KNOW WHEN TO HOLD 'EM AND KNOW WHEN TO FOLD 'EM!

This is the time of year in the NFL when agents are playing cat and mouse with the teams and their clients. It is no secret that agents want to try to leap frog their client's contract to beat the predictable slotting system the market creates with the salary cap and capoligists.  Having worked with Ben Dogra when we were colleagues at SMG (now called SFX) in St. Louis, I know first hand what an extremely tough negotiator he is and with Dogra having 9 clients, we plan to do our own post signing analysis in our Athlete Management 400 course. The question is always when to hold out, when to sign, and when to report to camp.  Agents for years have claimed their contract skills separate them from the competition when in reality it is becoming more and more difficult to provide that separation.  In my opinion, the real separation is the how your clients plan and prepare for life after football and having the time to be there for all of your players when they need you.  The business model of having 30 clients doesn't work!

BASKETBALL COACHES WANT OVERTIME FOR ATHLETES TO GRADUATE

I will be surprised if the NCAA approves colllege basketball coaches' request for an extra year of eligibility so graduation rates will improve.  After being in the trenches of college athletics I do not feel this will increase the rates significantly.  I have said for years, if coaches really want to improve graduation rates, allow players a fifth year of college eligibility if they graduate in 4 years.  Graduation translates into victories on and off the court! 

BCS IS BS!

Is anybody else tired of the BCS tweaking the system and denying a football playoff system due to missed class time.  Online education would be a perfect mechanism to all athletes to keep up with their educational responsilibity.  With  every athlete at the Division I level having a laptop when they are traveling on the road, is missed class time really a concern?  It is time for student associations to demand to withold their athletic fees for athletic departments, until the president of their university actively pursues a playoff championship game. The students pay the bills and really have all the power!

IMG LEAVING ITS MARK?

It will be interesting to see the next steps IMG and its top brass take to purchase the company from the heirs of Mark McCormack.  Since the inception of SMWW our goal has been not to become the IMG with buildings, but rather to build an international network of Agent Advisors to serve clients in all sports in all countries. Watch us grow!

WHERE THERE'S A WILL THERE'S A WAY

As Lee Steinberg is set to testify in the Derrick Thomas case, I'm wondering if the judge will ask him why his client, who is reported to have at least five children with five different women, would not have a will?  With the type of money professional athletes make, an agent should always prepare their client for the worst.  SMWW is really here to make a difference and it's these types of tragic stories that motivate our company to revolutionize the agent business.

Investment book on IMG sent out to select group

IMG's investment banker, Rothschild LLC, has sent out an investment "book" to at least nine potential financial partners for the Cleveland-based sports management and marketing giant, including individuals and companies, sources said.

One of the groups receiving a book is said to be led by Ted Forstmann, senior founding partner of New York buyout firm Forstmann Little & Co. Forstmann did not return a telephone call.

IMG's top executives are trying to borrow money to buy the privately held company. It is not clear whether books went only to potential financiers of the planned management-led buyout or also to outright bidders for the company.

An IMG spokeswoman confirmed that the book went out, but would not comment on who received it or give any other details.

It could not be determined who received the book, which details the secretive company's finances, but sources said that many companies and individuals who asked Rothschild for a book were turned down, among them Clear Channel Communications, which owns IMG competitor SFX Sports. Clear Channel spokeswoman Jean Gonsoulin, said, "Like all major companies, we are looking at investment and acquisition opportunities all the time, but we don't ever discuss those in the media."

Entertainment companies also are said to be interested in taking a peek at IMG, and especially its television production and distribution arm, TWI.

In a memo sent to IMG employees June 1, IMG co-CEOs Bob Kain and Alastair Johnston telegraphed their intention to limit the process. "Meetings with potential partners have not yet begun, but our goal is to begin discussions with a small, targeted group in the next two or three months," they wrote, adding that they were seeking financing partners "to enhance our profitable expansion and to provide our current owners with some liquidity."

