Dayum,

I do feel your Pain and Struggles dealing the Issues of having 2 RELY on A “ROLE MODEL” if you will 2 show you the ropes and not only extend you A helping Hand but A Ladder also that you may reach your FULL POTENTIAL….

Most Agents or “PARASITES” know they HAVE 2 KEEP YOU STAGNANT!! in order 2 keep you in dire needs of the Service they Offer you.

A great Movie that should have been Nominated is Spike Lee’s HE GOT GAME it gives U an inkling insight of Agents that Indulge of your Hard Work….I’m guessing this is the Reason Ray Allen is his own Agent!!

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First let me say you are amazing….andI wish you and Aaron the best….The SPorts Agent. A shark patrolling the waters and young athletes are his potential prey. (His blood in the water, if you will)
It is so hard to “agent” yourself, and maintain focus on your career. There are a few athletes doing it, but I know it is hard. There is no way that anyone should receive a percentage of your money even after they are no longer employed by or representing you. I have a few young athletes whom I have counselled about their professional career. Some for a one time fee, others for however long they felt they needed my services. I have some agents who talk bad about me because I have exposed them for the “leeches” that they are. I am really trying to get a program off the ground about representing athletes without trying to rob them blind. They can sign a yearly contract or pay a one time fee. As a former athlete, I understand the hard work that goes into competing to be the best. So I don’t feel that I should be “overpaid”, and you do all the hard work. Honestly, the formula is so basic. Sit down with the client ask them what do they want, give them some of my ideas about what direction I think they should go. Meet somewhere in the middle and go from there. Make contact with those who have shown interest, and contact those that we are interested in. Stand tall on all *points that we have discussed. Contact you on any cuts or additions for you approval/disapproval. Organize a day for you to meet and sign contracts. All I am negotiating is your wants/desires, based on past and present dealings of athletes of your status, in said sport or of similar success. This is far from rocket science. Athletes need to step away from the norm of just hiring people because they are agents. Hire someone who will work with you not just someone who works for you. I know that they put on this united front, but it is just a smoke screen. He is not interested in you, he is interested in how much “fine print” he can get you to ignore so he can rob you for all you have worked hard to get.

Think about this, fine print is one of the most “crooked” ways to put people in debt. From joining a group or organization that charges you a fee, but in the fine print, the recurring fee is 4 times that amount. Credit cards, loans, purchasing an automobile, the list just goes on. Why would it be any different in the agents world. They answer is that it is a standard contract and the fine print is just saying the same thing as the contract itself, it is just used to save paper. Two points: First, If it is saying the same thing as the contract, then why say it again. Secondly, is saving paper a priority when discussing/signing your livelihood.

My contract clearly states that I will only be paid for the services I give, for the length of my contract. The fees are not outrageous. Everything is clear cut. No hidden fees or agendas. after my contract is up, and “you” decide to go a different direction. Then that is it. I am no longer on your “payroll” or in your pocket. I also sign a privacy agreement that states that I can not/will not use your name for any monetary gain or malicious acts. For a few of the athletes I have represented, it was strictly confidential. Even some who had an agent, but came to me for advice after they felt something was not right. Strictly confidential.

We need more athletes to tell their story about how they are getting shammed by those sharks that call themselves agents. We also need more athletes to realize that they are being shammed. We also need sports to start accepting outside management other than those agents of the secret society of destruction. They want to live just like the athlete. How much sense does that make?

God bless you and thank you for sharing this part of your life…..

AC Anderson
ac.24anderson@sbcglobal.net

A sad reminder to remember to read what you sign, and to negotiate! Inexperience is not an excuse! Research your agent, hire an experienced attorney to look at some of the agent’s previous agreements. Being a sports star automatically puts you at a better advantage of Joe Blow Negro signing a service agreement… undoubetely there are some resources you can tap (word of mouth, recommendations, maybe a rainy day fund).

Good luck with the suit, but I can’t help but to be pessimistic as a result. (Incapacity is only reserved for those with mental disabilities and minors).

This light you shed on this issue is long over due, and I wonder why more track stars haven’t been more vocal about this. It is absolutely ridiculous that someone should put a clause in a contract that requires them to be paid indefinitely. It just confirms my belief, that NO ONE should be trusted, especially with respect to financial arrangements. DUE DILIGENCE is necessary and to be honest, knowing what I know now, I wouldn’t even sign a contract inundated with a whole lot of legal jargon. The English language has the dual capability of making something plain and simple or making something sound complicated and out of the average person’s vocabulary realm. I believe most contracts with this excessive mumbo jumbo is by design, and I wish you all luck with your lawsuit, and perhaps one of your post career endeavors could be to strengthen the rules concerning agents and young athletes, and perhaps forming a union.

