The posting process; If you sue in Maryland, make sure you register in Maryland
December 8, 2011
The posting process
The New York Yankees won the right to negotiate with Japanese infielder Hiroyuki Nakijima. The Yankees bid of $2 million was the highest amount submitted by a Major League team, giving the Yankees thirty days to come to an agreement with Nakijima. The Yankees will only have to pay the posting process fee if they reach an agreement with the infielder.
For an in depth article on the posting process review this link from Cornell University.
Michael Beasley played his college basketball at Kansas State, not in Maryland, and Joel Bell actually registered as an athlete-agent in Kansas. So did Bell even need to register in Maryland to recruit and sign Beasley? Probably not. But Bell's mistake was to include language in the player-agent contract that Maryland law should be applied to decide any issues that arise from the contract. Bell would have certainly been better off having Kansas law control or to have filed his lawsuit in Kansas.
For an in depth article on the posting process review this link from Cornell University.
A judge's interpretation of the Maryland Uniform Athlete Agent Act favors Michael Beasley
Judge Thomas L. Craven's ruling that agent Joel Bell can't enforce a player-agent contract between Bell and NBA player Michael Beasley because Bell neglected to register as an agent in Maryland will raise many interesting questions about what states an agent needs to register in when recruiting players. Bell had sued Beasley in Montgomery County, Maryland for breach of contract after he was terminated by Beasley. Bell had been working on an endorsement deal for Beasley, when Beasley ended the player-agent relationship. Beasley then went to finalize the deal with Adidas with another agent, leaving Bell to sue to receive his commission.
Michael Beasley played his college basketball at Kansas State, not in Maryland, and Joel Bell actually registered as an athlete-agent in Kansas. So did Bell even need to register in Maryland to recruit and sign Beasley? Probably not. But Bell's mistake was to include language in the player-agent contract that Maryland law should be applied to decide any issues that arise from the contract. Bell would have certainly been better off having Kansas law control or to have filed his lawsuit in Kansas.
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