Negotiations in Athlete Management

It seems like everyday when you turn on the TV and watch ESPN, you see some sort of contract dispute or negotiation taking place. Normally, the contract negotiations take place between athlete and athletic organization. In contract negotiations, a manager or management team with an attorney on staff will negotiate on behalf of the athlete. Recently, I interviewed Evan Hurst, a sports attorney from Elevan, LLC, who specializes in making sure his athletes receive a gain from negotiations. 

Mr. Hurst currently is in contact with all of the professional and amateur leagues, as he has clients with every major American sport.  He specializes in contract negotiations, more specifically athlete contracts. In contract negotiations, each party can always end up being worse off than they were when negotiations started. Each side searches for any leverage that they can find in order to gain the most that they can out of the negotiation. Typically, one assumes that one side must win and in-turn the other side loses, but that is not always the case. Each side can come out of a negotiation a winner, if both parties take certain steps to ensure a mutual gain. In negotiations, looking for mutual gain is a key element of creative problem solving.

When asked how he approaches athlete contract negotiations, Mr. Hurst replied, “In my field, how I approach and prepare for the negotiation can be the difference between a good contract for my client or a bad one. I make sure that I read everything at least 3 times to make sure my client is getting the best end of the deal. In order for a negotiation to be a good one, there has to be some type of mutual benefit.”Some may think that there has to be a winner and loser in contract negotiations, but in my eyes, a successful negotiation comes from both sides experiencing a mutual gain.