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Page 10 -The Michigan Daily-Wednesday, March 16, 1988

Agent

extraordinaire


MEDICAL
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NIGHT
UM, WAYNE, & MSU MEDICAL SCHOOL;
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UM & U of DETROIT DENTAL SCHOOL
ADMISSIONS DEANS & STUDENTS HERE...
INFO ON ADMISSIONS, PREPARATION,
CAREERS AND MORE...
WEDNESDA Y, MARCH 16
7PM - 9PM
MODERN LANGUA GE BUILDING
CAREER PLANNING AND PLACEMENT
A UNIT OF STUDENT SERVICES
TheWoildIStill
Applications are now being accepted
for the University of Pittsburgh-
sponsored Semester at Sea.
Each fall or spring 100-day odyssey
aboard the American-built S.S. Universe
literally offers you the world.
You can earn 12-15 transferable units
from your choice of more than 50 lower and
upper division courses, while calling upon
places as culturally diverse as Japan, Hong Kong,
India,Turkey, the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia
and Spain.
It is a learning adventure designed to
transform students of every color, race and
creed into true citizens and scholars of
the world.
For full information, including a catalog and application, call
1-800-854-0195 /1-412-648-7490 in PA. Or write Semester at Sea,
Institute for Shipboard Education, r nm
University of Pittsburgh, There will be information
tablesin the Fishbowl from
2E Forbes Quadrangle, n1oam-3m on Tuesday.
March 16th and Wednesday.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania March 17th. At4aoopm
15260. on both days there will be a brief
Then prepare for the iernati
learning adventure of
your life.

BY ADAM BENSON
Rick Brode does not seem that
much different than any other Detroit
sports fan. His office is decorated
with pictures of Tiger All-Stars Alan
Trammell and Lou Whitaker, and
former University of Detroit and
Piston, now Indiana Pacer, John
Long, and he can tell stories that
would make even the most informed
fan shudder.
Brode is one of the more promi-
nent figures in Detroit sports because
he works with them. Rick Brode is a
sports-entertainment lawyer. He
spends his days representing clients
and swinging big deals.
"That was Eli Zaret on the
phone," Brode said in his downtown
office. "Tomorrow, he's going to
sign a new contract with Channel 2.
He will be one of the top paid
.Ndate
sportscasters in Detroit."
TO FOLLOW Rick Brode, you
have expect this type of action. Brode
has never shied away from his work.
He has taken chances, as well as tried
new ideas, to help clients find the
best deal.
Brode, a 1973 Michigan graduate
went to law school at Wayne State.
Since graduating, he has negotiated
deals for clients playing in baseball,
basketball, the NFL, the USFL, the
CFL, and indoor soccer. While Brode
has been successful in his field, he
has also been able to avoid the con-
troversy that has surrounded other

Brode stres
client rela
sports agents.
"When professional sports started
booming in the late 60's and early
70's, there was a lot of money in-
volved. Big money attracts a lot of
people," said Brode. "Many unquali-
fied people got involved. They had
no formal education, maybe not even
a college degree. Because I am an at-
torney, I am bound by a code of
ethics. But you have dentists,
podiatrists, all kinds of people get-
ting into this business."
Brode feels there are many agents
working today who should not be
negotiating professional contracts,
but he does feel that the agent is not
entirely at fault in the system.
"The University has a
responsibility to expose athletes to
agents, instead of isolating them.;
(Michigan Football Coach) Bo
Schembechler has been trying to
regulate agents. In a way he's right,
but in a way he is wrong," said
Brode. "If he does not open things up'
for his players, unscrupulous agents
will come along, and do whatever
they can to get the player anyway.
BRODE ARGUES that the
NCAA and the colleges themselves
should inform the athlete, and set up'
interviews with qualified agents, toI
help out with this difficult process.
As an lawyer, Brode emphasizes
that the qualified agent not only ne-
gotiates the contracts, but protects
the players throughout their profes-
sional careers as well.
"You look at Kareem Abdul-Jab-

