To hire or not to hire. . an Advisor that is?

Been a long time since we were where you are, so some things may be different now but...

If your son is not being seen as a top 5 round selection out of HS, probably best to go to college and then you don't need to worry about the advisor/agent stuff for a few more years.

If your son is somebody that will potentially be a high round selection, you do need an advisor but that is not somebody that you "hire". An advisor is someone that you have a handshake working agreement with to advise folks such as your family about what the draft process may bring. Until the time that your son(and parents) have signed a Minor League contract, you will risk(lose) college elegibility if you enter a contract with an AGENT.

The advisor should be able to give you a rough idea of where your son may expect(in a best case situation) to be selected in the draft. Advisors make these guesses based upon their contacts in professional baseball. And they are just GUESSes in most cases!

In my son's case, we made contact(choice of) with an advisor somewhere around this time of year prior to his SR HS season and the advisor then began making regular phone contact with us to touch base with what he was hearing concerning son's potential draft status.

If you are being contacted by agencies to act as your advisor, check their web sites to help determine if you think they are the folks you want to learn to trust.

If you are expecting scouts to be attending some of your son's games this spring, the advisor should be able to tell you what to be aware of when dealing with them....i.e. what to tell a scout and what NOT to tell a scout.

Unless you are fortunate to have a son that could be dealing with a potentially HUGE signing bonus, the size of the advisor/agent's organization does not matter a whole lot as your son is headed to the minor leagues for several years and will not have huge amounts of $ to worry about paying taxes on for several years(other than the initial signing bonus).

By all means, keep learning as much as you can about the process and have all of your son's options determined and in place(i.e. college choice) prior to the draft. With the new signing deadline for draftees, you will need to be prepared to sign or not sign by sometime in mid-August I believe.

No matter what, have fun and "..enjoy the ride!"

OPP covered it pretty well.

You cannot "hire" an advisor that is a registered agent. He should give you FREE advice and might be able to find out where your son MIGHT fall come draft day. You can do this yourself by watching pre draft lists. Many have contacts within the organization and make you beleive they know where your son might fall. FYI, draft boards are not in place until the week of the draft. Go with the understanding that if your son signs he may have an opportunity to be his agent later. The advisor should work in the best interest of your son, not his (signing and getting a percentage) if college is his best option. Remember he is working hard to become your son's agent later on. Basically, the advisor should have no opinion on what your son should do, but rather discuss all opportunities objectively and give advice, as OPP states on how to talk to scouts.

Who contacts you may give you an idea of where your son may fall in the draft. If you get a call from any top bb agencies, might mean that they feel that your son has the tools and skills to play MLB baseball someday. All advisor/agents will tell you your son has pro potential, but ask if he feels he has real ML potential.

Some questions to ask, is the agent able to do business with MLB? Not all agents can do business with MLB (he needs to have a player on someone's 40 man roster) Who does he represent? Has he been through arbitration? Can he get your son a card deal to make extra money later on, will he supply his equipment as needed, what companies? If your son signs for slot, will he take less than 4%. If he can help give advice for son to negotiate over slot, will he want his bonus in full or just a percentage of what was negotiated over slot? Does he have accountants to help with taxes and is that free if son gives over a portion of his bonus? Does he have a financial advisor in his office or does he recommend someone not in his agency (they should be seperate,IMO).

Remember that baseball is a business with many people involved and wanting to make money off of YOUR son. Many know that parents feed off of this, having an "advisor" is cool stuff and not always necessary.

My son was projected 6-10 out of HS, we talked to advisors and in the end, most told us that if he was drafted and wanted to sign then to contact them, but didn't feel it was necessary unless he really wanted to go pro.

Sit down with your son and ask what HE wants to do, discuss what it means going pro out of HS, read the book, Inside Pitch by George Gmelich.

