Buccaneers receiver Antonio Brown has a history of allegedly not paying what he owes, or at least not wanting to pay. The latest effort has resulted in a creative (at best) and frivolous (at worst) effort to throw mud at one of his former agents.
Based on an item from Daniel Kaplan of TheAthletic.com, KCB Marketing has sued Brown for commissions on $2.4 million in endorsement deals. In an attempt to avoid his obligation to pay the commissions (which does not seem to be disputed, based on Kaplan’s article), Brown claims that former agent Drew Rosenhaus hid his alleged involvement in the marketing agency and engaged in “double dealing.”
Brown’s lawyer accuses Rosenhaus of making money from his work as Brown’s football agent, and of making money from marketing work performed on behalf of Brown. However, as anyone who knows anything about this business realizes, agents routinely get paid for: (1) representing the player in negotiations with NFL teams; and (2) representing the player in negotiations with potential corporate partners and other endorsement opportunities.
It’s unclear what Brown is complaining about. Brown hired Rosenhaus to represent him for football purposes. Brown hired KCB Marketing to represent him for marketing purposes. He allegedly owes commissions on $2.4 million in marketing earnings. Regardless of whether Rosenhaus was or wasn’t involved with KCB Marketing, Brown owes the commissions.
“Winning this case for Antonio will be a win for athletes everywhere,” Brown’s lawyer told Kaplan. Again, it’s not clear what constitutes a victory — other than coming up with some cockamamie argument that could perhaps allow Brown to escape his obligation to pay what he owes. To that effort we say, “Good luck.”