ses honest Before last season, Whitaker
~ses o n est signed a two-year extension with the
Tigers. The contract made Whitaker
0. " the highest paid second basemen in
lon sh ip sbaseball, but Whitaker was happy
tions hipstob to play
just to be stayingin Detroit.
bar and Tony Dorsett, two athletes "Detroit is a good place to play,
with huge contracts and long careers, Lou knows that," Brode said. "It's
who have not managed their money too bad that many athletes don't
properly," said Brode. "Players can't realize that until after they leave."
only be concerned about who is go- inoehis detenursitigesdenalg
ing toget them the million dollar ngtenure wit igersgnera
contract. manager Bill Lajoie and Pistons
"The player gets himself the mil- general manager Jack McCloskey.
lion dollar contract. If you are draftedh IHA E,"LheS. s
in the first round of the NBA draft, thens itLa r toae the Tigersto
your salary is dictated by e t wo heisal artt' Liews
of the players drafted at your position o roinain negotiaons for
n years past and the players going in Whitaker and Trammell. I told him I
the draft around you. had no choice, but to file for arbitra-
"My job is to do the research, tion Lajoie told me 'if you file, we
analyze the team that drafted you and won't negotiate anymore."'
maximize your dollar value. Then we Whitaker and Trammell both won
determine what to do once you have their cases. Brode felt these victories
the contract. These athletes have gave him some credibility with the
never had money to manage. I hire an Tis
accounting firm to help provide fi- Tgers.
"They are tough business people,
nancial help to my clients. I have and even when they are forced to
move, they will sometimes ignore
the situation," said Brode. "I was sad
"I have three functions to see Kirk Gibson leave. This loss
was due more to egos than business.
as a sports lawyer- ne- It's like two kids (Gibson and Lajoie)
gotiation of the contract, fighting to see who will get the
financial management, larger lollipop.
"McCloskey is more controlled by
and endorsements and the upper management with the Pis-
marketing.tons. The entire front office takes an
Agent Rick Brode active role in negotiations. Jack's
-Age t Rck Bodehands are tied most of the time, but I
have tremendous respect for him."
_ Now that Brode has reached a cer-
three functions as a sports lawyer- tain plateau in his profession, he is
negotiation of the contract, financial able to see things that have helped
management, and endorsements and him find success. "I am a creative
marketing." , person, and I have the personality for
BRODE HAS shown consider- this business," said Brode. "You
able savvy in the marketing aspect of don't need to be able to argue, and
the job. While Whitaker and Tram- you don't have to be the world's
me wbere becomingsetars on greatest sports fan either.
the field, they had little recognition The key is you have to take a
on the street. sincere interest in your clients. This
To he hne is a very personable business.
To help change that, Brode wrote Sometimes you have to be able to
to Magnum P1. producer Donald set your ego aside and do what's best
Besallieu to see if he and star Tom for your client. That is how I do my
Selleck, a noted Tiger fan, would like job."
%i o" h

Ap yImpact Jazz Dance
Soph Show
No w for Comedy Company
Starbound
Committee Tech. Crew
Viewpoint Lectures
Chair Special Events
Ticket Central
Positions. Michigras
Laughtrack
Mini-Courses
MUSKET
Mediatrics
Homecoming
College Bowl
Soundstage
applications are due in the UAC offices
(2105 M. Union) by Friday, March 18 3:00pm
sign up for interview date and time
for more info, call 763-1 107

to inciude W aker an1 Trammeii i
one of the shows. Two weeks later,
Whitaker and Trammell were acting
on location in Honolulu.
Brode became involved with
Whitaker almost by chance. While
reviewing housing lease applications
for a local landlord, Brode found
Whitaker's application. He arranged a
meeting with Whitaker, and the two
became friends.
WHITAKER originally turned
down Brode's request to represent
him, but soon Whitaker found that
he could use the help of a profes-
sional negotiator. "Lou needed to
meet somebody he could trust," said
Bode.
Friendship and trust are important
parts of the attorney-athlete relation-
ship. Brode wants to negotiate a
contract that is right for the player,
which does not always mean big
dollar signs..

UVT basketball
coach fired.
AUSTIN, Tex. (AP) - The Uni-
versity of Texas, soured by the fail-
ure of its basketball team to become
a national power, fired coach Bob
Weltlich yesterday.
"We've got the resources. We need
to get the basketball piogram higher
nationally," Athletic Director DeLoss
Dodds said after announcing the
Weltlich was being let go with two
years left on his four-year contract.
In the past 25 years, the
Longhorns have advanced to the
NCAA playoffs only three times and
tied for the Southwest Conference
basketball championship just twice
in 10 years.
Texas's appetite for national
recognition in basketball was whetted
by the Lady Longhorns, who consis-
tently rank among the leaders in the
women's poll and draw sell-out
crowds to an arena the men leave
three-quarters empty. The women
won a national title in 1986, reached
the Final Four last season, and are
ranked fourth this year.
Weltlich leaves six years after re-
placing Abe Lemons, who also was
fired. Weltlich's teams had an overall
record of 77-98 and was a SWC tri-
champion in 1986.
That same year Texas received an
NIT bid, its only postseason appear-
ance under Weltlich, but the
Longhorns were eliminated in the
second round. Weltlich moved to
Texas in 1982 from the University of
Mississippi, where his teams had an
83-88 record.
Dodds said Weltlich would be re-
assigned within the athletics depart-
ment if he chooses to stay at Texas
Weltlich did not indicate whether
he would accept another job at UT or
look for a coaching job elsewhere.

0

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