If you really want to do the right thing, sit back and relax and enjoy your son's last year of HS, because in reality, he will most likely end up going to school. JMO

An article in Baseball Prospectus talks about advisors and agents, and may provide some insight into actual practice as opposed to the black and white content of the rules. It is written more from the point of view of professional baseball teams than from the NCAA, but it does have an extract of the annual letter the NCAA sends to D1 still-eligible players. I think it is worth reading.
Baseball Prospectus

Here is a link to the NCAA letter that was sent last year. I suppose that anything related to advisors/agents is also true for present high school seniors.
NCAA letter October 2007

Yes you can hire an advisor --- no matter what age your son is. That is perfectly legal. However that paid "advisor" becomes an agent and when you enter into an agreement with that agent, your son sacrifices his NCAA eligibility per the NCAA. Does he loose all his eligibility? --- Not sure, I suggest you read upon that at NCAA.org. I do know high school players that have gotten caught with an agent and they were punished by having to sit out some of their first college games but the penalty was insignificant since the first games of the season aren't conference games. I would follow OPP's and TPM's advice about the advisor/agent.

My son had an advisor (waiting to be his agent) out of high school (5th round)and an agent when he signed out of college (6th round). It just cost him $$$ for not much in return. The agent wants that % cut of the signing bonus and they really don't do much after that because there is no more paychecks in it for them unless the players makes it to MLB. If I (he) had it to do over again I would discourage an advisor/agent unless there was 1st round money and it was for sure he was going to forgo college --- And then I would negotiate the fee.
Fungo

Wow! You are an incredible group!! As this is an ongoing process and such remarkable information I will begin tonight with the suggestions/postings!

This is an all information is appreciated topic, so if there are more of you out there with experiences, insights, thoughts, and like Fungo says, "if it was to be done again. . . " opinions please ROCK ON!

I am still curious if the "information" advisors seek about where the son stands in the upcoming draft is violation of rules, is he (advisor) acting in a professional manner for the HS student athletes? Is it the scouts, MLB, who the heck is he talking to that can provide "so called board information from most all 30 teams"?

I can only tell you how things transpired for my son. I think everyone is different as to how they go about things but I certainly undestand the quest for information. It's a slippery slope, while we wanted our son to just be able to be focused on enjoying his senior year in reality we needed help in dealing with all the stuff going on regarding his baseball.

Hope this helps.


1) Are you going to hire an advisor?

Be careful here, to protect your players NCAA eligibility you shouldn’t hire anyone before a contract is signed. Back to your question, most of advisors we talked to started contacting him the summer before his senior year and he chose his advisor the fall of his senior year. By the way we had been talking to this advisor since the fall of his sophomore year. Nothing was signed however it was certainly understood that should my son sign, as long as we were happy with the arrangement they would become his agent.

2) Is it even legal to hire an advisor for a HS senior?

I don’t think it is so much a legal issue as much as it is maintaining NCAA eligibility. You can work with as many advisors as you want; the key is not to sign anything making your advisor an agent.

3) How do you determine if he is registered with the MLB, and is that a state license or national one?

I don’t believe there is any agency or state that regulates licensing. One thing I found helpful was my son’s advisor did a presentation for us laying out numerous things their agency did for their players. Current MLB and Minor league players that they were agents for, examples of negotiated contracts, endorsement deals (equipment, cards, clothing, etc), and services provided (contract negotiation, tax services, relocation assistance) and of course what their fees would be.

4) What criteria (pro/cons) would you/did you consider when choosing one? His personality, his location, his client list? (some parents are being inundated with calls from prospective advisors)

All of the above were important in my son’s decision however I think the “personality” or comfort level my son had with the advisor was most important. I can't tell you how many times they talked about dealing with all the crazyness that goes with being a potential draftee. His advisor really helped to keep him centered. Let's face it sometimes they need to be able to talk to someone that's not their parent. Once the pro decision is made and your advisor becomes your agent your son will probably be talking to his agent much more than mom and dad. Another bonus for us what his advisor happened to live within a couple hours of us. He attended everyone of the games jerseyson pitched in so he had immediate feedback from the scouts attending the games.

