He got brains

Ray Allen's wits match his wealth, a scary combination for agents, who might find themselves missing more megadeals across the NBA.

The Bucks' thrifty guard negotiated his six-year, $70.9 million contract extension himself last week, then brought in his team of low-priced advisors to OK the deal.

He got game. And he has smarts, too.

Allen, who starred alongside Denzel Washington last year in Spike Lee's He Got Game, signed a deal nearly identical to those recently negotiated by agents for rising stars Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson, Shareef Abdur-Rahim and Antoine Walker

But Allen won't be forking over a 4 percent commission--a cool $2,836,000--to an agent.

"I don't need somebody skimming millions off the top," says Allen, who chose instead to pay a team of lawyers--including celebrity lawyer Johnnie Cochran--a business manager and an accountant at an hourly rate of up to $500. "When agents see what I'm doing, they'll say, `Well, he's a flagship for something that we do not necessarily agree with. It's going to take away our livelihood.' And I think it's something important for this league and for the players, when we're smart enough to take care of our own money."

Allen negotiated directly with team owner Herb Kohl because the NBA's new labor accord sets limits on what players can earn based on years of service.

"I hope it's a concept that all professional athletes and all entertainers begin to embrace," says Mark Christie, Allen's business manager.

However, John Steinmiller, the Bucks' vice president of business operations, says agents are still essential in the bulk of contract cases.

"In Ray's case, he is a solid, mature, intelligent businessperson himself, and he recognizes those qualities in the people he put around him, so it worked for him," Steinmiller says. "He also has a strong family structure that not all athletes are blessed with. So I think it really is an individual situation. I don't think you can put a blanket thing that agents are obsolete."

COPYRIGHT 1999 Sporting News Publishing Co.
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning