Quote:
Originally Posted by jessebelanger
It's my understanding that player agents don't really do a whole lot in the contract drafting process for many players, as the bulk of player contracts are set out in the CBA's "standard player contract". It's kind of like "fill in the blank".
The actual negotiation of terms process is where an agent would come in handy, but there seems to be a trend of top players turning to family/friends to do that negotiation (lebron, ovie, thornton) - perhaps the negotiation isn't that difficult for a guy like Lebron who knows he's going to get max money either way..
Where these guys get in trouble, though, is with endorsements. Having your mom try to draft a contract for an endorsement with pepsi, or review a contract pepsi has drawn up, probably isn't the best idea..
anyone with any experience in this? and how difficult is it to get certification for these leagues?
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There is another thread on HF about salary arbitration.
http://hfboards.com/showthread.php?t=85135
Here is an arbitration transcript:
http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?post_id=16113
The comparables are out there for the players and the NHLPA helps all players and agents in gathering them. You might find it interesting to peruse the statistics kept at NHLPA.com to get an idea of all of the statistical categories that are used in determining salary. It is particularly noteworthy that rank within the team as well as within the league is kept as a statistic. It likely is to help players whose teams play a more defensive style.
With the info provided, it is possible for a player to represent himself and may be less of a hardship than you imagine. The GMs are very well aware of the statistical comparables. There were quotes some ways back where Doug Wilson implied that he used the same statistics that would be used in arbitration in regular negotiations.
I agree that agents would be more than helpful on the endorsement side.
On agent certification, here is the link at NHLPA.com.
http://nhlpa.com/Agents/