Agent's work burdens Lions

Busy slate hinders progress on Williams

The Lions are still hopeful, but the likelihood that wide receiver Roy Williams will get to training camp on time seems to be dwindling, in part because of his agent's heavy work schedule.
"We're just going to keep working at it and see if we can get something done in a timely fashion," executive vice president Tom Lewand said Thursday. The players have a reporting deadline at 3 p.m. today, followed by a meeting with coach Steve Mariucci, and they will begin two-a-day workouts Saturday morning.

Williams, the Lions' top draft pick, is their only unsigned player after third-round pick Keith Smith, a cornerback from McNeese State, signed Thursday. Williams, drafted seventh overall, is a projected starter.

Several of the top 10 draft picks have signed so the salary outlines have been laid out, but Williams' agent -- Ben Dogra of St. Louis -- has been available to negotiate with the Lions on a limited basis.

"It's been different than it has been the last couple of years," Lewand said. "Last year Kevin Poston was here, up in the conference room with me, and two years ago Dave Dunn was here, up in the conference room.

"This year it's a lot different. Ben has nine draft choices, and I think he's been working on some other ones, trying to get those guys signed. I don't think they've gotten anybody done, so it's a lot of work for him to do in a short period of time."

Poston represented wide receiver Charles Rogers, drafted second overall in 2003, and Dunn represented quarterback Joey Harrington, taken third overall the previous year. Both Rogers and Harrington were signed by the start of camp.

If Williams misses the start of camp, it will be the first time the Lions have had a significant holdout since Bryant Westbrook, their first-round pick in 1997, was late.  Lewand was asked if the New York Giants' signing of the No. 1 overall pick, quarterback Eli Manning, might expedite the signing of other high draft picks, including Williams.

"No, not really," Lewand said. "Again, No. 7 is far away from No. 1. I wish it was that simple.Are they going to get signed? I would anticipate that everybody's going to get signed. It's the rare person who doesn't sign.Do I expect any sort of protracted holdout? No, I don't think there's any reason for that. Do I still hold out some optimism that we can get this done in time for tomorrow's meeting? Yes."

"I've always thought that way because I'm prepared to do a deal and when Ben is ready to talk, we'll do so and try to work diligently to get it done."

NFL AGENTS TO TESTIFY AT THOMAS TRIAL

NFL player agents Leigh Steinberg and Neil Cornrich are potential witnesses in a trial set to begin this week in Jackson County, Mo., involving the death of former All-Pro NFL linebacker Derrick Thomas.

Thomas' mother, Edith Morgan, is suing General Motors Corp., alleging that Thomas died because the roof of the Chevrolet Suburban that Thomas was driving collapsed when the car crashed on an icy highway in January 2000. Thomas was paralyzed in the accident and died two weeks later in a hospital.

The lawsuit contends the Suburban's roof was defective. The automaker denies that its vehicle was defective.

Steinberg, who was Thomas' longtime agent, is testifying for Morgan about Thomas' future earning capacity, both on the field and off, had he lived. Steinberg, who has refused payment for his testimony, has compared Thomas' earning capacity to his client, all-time sack leader Bruce Smith, as well as to All-Pro Miami Dolphins linebacker Junior Seau.

Cornrich, who is testifying on behalf of General Motors, said in a deposition obtained by SportsBusiness Journal that Thomas, who was 33 when he died, could not have played as long as Smith, who retired at the end of last season at age 40. Cornrich also testified that Thomas should not be compared to Seau in earnings potential, although he did not say why.

Cornrich testified that Thomas, despite his nine Pro Bowl appearances, was "a rapidly descending player" and would likely have been out of the league in a year or two. Cornrich also testified that Thomas' earnings capacity for endorsements may have decreased "if his personal issues became public," but he did not elaborate on what he meant by that.

Cornrich testified that he was being paid $1,000 an hour by General Motors for his testimony.

Cornrich wouldn't comment for this story.