Steinberg: DeAndre Jordan, oral commitment is a deal
Star center DeAndre Jordan has returned to the Clippers.
A deal was executed post-midnight Wednesday night, as I predicted. Jordan, the Clippers and their fans are ecstatic. I am a Clipper fan and happy that the team can contend for the NBA championship. But was this fair to Mark Cuban and the Mavericks? What are the ethics involved?
I have represented star athletes in the NFL, NBA, MLB and other sports for 41 years. One principle has always been crystal clear — an oral commitment is a deal. I have executed over three billion dollars in sports deals that started with oral agreement. I sat across the table from New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and we committed to a huge deal for quarterback Drew Bledsoe, and then announced it publicly.
No contract had been signed. We announce deals all the time in which no contact has yet been signed. The sports business has never operated with the same formality as deal-making done in other fields. In the business world, cables of confirmation are exchanged, letters of credit are posted, all forms of guarantees ensure the viability of a deal. In sports, our word is our bond. I would never convey acceptance until the client was absolutely sure. The team has to be able to trust my word.
Thursday is the first day for NBA free agents to execute binding contracts. Jordan was not legally bound to the Mavericks and it would be hard to assert that the Clippers “torturously interfered with a binding contract.”
Legalities are one thing, the custom and practice well understood in the sports business is another. The consequence of breaking oral agreements would fundamentally change and alter the pattern of negotiating sports contracts.
There is a way to avoid confusion and premature decision making that builds expectations. In preparation for free agency, an agent must focus a player on which values and priorities are most important.
Is it short-term financial gain, long-term financial security, geographical location, winning, coaching, teammates, profile or other considerations which are the key?
Thorough probing of where each alternative rates in terms of priority is essential. Asking the right questions of owners, executives, coaches and players will reveal the answers. It is not the agent’s preference, relationships or interests that are involved — it is about fulfilling a player’s dreams as he defines them.
Unless there are valid competitive team deadlines, the player can take his time in decision making. He can go through every pro and con. My job is to help him find his best truth in the process. There is no need to make a commitment until a player is clear, un-ambivalent and certain.
When the final decision is conveyed personally or through an agent and there is agreement from the team — that constitutes a deal. No turning back. DeAndre Jordan has every right to decide to stay with the Clippers, it is his life.
In decision making however, it is important to respect the interests of other interested clubs and not cause damage by breaking a commitment.
LEIGH STEINBERG is a renowned sports agent, author, advocate, speaker and humanitarian. Twitter: @steinbergsports.