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Labor and Agents

Negotiations led to reduction in Dogra’s NFLPA discipline

Editor’s note: This story is updated from the print edition.

The substantial reduction in the discipline of Ben Dogra came out of settlement talks between the NFL agent and his representatives and the NFL Players Association, sources said.

Dogra had the right to go to arbitration to reduce the initial discipline handed down by the NFLPA, which was a revocation of his certification with the right to reapply after three years and a $200,000 fine. Settlement talks began on the eve of the arbitration in June, sources said. These sources requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter.

The NFLPA announced last week that Dogra would serve a six-month suspension and would pay $25,000 to the Gene Upshaw Players Assistance Trust. The NFLPA statement, dated Sept. 8 and posted on the union website Sept. 13, said the suspension would begin immediately.

Attempts to reach Dogra for comment were unsuccessful. His attorney in the union case, Arthur McAfee, a former NFLPA attorney who recently joined the NFL as senior vice president of player engagement, declined comment.

General managers at NFL clubs received a communication from the NFL Management Council on Sept. 9 saying that Dogra had been suspended starting Sept. 7 for a period not to exceed 180 days.

A source said that the 180-day suspension could be reduced by 30 days if certain conditions are met but did not reveal the conditions. The 2017 NFL league year and free agency begins March 9. The full 180-day suspension would end just a few days before that.

Dogra, who has continued to represent clients during the appeal, cannot represent any NFL players while he is suspended, under NFLPA rules. It is not clear how many players are clients of Dogra, but Cleveland Browns quarterback Robert Griffin III and Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson are among them. Dogra last worked at the former Relativity Sports, but that firm has been relaunched and renamed Independent Sports and Entertainment and he is not among the agents ISE has announced are joining the reformed agency.

Dogra has a reputation as one of the best recruiters in the business and signed 54 first-round NFL draft picks between 2001 and 2013, the most of any agent during that time. He had been co-head of CAA Football but was fired from that position in November 2014. The reason for his firing is not known.

Also not known is the reason why he initially was decertified and then later suspended by the NFLPA. In its press release announcing that his certification had been revoked in January, the union said it was based on a 38-count disciplinary complaint. The substance of the allegations in that complaint have not been disclosed.

Dogra is not the first major NFL agent to be suspended by the NFLPA. Athletes First founder and CEO David Dunn agreed to an 18-month suspension in 2006. But the reason for that suspension was well-known to the agent community as it was based on sworn testimony in a court trial involving a battle between Dunn and his former partner, NFL agent Leigh Steinberg.

> NFLPA AGENT TEST PASS RATE 45 PERCENT: The pass rate for this year’s NFLPA agent certification test was 45 percent, up from 39 percent last year, but still far below historical averages.

This year 233 applicants took the exam and 104 passed. Last year, 79 of the 204 applicants passed the test.
Historically, about 70 percent of the test-takers pass it, but the standards to pass it were raised last year.

The test is based on agents’ knowledge of the collective-bargaining agreement, and prospective agents must pass it to become certified by the NFLPA.

> CAA SIGNS GOODMAN: Creative Artists Agency has signed ESPN college basketball writer and sideline reporter Jeff Goodman.

Agent Evan Dick will lead the team representing Goodman. He was formerly represented by Playbook Inc.

Liz Mullen can be reached at lmullen@sportsbusinessjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter @SBJLizMullen.

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