MLB player agents Stephen Veltman and Ed Cerulo have left Relativity Sports' baseball division, Relativity Baseball confirmed. Veltman and Cerulo, who also served as Relativity Baseball Dir of Marketing, both resigned Tuesday, sources said. Veltman and Cerulo did not return inquiries for comment. Sources said Veltman and Cerulo were evaluating options and could join The Legacy Agency, but that could not be confirmed. TLA officials did not return inquiries for comment. It is not clear what clients, if any, could leave with Veltman and Cerulo. As a practical matter, clients usually stay or go with the agent with whom they have the closest relationship. Veltman began working for Relativity Baseball, which was formerly known as SFX Baseball, in '06. He has expertise in both contract negotiations and salary negotiation and won a $4.45M salary arbitration award for former Marlins CF Cody Ross in '10. Cerulo started working for Relativity Baseball in '12. He is an MLBPA-certified agent, but was primarily involved in negotiating marketing deals for Relativity Baseball's MLB player clients. Prior to working at Relativity Baseball, Cerulo worked at the MLBPA. It is not exactly clear why the agents left, but their departures come after Relativity Media, which owns about 25% of Relativity Sports, is emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Relativity Media acquired SFX Baseball and NFL practice Maximum Sports Management in July ’12 and launched Relativity Sports. Relativity Sports is a separate business entity from Relativity Media and it did not file for bankruptcy protection. Relativity Media declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July ’15 and U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Michael Wiles said last Friday he would confirm Relativity Media’s plan to exit bankruptcy reorganization.
NO REAL CONCERN: Relativity Baseball CEO Mark Pieper in a statement said, "One of our player representatives, Steve Veltman, and one of our marketing directors, Ed Cerulo, have decided to leave the agency. We wish both young, aspiring professionals the best in their future endeavors, whatever those may be. Overall, we feel supremely confident in the experience and talent of our player agents and marketing executives, as they continue to deliver our players unparalleled service and value. We will have exciting news about growth and transition for our agency to follow."