5) The difference between an advisor from a Large sports group vs. an individual firm? With respect to
"One stop shopping" vs "Contracting out specialties such as taxes

Jerseyson ended up choosing an agency that was probably somewhere in the middle. They have numerous MLB clients however weren’t so big that he would be just another number. I think they had 7 or 8 guys they were “advising” going into the draft. On the financial side, I would suggest you find separate financial planning advice however having in-house people to help with the taxes is helpful. There are many things to consider for a player that will be coming into a relatively large sum of money (be it college or HS). You would be surprised as to what becomes tax deductable once you become a pro athlete.

6) At what point should this decision be made? One parent has indicated that the advisor has direct contact with the MLB teams and will "know" the sons status come the first of May. . . how does that work? Who are they communicating with?


At some point if your son is going to benefit from an advisor you will get a pretty good feeling about it. It could come from contact from scouts, lots of agent contact, the “lists”… you will know. A good advisor has a pretty good network of scouts, crosscheckers, scouting directors, GM’s that they might get feedback on regarding where they see your son fitting in. Most MLB people talk in general ranges that they might be interested drafting your son. They might tell you where there clubs pick is in a particular round and ask if your son would be willing to sign if chosen in that range. If not, what would it take monetarily to sign?

7) Anything else you think would be pertinent to this group of "what the heck do we do" parents that are really trying to do the right thing. . we think.

Because my son had started establishing a relationship with his advisor before his junior year, we found his advisor to be very helpful in the college selection process. He had relationships with many of the player and coaches and was able to provide valuable feedback on many areas. He certainly wasn’t part of receiving offers but he was able to give us some great feedback. You might be surprised how much an advisor knows about a college program and what to look for. The way the advisor put it was, if you are not going to sign pro out of high school, I want to make sure you are at a place that will help you prepare for the pros in 3 or 4 years. He figured in the scope of things signing now or 3 or 4 years from now really didn’t matter that much to him. He just wanted to be in the game when he did sign

a little different perspective.


my son was drafted in 06 ,low teens.my son played ball with a young man who's dad is an advisor/agent.we had been hanging around watching our kids play for a few year's. i consider him a freind. i loved listening to the story's about the draft etc. never in my wildest dream's thinking we'd need his service;s.

ironically i just was reading his scouting reports before i read this post. these reports had him as high as 2nd rnd down to 16th rnd,those are that scouts/crosscheckers best guess. still makes me smile.

anyway he tore his ucl on the last pitch of his last game. diagnosed as a tired arm by a local sports Dr. many phone calls draft day,would you do this? sign for this? etc. they drafted him,offered bus fare. his advisor got him what we cosidered a decent bonus,with the school deal,escalation bonus, etc. probably not really difficult to do but i'm not sure i'd have been able to do as well.

at mini camp he was given an mr arthroscopy that discovered the tear. released that day.no bonus,no handshake, see ya. the advisor fought for him,futile but he did fight. i'm not sure i would have been as fiesty.

advisor called birmingham,he had tj surgery. nursed his way back. was playing in a local mens league in fla. an area scout happened to see him,offered a deal. son called his advisor,who called the area scout. then called the team that drafted him in 06. he resigned as FA,for the original bonus etc. he played his first season in 08. i'm not so sure we could have done any of this stuff on our own.

low draft picks don't need advisors, but i'm sure glad we had one.very glad we have the one we do. not every one will have this many problems to deal with either.
just another perspective .

old slugger
i didn't graduate with jethro bodine,but we did go to 00 spy school together.

It's been suggested here that a player would lose eligibility if they "hired" an advisor. According to my understanding, it is OK to pay a fee to an advisor, even if the advisor also works as agent for other players. The key is to not enter into an agreement, written or verbal, with any individual "for the purpose of marketing his or her athletics ability or reputation in that sport." (12.3.1) In fact, if the advisor or an agency ordinarily gets a fee for advice, the player needs to pay that fee to avoid receiving "compensation based on athletics skill." (12.3.1.2) For example, if a lawyer looks over a potential contract for the player, the lawyer needs to be paid normal rates for the service.

Note that by 12.3.2, a lawyer can't be present at negotiations, or even have contact with a professional organization on behalf of the player. The rules say this makes the lawyer to be considered an agent. i.e. marketing the player. By extension, any person (other than parents or guardians of the player) may not negotiate with or be in contact with a pro organization on behalf of the player.

