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Labor and Agents

NFL agents to meet, consider forming an association

A group of NFL agents that has been holding conference calls for years about issues facing the business will hold its first formal meeting at the NFL combine next month with an eye toward forming an association.

The meeting will be held Feb. 28, the Thursday of combine week, in a large meeting hall at the convention center in Indianapolis, according to a letter sent to numerous agents and obtained by Sports Business Journal. It’s unusual for rival agents — who compete against each other for clients — to get together on anything.

But multiple NFL agents, as previously reported, have been holding phone calls starting more than two years ago, first in response to NFL Players Association proposals that affect them, including lowering fees, among other things. The communication between agents, which included at least one call with more than 100 agents on it, also has focused on industry practices such as offering cash payments and cutting fees to sign players.

“Everyone knows this year is worse than last and it just isn’t getting better,” states the letter, which was sent to agents last week. “We have a choice: Stand up and take back our industry or start learning to flip burgers. We can effectuate change with the NFLPA, the agents and the public but we need to show solidarity.”

The group is looking at possibly setting up a trade organization that would set professional standards, although plans have not been formalized, said Peter Schaffer, a veteran agent and one of the organizers who sent out the letter.

“The industry has come to a crossroads,” Schaffer said. “It’s incumbent on the certified contract advisers not just to wait for the NFLPA to start enforcing their rules on inducements, but to bond together in a collaborative manner to show that the industry matters and that people need to take seriously what we do as a profession.”

Other attempts to form agent associations have failed in the past for various reasons, including competitors not wanting to work with each other, but this appears to be the first time a large group of veteran sports agents has engaged in a dialogue about how to improve their common welfare.

Andy Zhang, the youngest ever to play the U.S. Open, has signed with Wasserman.getty images

WASSERMAN SIGNS ZHANG: Wasserman has signed recently turned pro golfer Andy Zhang and negotiated deals for him with Adidas Golf for footwear and apparel and TaylorMade for equipment.

Chris Armstrong will represent Zhang, who made history in 2012 when he was 14 and was the youngest player to compete in the U.S. Open. He missed the cut that year, but the age record still stands. Zhang competed collegiately at Florida, where he won the 2018 SEC individual championship.

CAA SPORTS SIGNS LORENZEN: CAA Sports has signed Cincinnati Reds relief pitcher Michael Lorenzen for representation on and off the field.

Lorenzen, a first-round pick in the 2013 MLB Draft, will be represented by a team of agents led by Ryan Hamill and Tom Hagan. He formerly was represented by the Boras Corp.

ANOTHER MCDONOUGH FOR TMG: The Montag Group has signed former Phoenix Suns general manager Ryan McDonough for broadcasting representation.

TMG agents Gideon Cohen and Sandy Montag will represent McDonough, who was previously unrepresented for broadcasting. The agency also represents his brother, Sean McDonough, a college football and basketball announcer on ESPN.

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

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