Former Kansas City Chiefs RB Larry Johnson is back in the news.
In October of 2008, as LJ was facing a suspension from the NFL, agent Alvin Keels resigned. He had already negotiated a contract with $19 million in guaranteed dollars in 2007.
The issue here, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk explains, is whether Keels still has a right to the money LJ owed him in 2009 and beyond.
If an agent is fired by the player, he can collect his paycheck much like a veteran being cut by a team during the season. But if the agent quits, is he entitled to any money?
A hearing was conducted on Friday, Keels confirmed to PFT, yet there is no precedent for a case like this.
Florio writes, "The question, in our view, should turn on whether the player had just cause to end the relationship, or whether the agent had good cause to walk away."
As I wrote last year, I feel that Keels had a reason to walk away. In my view, an agent being associated with a player who is facing a league-imposed suspension has good reason to want to distance himself.
But...it's not up to me. A hearing has been conducted and we'll be curious to see how this ends up.