Mercedes says Cespedes owes the academy money for training and representation when his family stayed in the Dominican Republic over seven months after they defected from Cuba.

Did they live like kings? 6 million dollars is a helluva lot of money for a 7 month stay.

Hopefully he's paid the producer of that outstanding promo video.

I wouldn't pay those leeches either.

No way is 17% reasonable consideration for what he received.

Seriously. 17%? I guess it's possible that Cespedes signed an exploitative contract with a full understanding of its expected effect, but I would put my money on some sort of fraud.

Seriously. 17%? I guess it's possible that Cespedes signed an exploitative contract with a full understanding of its expected effect, but I would put my money on some sort of fraud.

Sounds plausible. One might even say that the core of his defense is strong.

Anybody know anything about the laws regarding being sued in the Dominican and residing in the U.S.? One might reasonably think that Cespedes has no roots in the Dominican and could just...not go back.

"Mercedes says Cespedes owes the academy money for training and representation when his family stayed in the Dominican Republic over seven months after they defected from Cuba."

Maybe the 17% is what everyone agrees to, and when the academy does well on a player it makes up for the losses on those players they bring in who do not do well.

#7: Sure, that makes sense, but it makes sense for the academy to get 17% for full training, representation, and access to MLB teams over years, not giving them someplace to stay and someone to talk to the MLB teams who are smashing the doors down already.

Anybody know anything about the laws regarding being sued in the Dominican and residing in the U.S.? One might reasonably think that Cespedes has no roots in the Dominican and could just...not go back.

For situations like this, many jurisdictions have 'reciprocal agreements' where parties can go after overseas debtors. The academy could sue him in the Dominican, show the judgment to a court in California, and then have the judgment registered against Cespedes there. Not sure whether California has such an agreement with the Dominican, but I'd bet they do.

Mercedes says Cespedes

I say Willie Mays Pay Days.

Welcome to Capitalism Yoenis!

Food for thought: I don't remember the details of Cespedes defection, but it's not unheard of for the future representation to play a role in a player's defection.

As for 17%, I've heard higher - this ain't the states...

(somebody page kehoskie)

Yeah, but those percentage pays are only for the bonus. Mercades wants 22% of the ENTIRE CONTRACT. Nobody does that.

Yeah, but those percentage pays are only for the bonus. Mercades wants 22% of the ENTIRE CONTRACT. Nobody does that.

Cespedes signed an MLB contract, so what is the difference between signing bonus and the contract itself?

It is all guaranteed money. A 2-year MLB contract that pays 5 million per year (I'm just making up numbers here) is the same damn thing as a 2 year, 2 million dollar contract that has an 8 million dollar signing bonus. Now, you'd rather get your money up front but why would the second contract make an agent deserve 22% but the first contract wouldn't?

It is all guaranteed money. A 2-year MLB contract that pays 5 million per year (I'm just making up numbers here) is the same damn thing as a 2 year, 2 million dollar contract that has an 8 million dollar signing bonus. Now, you'd rather get your money up front but why would the second contract make an agent deserve 22% but the first contract wouldn't?

Except most of those contracts go to players in the draft. Players who sign out of Latin America usually sign for a large bonus, and nearly nothing on a yearly salary. If Mercades gets his way, it means the buscones will try to negotiate years of potential earnings on top of whatever bonus money they already skim. That's what I find objectionable.

Seems high. I have to imagine there is a contract he signs that spells it all out with the agent. Hopefully it's not a verbal agreement since there are probably some crooked judges in the DR who would rule in favor of the agent in return for a piece of the action. .

Seems high. I have to imagine there is a contract he signs that spells it all out with the agent. Hopefully it's not a verbal agreement since there are probably some crooked judges in the DR who would rule in favor of the agent in return for a piece of the action. .

I'd have to think a US court would hold the contract to be unconscionable. The amount asked for is so disproportionate to the benefit provided by the training facility, and was signed when Cespedes was in a situation of duress, it shouldn't be enforced.

I mean, I can have a fully executed contract (drafted and witnessed by SC judges) with a poor, smart kid to pay for his college in exchange for 50% of his lifetime earnings, and that's not getting enforced.

I mean, I can have a fully executed contract (drafted and witnessed by SC judges) with a poor, smart kid to pay for his college in exchange for 50% of his lifetime earnings, and that's not getting enforced.

Now you sound like an activist judge, snapper. Keep the courts out of our private contracts!

I'd have to think a US court would hold the contract to be unconscionable. The amount asked for is so disproportionate to the benefit provided by the training facility, and was signed when Cespedes was in a situation of duress, it shouldn't be enforced.

This part might be true, and if so, I agree it shouldn't be enforced. It's also possible that a professional athlete signed a terrible business deal - it certainly wouldn't be the first time that's happened.

Courts almost never find contracts unconscionable and I can't imagine one would refuse to enforce this one simply because it's unfair to Cespedes. The only way I could see a court throwing it out is if Cespedes needed the academy's help to establish residency in the DR, and they refused to do so unless he signed the deal.

Now you sound like an activist judge, snapper. Keep the courts out of our private contracts!

Society has no interest in protecting unfair contracts; they do nothing to further the public good.

Courts almost never find contracts unconscionable and I can't imagine one would refuse to enforce this one simply because it's unfair to Cespedes. The only way I could see a court throwing it out is if Cespedes needed the academy's help to establish residency in the DR, and they refused to do so unless he signed the deal.

Well, not too many people sign ridiculously unbalanced contracts. We have plenty of precedent recently for banks being coerced into renegotiating loan contracts that were far less one-sided than this.

I don't think the court would completely void the contract. The agents will get their 5% (if that's standard) and they'll reduce the payment to the academy to something comensurate with the investment they made and the risk they took.

e.g., if they spent $250K, give them $500K (100% return), or even $750K (200% return). That's way more than fair given there was 0% chance Cespedes wouldn't sign for enough to pay them back. A contract that said they get 17% of the first $5M, and 2% thereafter would have been fair.

No way is 17% reasonable consideration for what he received.

Very close to industry standard for literary agents!

No way is 17% reasonable consideration for what he received.

Very close to industry standard for literary agents!

But, I'd imagine established authors give away a much lower % if they change agents.

It might be fair for a 14 y.o. Dominican to sign away 17% of his first signing bonus in exchange for 2-4 years of training and living expenses, where the odds are most will never see any bonus. The academy is taking real risk, and the relative returns are probably fair.

The issue was that Cespedes was going to sign an MLB contract for multi-, multi-millions almost immediately. The academy invested very little, and had no real risk of not being repaid.