David Cornwell is no Joe Namath.
Last year, after the NFLPA’s Committee on Agent Regulation and Discipline recommended a six-month suspension for agent Marty Magid for his role in the Elvis Dumervil fax machine faux pas, Cornwell declared that Magid would prevail on appeal.
“Marty will appeal. Marty will win,” Cornwell said at the time. “The discipline will not stand. The NFLPA made general and unsupportable assertions of negligence against Marty and then ignored or created facts to support its disciplinary decision. Marty represented Elvis Dumervil’s interests effectively and consistent with the standards imposed on him by the NFLPA’s agent regulations. We are confident our arbitrator will agree.”
The arbitrator did not agree. For the most part. While a $25,000 fine was overturned on appeal, Roger Kaplan upheld the six-moth suspension, finding that “Magid’s insufficient knowledge of the CBA and negligence violated NFLPA Regulations Governing Contract Advisors.”
If insufficient knowledge of the CBA is cause for suspending agents, plenty of agents would be suspended.
Magid’s failure to ensure that a signed renegotiation was timely presented to the Broncos for timely filing with the league office resulted in the Broncos cutting Dumervil, who then fired Magid. And who then signed a new contract with the Ravens as a free agent.