A player also needs to be careful to not agree (verbal or written) to employ an advisor in the future as an agent. It needs to be a tacit understanding. (12.3.1.1)

Parts of the preceeding three paragraphs are absurd, so you shouldn't accept my reading.

I urge you to read Q&A 4 through 13 of the NCAA letter which is linked in my previous post. It's quick and easy reading.

20dad,
I know that your son has been down a long and painful road.
However, if there were any medical problems, the advisor/agent should have advised him to tell the team and to have tests before he signed and took the trip.

3FG,
One can sign an agreement with an advisor who is not an agent for his services. No good advisor/agent, for obvious reasons asks you to sign any agreement with him, even if just advising. That only brings up questions later on.
I agree,read the article.

tpm

he did /we did.the whole story is much more involved ,i didn't want to bore any body.that was not really the focus of my point.

Yes I remember you telling me the story but since then I have learned that a player, regardless of draft round or bonus should not sign anything with anyone until after a physical, which is done on all newly drafted players.
The player will receive the contract in the mail or the scout may come to have him sign, don't sign anything until you arrive at camp. A player can pay for his own transportation and be reimbursed.
JMO.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by OLDSLUGGER8:
There is no need for an advisor agent simply put..........most of the knowledge needed is easily found on the web, unless you graduated with Jethro Bodine...................

That is wrong! Just wrong.
None of us plan on our son being injured, but it happens.
Hopefully it won't happen to yours. I sure hope so.
If it happens to your son, as it did mine and 20sdad and others, we sure know you are being very, very naive. So please don't be insulting to others when they have been on a road you and your son have very been very fortunate to not have to travel.

Again, Wow! I really hope you all will continue to post, even discussing things I am pretty sure you've all discussed a few times before, but honestly this is the most information I have been able to "wiggle" for a full year!

I probally should have gone to school with Jethro, because I could sure use some black gold about now! (just fyi, nothing to do with baseball, only to do with these present hungry little creatures at my house expecting Santa ~!)

Each of these stories is so inspiring its their own rights, and I hope each of you know as I read them I can feel a great deal of emotion and passion that each of you share with each other and your respective player sons!

Continue on. . . I am still reading with great interest! I hope this is helping some others too

No problem gobig, but something to remember is that each of our son's take different paths and sometimes need more help with difficult decisions than others do.

Regardless of what you decide beforehand, or whether you can help negotiate or not, IMO, once a player signs they need someone who is familiar with MLB and the way they "handle" things. That is why, if your son is SERIOUS about signing, they might need someone who will represent them afterwards.

Once a player signs a milb contract it is very difficult to find an agent unless you become the teams next top prospect.

Even with son's minor injury this year, not sure if he could have handled it all alone. Even when things moved slower than they should have at times, and had to follow protocol, his agent was his rock, to answer questions for him and explain how things work and to give moral support, being once an injured player himself. My son handled his business himself with the team, but he knew if problems arose he had someone in his corner, not mom and dad. As much as we think we know, we don't know how MLB works.

My point is to make sure that whoever you and son do choose if he decides to turn pro, has experience and willing to stand by your player in the best and worst of times.

OS8,
The issue isn't what an advisor can do to get an injured player drafted, the issue is what happens when the player with an injury is drafted, or the player is drafted and then injured.
College coaches don't have any information on those issues.
You are completely free to leave your son unprotected and without access to an advisor or agent. Certainly, if you think you have the answers, then don't get representation.
My position is that until you have been through this, you don't know the business and legal issues, what can be done to protect the player, what the player will confront, and how difficult this process can be for a Milb player.
Based on what I have seen with more than one Milb player, I don't feel your approach is helpful, here.

IFD ~ I think the topic of an injured player, or possiblity of injured player is very important in this thread. . .I appreciate the fact that you and 20 are still so passionate about sharing with those of us who at this point are so uncertain about the journey AT ALL!

I mentioned in the OP that a group of us gather quite often and visit about the next step/next level/what will we do options and 3 member of my group are pitcher parents that worry about this aspect every day!

