 years of service, the team can come back and demand repayment of a pro-rated amount of your signing bonus. There are also medical clauses where they have certain amount of time to negate your bonus... you need a strong agent to fight these clauses as the clubs will say they are standard within the industry....

Then comes the gear contracts... the Card deals... imagine my son was complaining about signing 6000 cards.... (it can get monotanous) But then I asked him what is he making an hour doing that... wasn't so bad afterall....

And then he's waiting until tax season... should be interesting....

quote:

Originally posted by TPM:
Make sure that who you talk to is really interested in your son as a person, and his future as a player, and is willing to be with him through the good times and bad ones. He has to be able to be someone who is willing to stick with your son for years.

Thanks for all of the responses. I've kept up on reading them, just haven't had a chance to respond until now.

TPM: Your statement goes along with what a scout told me not too long ago. He said "Anyone can be A-Rods Agent. Ask what this person can do for my son when times are bad, when he's dying. Can you get him an opportunity with another club if he gets released?"

SDBB: I agree with you that with the "Slot" money/system, there isn't really much, or at least it doesn't seem like there is much, that an agent could do to increase the signing bonus. That's why I really wondered if having an advisor was really necessary. I do see your point though that there are a lot of other considerations, ie: card deals, equipment, etc.....By the way, I took the opportunity to look up your son's information through your public profile page and link to his web page. Congratulations, it looks like he has had a fantastic career to this point. Good luck to him, and you, in the future!!!

Thanks to everyone who replied. We are very early into this process and the information provided is very much appreciated. I know there is nothing that is guaranteed in this business so who knows if any of this is even going to be necessary. I just want to do as much homework on the subject as possible and be as ready as I can be, when and if the possibility becomes a reality.

Thanks again!!!

No one is arguing that advisor/agents are not necessary, but alot depends upon the individual player and his draft projection.
SDBB is correct about the milb contract, there are some clauses that can be omitted. But you do not need an agent for that, only if perhaps one has a lot of money to possibly lose. You can become familiar with the milb contract by asking your MLB area scout for a copy.
The year son was drafted most of the teams stuck to slot, in 2008 teams went over slot. This is something that ebbs and flows like the tide. One year it's up, one year it's down. A team will pay you what they feel you are worth, if that amount is not to your liking, you can have someone help you in the process to get more money. The important thing is to have someone who will give you advice but leave the ultimate decision up to the player and have realistic expectations.

Regardless, as far as my opinion goes, one shouldn't have to worry or think about it until they have to (season of their draft year). Try to enjoy the last years of your son's HS without MLB daydreams. Relax a bit and have some fun and enjoy the time you have left with him at home.

Many high profile high school prospects enlist the help of an advisor to help maneuver through the draft/college selection process.

One thing to remember about Advisors/Agents, it is against NCAA rules to engage in a contract verbal or written with an Advisor/Agent. There are very specific rules of what you can or can not accept from them and what they can do for you which can disqualify a player due to amateur status qualifications.

There have been players who have been penalized for an actual or perceived agreement with an advisor when they are in or going into college.

I'm a little late to the party on this one but I have to say for my son, his advisor was extremely helpful and I don’t know if he would have survived the process without having him in his corner. Could I have saved jerseyson the commission and dealt with the contract... probably. However there were a lot of intangibles in jerseyson’s journey that were well worth the fee that his agent will receive.

Jerseyson's advisor was a big part of this college discussion. At no time did we feel he was pushing our son to pro ball vs. college. He continually asked us the questions that we might not have thought about regarding a school and what we were looking for. He gave us advice as to what a realistic offer might be. He was a great sounding board as to what the programs reputations were regarding taking care of their pitchers arms, scholarship offers and how past players felt about the programs. He went so far as to introduce jerseyson to past players so he could hear firsthand what they thought of the program. He also had a pretty good relationship with some of the coaches so the feedback he gave us through the “grapevine” was valuable in making the college decision long before the draft came into play.

Given that an advisor/agent has met much of the criteria already talked about in this thread.
Another key component in choosing an advisor in my opinion is what kind of person is he/she (character)? For the player you need to ask yourself if this is someone you will be comfortable communicating with? The reality is that once your son makes a decision to go pro he will be talking to his agent much more than mom and dad about his business, not to mention girlfriend, car and social life. The other thing to determine is if this is someone you can trust and will be looking out for your son if things go bad? We had a very real test that ended up identifying who his advisor would be.

My son was hurt and missed most of his junior year due to some tendinitis issues. He was able to play a position but pitching was not an option for most of the season. Before the injury there must have been 10-15 advisor/agents on his tail. When he had to shut down from pitching, guess where everyone went? We got a lot of “give me a call” when he comes back messages. I can’t say I blame them but what stood out for me was that one guy was still there no matter what. I can’t tell you how many times he talked to Jerseyson to reassure him that his dream was not over. He called to get updates on what the doctors, trainers and therapist were saying, he even made calls to get an appointment with one of the best otho’s in the country to get a second opinion/confirmation on his doctor’s diagnosis. This was all long before we had committed to anything with this advisor.

When my son came back to pitching that summer and proved he was okay all the advisors came out of the woodwork again but at point it was a no brainer. My son chose the advisor that was there during the bad times, not just the good times. Is that the best way to pick and advisor…? I don’t know? It was absolutly the best choice for my son who thinks the world of him. For me, actions speak louder than words. This guy was in the trenches with us once before so I have no doubt that he will be there again if he is needed.

Standardized Contract:

Fill in the Bonus.........no agent allowed
Ask for the CSP...no agent allowed
Ask for Family travel monies...no agent allowed
Ask about equipment monies...no agent allowed
Ask about level bonus'...no agent allowed

Read the slots in the past
Determine FMV
Determine your price