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I’d like to hear the agent’s side of the story. If he negotiated a NIKE contract for Sanya, why shouldn’t he get paid for the commission on the money generated by the contract for its duration?

Would it be fair for an athlete to sign with an agent, then the next day sign an endorsement deal negotiated by the agent, then fire the agent and only owe him for one day’s work?

I doubt Sanya’s ex-agent is suing her for the commission on prize money she earned after they parted ways. It’s probably just for the commission on money she continued to earn on the NIKE contract throughout its duration. What’s wrong with that?

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It’ too bad that athletes (Black especially) are still victums of leeches-I mean agents….I would get a lawyer and a background check before I would give ANYTHING to a person who claims to deserve your money that you work for…you had to worry about survinving after the taxes and expenses are out of your dough…can you say exploitation and slavery? I know you could…

Sanya’s ex-agent is black. What does the color of skin have to do with it?

I would also want to add, the agent has no duty to these athletes when they make an agreement. These are two bargaining parties. Some agents are going to be fair, some are not. The obligation to watch out for your interests are going to fall to you, the bargaining party.

Once again, unfortunate, but I don’t have too much sympathy…

@BobbyTGA, you have taken a serious leap there as far as your understanding of the particulars of this case. However, I will grant you, if an agent negotiated an endorsement deal for lifetime, he/she should be paid the negotiated terms. I didn’t get the sense that is the case here, it appears, this agent wants to reap rewards for contracts he had nothing to do with, simply because he feels there is some value attached to the fact that he was there in the beginning. With that logic, it suggests that one would be stuck with an agent for life with no recourse. That doesn’t sound right, especially if that term is “hidden” in the body of the contract.

_A_, that’s all the more reason to have an attorney look over an agreement of that nature. If the contract was unconscionable from the jump, then she could have been alerted.
I would also venture to say that none of us know the particulars of her agreement. She say’s she’s “indebted for a lifetime” and that her agent is “being paid indefinitely” but we don’t know what services have been fulfilled under the agreement. Maybe both sides are jumping to conclusions here, especially since we don’t even know if there were any hidden termsin the agreement of if Ms. Richards simply “skipp[ed] through the 30 pages of legal mumbo jumbo” to sign on the dotted line. If so, she deserve a level of responsibility for her lack of knowledge also.

You have hit on some great points.

I have friends on both sides of entertainment law (i.e. they represent artists, record companies, distributors) and can tell you they face the same issues you highlight. The standard industry contract favors the record company and its distributors. There are countless examples of artists who have had commercial success but wake up realizing they are not experiencing financial success because too many people are biting off their apple. Some of the individuals truly lacked the leverage to negotiate the terms of their contractual relationship. Others, simply ignored this area, since all they wanted to do was focus on their singing, writing, acting, etc. Toni Braxton is an example of someone who admitted she was unaware of the terms of her agreement.

It appears from your post that your agreement entitled your agent to a percentage of all future earnings, and you are now questioning why he/she is being compensated for something they did not play a part in bringing to fruition. It is not the agent’s responsibility to point out areas in the contract that are beneficial to his/her position, as I am sure you know realize.’

I hope the issues are resolved in a way that is equitable to everyone involved.

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Thats because she is not Jamaicannn1 No singer or entertaineror otherwise in Jamaica would put up with that. Nor would any agend pull that crap on a artist. Whatt? U get what u work for yo1 If we done we done. Then again, everyone should know that a contract can run from a to wherever, 3 4 even 1 year. On the other hand, how can it be that if the contract is up i still have to pay u.

I think she signed it for a indefenate yime. she was young, the $$ was in their face, they were happy to get the advance, so they overlooked the lifetime clause (s). Its not fair, but its business. However, she can challenge it and if she does, she will win. No contract is indefinate. Especially if she was young/inexperienced, plus she overlooked her rights. I bet if she challenge it, she will win.

Its not everyone find themselves in her unfortunate posetion. Hers is a rare case. She overlooked the clauses because at the time they needed the $$. Then when she got bigger, she realise what she had done. However, the agant was a slick business man who gamble/took the chance on her. He could have lost his $$ if she did not make it. So thats the dealllllllllll. She need to challenge the validity of the contract. Slavery abolished a long time agi.

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