I also know mine is quite upset that snow skiing is no longer part of his routine Christmas Break (he decided it was too dangerous as I still believe in the spirit that you could get hurt walking across the street) but injury is a huge part of this game. We all hope & pray that no player has to experience that, but we all know it is a reality that it does happen.

In realtion to this thread. . . it is important to know that injury can be part of the "big league" experience and that with the addition of an advisor things might be handled in a more efficient manner.

This road seems so unpredictable, and so big, with fits well with my screen name - there in a sign in our entry that says "Go Big or Go Home", and for years I have operated by that motto. . .now go big for some means different things for different folks. . .there are many that are "Going big" over in the "making a difference" thread - Have you seen that - what an awesome group. . .both in baseball and in life!

Each of us (including me) should learn that everyones opinion is important, and we should respect that folks are willing to publically post their own stories in hopes that it will help someone else be able to. . .GO BIG!

And just for the record that is what my friends and I need is your help. . .which I might add we truly appreciate!!!!!!!

OS8 - I appreciate your opinion as well, and with all due respect I know right where you come from because, PLENTY of parents that feel the same as you, they do not feel advisors bring enough to the table (that they cannot do on their own) to warrant a % paycheck. This is a hot topic at our discussions!


Another question: Should inhome meetings be scheduled with potential advisors? Some we actually know from events we've attended and some are very new folks we've never met. . . how do I handle this, they all want to come here. . .???????

I can't imagine being in this type of business with out an agent.
Theres more to having an agent than paying a % of your signing bonus, they are your contact with the club.

Say your sons drafted, you don't get a agent .. he signs and starts his pro career... now what? do you get a agent? ...if you don't you'll be providing all his equipment...who is your contact with the club?....they don't tell the players much of anything.. He makes it to the big leagues, will you get a agent now?? you'll still pay the %.

For example, an advisor may not be present during the discussions of a contract offer with a professional team or have any direct contact (including, but not limited to, in person, by telephone, e-mail or mail) with the professional sports team on your behalf. Finally, it is important to note that in order to maintain your eligibility at an NCAA school,

1)Ok guys, what is "runner" as referred to by NCAA?
in the link from NCAA letter posted by 3FG.. .

2)If it is ok to have an advisor, the above quote from the NCAA letter as posted by 3FingeredGlove (awesome links btw ), says the advisor cannot even talk to the MLB teams, is this just overlooked? Every one I know has mentioned that the advisor will speak with the powers that be and will know the draft board. . sorta. . . again, who the heck are the advisors talking too????

gobig

i'm not at all up to speed about ncaa rules. they are many,to many imo. so i can't really say anything about those questions you asked.
my son was at a CC,talking with 4 year schools when he was drafted. we know his advisor as a friend,so my experience was much different than most. he was in contact with the team's in some fashion,and the day's leading up to draft day they had many questions. what round will you sign ,money,etc. looking back i'm glad they called him. they had questions about his injury,letters from the Dr.etc.

my son, as most i'm sure pd 3% of his signing bonus. and that's all the advisor /agent gets untill his 2nd year in mlb. every player get's at least the minimum,so no need for an agent there. and a small % of any deals he might make. cards,shoes etc.

after he was drafted the advisor sent him at mini camp,,turf's, cleats,glove,short's. in 07 after he signed he sent him turf's ,cleat's.etc. this spring he sent him it all again. all on his dime. he call's him quite often,they have lunch in the winter months.and he try's to make a visit to see him pitch ,and dinner at least once in season.

there are some very nice people in the business. there are some bad people to. but this guy treats my son like a first rounder. i'm pretty sure that's just how he does things.






as infield dad said. having an agent/advisor is kind of like life insurance ,it's useless until you need it. not every one will need it, but when you do..............priceless.

baseball is a big business, disquised as a little boy's dream. that is a statement you don't ever want to forget. but he wouldn't trade it for anything,that he'll never forget.

ps
i want to stress my son was not a high draft pick. so our experience is different than most here.

Thanks to all who've posted with stories and advice on this thread. This info is priceless!!!

