Negotiation is a Challenge. One that requires nerve. One where you can’t roll the dice too many times and expect your number will keep coming up.
Ralph Carr has rolled the dice on Dustin Martin lately. Called Richmonds bluff and made some very poor decisions on behalf of his client.
This all smacks of an Agent that
1. Lacks experience
2. Doesn’t understand the Football Landscape
3. Isn’t connected enough to sell his client into another Club on a deal worth leaving Richmond for.
How could you take your client to Sydney for a meeting without a written offer on the table ? Desperation ? My number one rule as a Player Agent was get the deal on the table first before the visit !
I can’t believe how long this has dragged out for. Any Agent with half a brain would know that once you get to this stage of the season there wouldn’t be too many cookies left in the cookie jar (read Richmond Salary Cap)
I don’t intend to go over what mistakes have been made to date but rather what you could do as Dustin Martin’s Agent this afternoon.
1. Get Dustin in and tell him honestly the lay of the land. Is there other offers on the table ? If so from where.
2. Ask Dustin what he wants to do. Does he want to start negotiations with Richmond again or walk.
Richmond are already 2 weeks into their 8 week player break. As a Player you hardly want to be going overseas etc not knowing your future particularly if you have to move interstate the day after you get back.
What are Carr’s Options:
1. See if Richmond are prepared to come back to the table. I believe they are. Hence agree to their terms but make sure you get Dustin a win. For example the contracts in the AFL run from November 1st to October 30th the following year. Not January to December like most people would think. Hence i would ask Richmond for a sizable up front advance on Dustin’s Base. Base payments are made on a monthly basis ie if Dustin was on a base of $450,000 he would get $37,500 per month. Ask for $150,000 on the 1st of November and argue hard that Richmond will be cashed up because they will have membership money pouring in.
2. Getting his client to take a punt. For example take less in the Base but more upside in incentives. So take a $400,000 Base but instead of an ability to earn $500,000 through incentives put $150,000 of incentives with the option of an additional year on the contract at the amount Dustin wants not the Club. This might be based around winning the B&F
3. Split differences. If Richmond won’t come to the table on any of that then split the difference.
I don’t intend to give away all my best trade secrets here but just an insight into being creative as an Agent.
It might be time for Carr to put his money where his mouth is. I recall him running with a big spread in the Herald Sun saying a year or so ago on how he thought AFL Agents had no idea and that he was going to show them how a Music Man did it. It might be time to for the Music Man to put his money where his mouth is and find Dustin some deals outside the Club that bring his yearly earn up to the level Carr promised him and if he doesn’t then if i was Dustin i would ask him to underwrite it.
Ok what can Carr do if Richmond play really hard ball and for example had a deal of $520,000 on the table 2 weeks ago and now are saying its $475,000 take it or leave it.
Carr can get a deal on the table from Melbourne for $600K or take a deal of $650K from Brisbane. All stupid deals because he is no better off at Melbourne and to move to Brisbane will cost him that much by the time he resettles etc. Plus i hardly think Dustin is a Brisbane Boy. They don’t even have a coach !
Clocks ticking for Carr he needs to pull a rabbit out of the hat. Unfortunately for Carr he doesn’t have a stable of stars to do his own trades like i use to ie: Trade one of my own players in Brisbane for one at Richmond. Everyones a winner that way but that ain’t an option here.
My advice hasn’t changed. Get the deal done at Richmond. Otherwise your boy is going to Club he probably doesn’t want to go to via the draft system or trade. He will be no better off and Richmond will benefit substantially with probably a first round draft pick and and experienced player or room in their salary cap to take one in the pre-season draft.
The Music is beating Mr. Carr…..time to show if you can dance or not !!!
All Speaking Enquiries: info@rickynixon.com.au
Ricky Nixon 
Funny he has shopped him around and now the tigers have signed another player and he may have to go back with his tail between his legs.Same manager of Travis Cloke ????????????
Gold….. Need more like this in the afl. With so much of the same shit reported this is grouse. Good stuff shags
Great article. Loved reading how a professional would have done it instead of someone who appears to be a pretender that could even be damaging a young player’s career.