Sources
Help build the largest human-edited directory on the web.
Submit a site - Become an editor
Wikipedia. Licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Are you an expert in this subject? Join the discussion and share your knowledge at Wikipedia.org.
Scott Boras
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Scott Boras (b. November 2, 1952 in California) is a sports agent for professional baseball players. He is the president of Scott Boras Corporation, which holds its headquarters in Newport Beach, CA. He has represented many of the highest-paid players in baseball and brokered a number of high-publicity deals, including those of Alex Rodriguez and Daisuke Matsuzaka.
Contents |
Scott Boras was a second baseman and center fielder who played in the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals organizations. After four years in the minor leagues, during which he never made it above Class AA, he retired due to three knee surgeries. The Cubs paid Boras's tuition to attend law school at the McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific. He steadfastly claims to hold a doctorate in industrial pharmacology [1], although this is extremely questionable considering that University Microfilms International Proquest Dissertations which maintains the definitive bibliographic record for over 2 million doctoral dissertations and master's theses does not contain a doctoral disseration or thesis from Scott Boras. [2]. Also, the University of the Pacific "Profiles in Leadership" biography for Scott Boras does not mention his having a doctorate in industrial pharmacology. [3]. Moreover, the Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law for the United States House of Representatives during testimony provided details of every degree earned by each witness under testimony and did not mention Mr. Boras' having a doctorate. [4]. However, during his legal career, he specialized in medical litigation.
Boras started his career as an agent by representing his former minor league teammates just as they were about to enter the major leagues. Boras's first multimillion-dollar contract, a five-year, $7.5 million deal with the Toronto Blue Jays, was for his former teammate Bill Caudill; Caudill had to retire three years into the deal, at the age of 31, due to arthritic shoulders.
Today, Boras runs the Scott Boras Corporation (now called Boras Corporation), where he employs former major leaguers as scouts in Asia and Latin America. He has continued to negotiate deals for many of Major League Baseball's high-profile players in recent years, including Barry Zito, Carlos Beltran, and Alex Rodriguez. Prior to David Beckam's $250 million over 5 year deal with the Los Angeles Galaxy, RodrÃguez's deal, for $252 million over 10 years, was the most expensive contract per year in U.S. professional sports.
Notably, Boras negotiated a seven-year, $87.5 million deal for New York Yankees center fielder Bernie Williams.
After the 2000 season, Boras negotiated a record $252 million contract with the Texas Rangers for Alex Rodriguez.
Perhaps one of the most intriguing deals Boras worked out was between Kevin Millwood and Cleveland Indians general manager Mark Shapiro in 2005. This contract included performance clauses that would reduce his client's salary if he missed playing time due to arm problems.[citation needed]
Another one of Boras's clients signed a huge contract on December 20, 2005. Johnny Damon left the Boston Red Sox and signed with the New York Yankees. Boras negotiated a four-year, $52 million deal for Damon. Jason Varitek, a catcher for the Boston Red Sox, received a 4-year, $40 million contract courtesy of Boras's negotiations in December of 2004. Boras delivered another high-priced free agent to Boston in November of 2006 when J.D. Drew signed a $70 million contract with Boston, a deal which was finalized on January 25th, 2007.[1]. On December 28, 2006 it was announced that Boras client Barry Zito had signed a 7 year, $126 million deal with the San Francisco Giants. This is the largest deal ever for a pitcher. [5]
Boras is widely regarded as a tough negotiator. He is regarded by some to even be the epitome of greed because of big deals lining his pockets. He has secured contracts for his clients that pay more than some expected those players to earn. His critics claim that Boras' big money contracts hurt the game as some teams are unwilling to offer contracts matching the salaries paid by other teams and are thus unable to obtain the services of expensive free agents. Boras, however, could argue that acquiring the highest amount of money for his clients is his primary job as agent.
Boras is sometimes credited with changing the dynamics of the amateur draft. He has been known to advise his clients to turn down a deal (and continue with either college-ball or semi-pro ball) if the signing bonus was below an amount acceptable to them. Some teams have avoided drafting Boras's clients in baseball's amateur draft for this reason, most notably the Chicago White Sox, whose owner, Jerry Reinsdorf, has a feud with Boras.
Because of his reputation as a tough negotiator, Boras's name is not attached to his clients' marketing. He set up a separate company, Impact Marketing, to handle all of their endorsements, appearances and autograph signings. His client list is estimated to be about 65.
- ^ Jeff Horrigan (January 15, 2007). Sox still plan to make a pitch for Rocket. bostonherald.com. Retrieved on January 18, 2007.