Suggestion for the folks, read the book License to Deal. You get a glimpse of how competitive the business is, and how problems usually arise from the agents themselves vying for the same clients. And remember, that if perhaps you and your son DO make an agreement with someone and change your minds later on, that may cause problems.

This sometimes happens when a relatively unknown suddenly rises to the top and has more options. Or a player out of HS works with an advisor for years and goes with another agent thinking that he can get him more money. That's why, IMO, sometimes it's good to get advice and not decide anything until closer to draft day, for some that may be senior fall, for some not until late spring. All situations are different.


As far as some of the questions or things being discussed here, write down a list. DO NOT BE AFRAID to ask those questions of the advisors who might call upon your son. Remember, just like the coach courting your son, if it doesn't feel right, then look further.

Some people go out looking for advisors, an agent (not his) told my son once that he gets over 300 requests a year, but takes only a few. Most advisors (including those contacting mine in HS) that will make contact with players are those looking to get into the business further and need clients and need MONEY. The more milb players he gets signed the more $$ he makes. If your son really has the talent, those who do not need the milb bonus dollars will be knocking on the door. That is a strong indication of where your son may fit in the scheme of the pro draft. My philosophy, if your son's advisor needs his bonus walk away. It's not taking the bonus, but what that agent can do later on for your son for teh bonus $$. If he can't do anything, has no MLB experience, cannot even deal with MLB, why the need for his services, your son will undoubtable make a change later on, so essentially you wasted that money.

Remember, the good agent gives advice freely, hoping that your son will use his services later on as an agent, and someday, maybe even after sticking it out 0-8 years together he will make some money, only if your son does.

You can call the commissioners office and they can tell you if the agent is registered with MLB
Agents have to be reg. with their office in order to do business with them

Becoming an agent is as easy as applying to be an agent in most cases. I've never heard of anyone who was turned down. MLB has thousands who have applied, however will only tell you about those who have represented someone who has made it to the Major Leagues. That is the final step in being recognized by MLB.

I kind of agree with going with experience, but everyone has to start somewhere. Some are former players who have been through the process. Some are young guys with law degrees that studied sports law. Then some are just plain bad. Just because a guy doesn't yet have a major leaguer doesn't mean he's no good. Most important are honesty and caring.

Every single agent including the very best had to start somewhere.

Some states require agents to be registered. The requirements vary and it appears there is little enforcement, at least in Maryland. It is another resource and another avenue to check out someone's credentials.

Yes! More questions answered today! Gotta tell ya folks, it has been a real blast coming home to read this thread each day. . .

I hope you will continue to share, as this is really a premier account of information that is very hard to find yet begin to decipher!

Thank You! A Million times Thank You, and by all means keep 'em coming if there is more!

All perspectives are welcome, and just as everyone says this topic prolly covers as many/ or more variables (reminds me of college algebra trying to solve for "X") and each family must decide what exactly their "X" involves. . .

Great Stuff! Rock ON!

" baseball is a big business, disguised as a little boy's dream. that is a statement you don't ever want to forget."

This is very true. It is very big business!!!! We hear about the MLB pay rolls$$$$$$, signing bonus$$$$. but I never really thought about the cost of developing players to get 1 MLB baseball team.It must be staggering!
My point is all the research a parent does about slot money, reading over standard contracts (in my opinion) really doesn't prepare you to represent your son against a Multi million dollar business
Remember you can always deal with advisers, some say 4% above slot or 4% over $100,000. Some want 5%,or 0% of baseball card deals.

quote:

" baseball is a big business, disguised as a little boy's dream. that is a statement you don't ever want to forget."

That is a powerful statement and SO TRUE! That needs to be etched somewhere on the walls of the HSBBW!
Fungo

good post njbb.

To hire or not to hire an advisor.. that was the question. The answer lies in what your son wants, if he truely wants to play pro ball out of hS, you need to sit down with him and discuss with him what it will take for him to sign, that is the determination on whether he needs an advisor (who will be his agent later on that he needs) or not.

When my son was in HS, this advisor/agent thing wasn't so popular. Nowadays a scout comes to watch a player and the parents feel the need for them to have an advisor. You don't need an advisor because scouts show up at a game. You need an advisor if scouts show up at all of his games along with possibly their bosses, their scouting directors or their GM's and your son is projected very early rounds and has a good scholarship at a good baseball program he may have to consider giving up. that is someone who needs an advisor.

