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Lawyer helps Rose get his shot as broadcaster

Pete Rose’s new deal to become a network analyst for Fox has nothing to do with his application to be reinstated by MLB, said Jeffrey Lenkov, the attorney who negotiated his broadcast deal.

“It’s more to do with the fact that the guy loves baseball, he speaks baseball, he feels he can add to baseball,” Lenkov said.

Fox announced last month that it had hired Rose as an analyst, more than 25 years after MLB banned him from the game. It’s about time, said Lenkov, a partner with the Los Angeles law firm of Manning & Kass. “The guy is 74 years old, having had a recent birthday. He is not getting any younger, and he can add to the conversations on baseball to make a big difference.”

Jeffrey Lenkov negotiated Pete Rose’s deal to be an analyst on Fox Sports MLB programming.
Rose has had many managers, attorneys, agents and advisers over his career. The late boxing promoter Dan Goossen, who died last year of cancer at the age of 64, acted as Rose’s long-term manager. Charles Sotto, president of CEI Sports, has negotiated memorabilia deals for Rose, as well as endorsement deals, including his deal with Skechers in which he appeared in a commercial during the Super Bowl this year. Boston attorney Ray Genco and California attorney Mark Rosenbaum are representing Rose in his application to be reinstated by MLB.

Lenkov came into the picture after meeting Rose in the last year when he and his younger brother, Richard, a partner with the Chicago law firm of Bryce Downey & Lenkov, approached Rose about a concept for him to be part of a Broadway show.

Jeffrey Lenkov, a Montreal native, isn’t new to sports. He represents Dallas Stars announcer Ralph Strangis for broadcast work, and about two years ago, Lenkov became a partner in Petr Svoboda’s agency, Sports Associates International, which counts Florida Panthers wing Jaromir Jagr among its 35 NHL and international clients. Lenkov leads Manning & Kass’ entertainment and sports law practice and has done legal work for teams and owners, including former Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling, the Baltimore Orioles and the Los Angeles Lakers.

Lenkov said that Rose would not have done the Fox deal if MLB had an issue with it. “Pete was concerned about doing the right thing, and if it would affect any course that baseball was on, he wasn’t going to do it,” he said.

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said recently he is not predisposed on the case. “I’m a rules guy,” Manfred said. “We will look at the original agreement and hear what he has to say.”

Rose agreed to a lifetime ban in 1989, after an investigation found that he had bet on the Cincinnati Reds to win when he was managing the team, a violation of MLB’s rules. During his playing career from 1963 to 1986, Rose set multiple MLB records, including hits, games played and at bats.

Fox provided a courtesy notification to MLB before hiring Rose. But ultimately, the decision was the network’s, and numerous team and league officials said they view the TV work as entirely separate from any consideration of Rose being reinstated.

Lenkov negotiated the deal with John Entz, who was recently promoted to Fox Sports president of production and executive producer. In an email, Entz said Fox met with Rose in March; he did a test in the studio a week later and by mid-April they had a deal.

“He did a test audition, and that’s what sealed the deal for us,” Entz said. “A TV control room can be a fairly loud place during auditions … but when Pete was speaking, the control room was completely silent. Everyone was focused on Pete. We turned to each other and said, ‘This could be really, really interesting.’”

Fox has not yet set a debut date for Rose, but he is expected to appear on Fox and Fox Sports 1 studio shows, which include “MLB Whiparound,” “Fox Saturday Baseball,” “America’s Pregame,” and “Fox Sports Live.”

Entz indicated that the network’s plan is to have Rose start out slow and expand his role over time. “Our goal is to have him peaking in October, during the postseason,” Entz said.

And that Broadway show idea? Lenkov said it’s still in the concept phase.

Staff writer Eric Fisher contributed to this report.

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