Getting advice is a very good thing, most parents and players do need advice, but you don't need an advisor to give that advice, you have coaches, friends who have been there, scouts, MLBSB guys to give you advice.

Do players need an advisor in college, no. Do they choose an advisor because they know they most likely will be drafted and turn pro and need an agent later, yes.

quote:

Originally posted by njbb:
" baseball is a big business, disguised as a little boy's dream. that is a statement you don't ever want to forget."

I agree this is a statement that says so much! Thanks njbb!



I still don't know who the advisors are talking to when obtaining the "inside info" on the son? Is that acting as a professional in the players behalf? Enquiring minds really want to know, please?

I know sons agent talks to director of scouting and player development

Just wanted to say thank you to everyone! I hope this topic has been as helpful to others as it has to me, and as always. . .feel free to update if you think of something!

I htink that njbb menat her son's agent talks to those she mentioned now, not before the draft.

Yes, big part of an agents job is to talk to player development and scouting directors. That's why it's important to ask if the advisor as an agent has relationships with MLB clubs. It's also important to find out if when he talks to them he knows what he is talking about.

PG brings up some good points, that every advisor/agent has to begin somewhere. Some agents are former players, some attorneys, some just business majors some both or all three. My sons agent is a former player, with lawyers and former MLB organization guys in his agency who all work together. One may be better at finding talent, one at reading contracts, one better on the business end.

gobig,

I don't know the answer to how advisors obtain "inside info". But common sense (or my version of it) tells me that there is a great deal of communication going on, and the NCAA would frown on much of it. Why does that happen?

• The rule is vague. The term agent isn't defined, and the concept of an advisor is only mentioned once in the manual, and then in reference to a college coach's actions. If the dad of a fellow travel team member is well connected to a pro team, and mentions your son, is he acting as your son's agent?
• The rule is, for the most part, unenforceable. Who else is listening to a convesation, and who would tattle?
• The rule is clearly disadvantageous for the player, for the pro team, and for the advisor. But it provides no substantial advantage to the NCAA or colleges. Put another way, most people think it is a bad rule, and have little scrupple in ignoring it.

So, if you buy the above assertions, or imagine that an advisor does, what the likely outcome? Again, I don't know, but my strong guess is that well connected advisors do talk to pro teams.

Ahhh who would tell on you?
Perhaps an advisor/agent who helped negotiate for you in HS, but you went off to college and now a bigger prospect?

quote:

Originally posted by 3FingeredGlove:

The rule is, for the most part, unenforceable. Who else is listening to a convesation, and who would tattle?

The Andy Oliver answer would be...the disgruntled advisor/agents. Just another example of lack of player leverage.

TPM and CPLZ,

The question I was answering is: "..... obtaining the "inside info" on the son. Is that acting as a professional in the players behalf?"

Obtaining inside info is very different to the Andrew Oliver situation where the advisors sat in on negotiations. In that case there are at least 3 parties involved, and it is not so easily denied. One of the denying parties would have to be the player. In many cases, there would have been written documentation of the negotiation. The particular rule against that is not vague. It's (IMO) a bad rule, but it is clear.

On the other hand, for an advisor getting inside info, the player is not involved, and he can plausibly deny participation or knowledge. It would be the advisor's word against the player's. If the advisor tattles, he's tattling on himself, with no obvious way to implicate the player. And the player really isn't implicated-- he didn't do the talking.

i would think an advisor would gain inside info. by asking. since he probably has players in the system,it wouldn't be the same as mom and dad calling. lol, that's just what i think.

quote:

Who else is listening to a convesation, and who would tattle?

My post...... responding to this part.

In this thread there was a statement by OnePlayersPop:

If you are expecting scouts to be attending some of your son's games this spring, the advisor should be able to tell you what to be aware of when dealing with them....i.e. what to tell a scout and what NOT to tell a scout.

What exactly does that mean? What do you NOT tell a scout? Thanks.