Scott Boras has been a sports agent for 28 years. For most of that time he has been wildly successful, negotiating multi-million-dollar contracts on behalf of some of Major League Baseball's best players. But his reputation for getting the best deal for his clients might be slipping.
Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira told reporters Wednesday, "I've decided to end my relationship with Scott Boras. He'll no longer be my agent. There's no reason to get into a lot of specifics right now. Sometimes business relationships just run their course. For me and my family right now, this is the best decision."
Boras was instrumental in netting Teixeira's most recent contract, an eight-year, $180 million deal signed in December 2008 that landed him in the Bronx.
Boras was also responsible for the 10-year, $275 million extension Alex Rodriguez inked with the Yankees following his 2007 MVP season. Rodriguez parted ways with Boras last September.
"Well, I'm not going to get into any details, that's for sure," Rodriguez said at the time. "But what I can tell you is this: Scott and I had a good run. Nothing drastic happened, but at this point in my career, my goal is to finish as a New York Yankee and be a world champion again. And some of the things I needed 20 years ago I really don't need now."
Rodriguez's relationship with Boras goes back 17 years. Teixeira has known Boras for 12 years, when he was a teenager at Georgia Tech.
"Mark and I had a very cordial conversation," Boras said Tuesday. "Our company had the great honor of working with Mark for over a decade. It was a privilege to see him grow into one of the best players in the game, become an All-Star and a World Series champion and win a contract that recognizes him among the game's elite players. We wish him the best moving forward."
Teixeira, who is currently without representation, says he's not thinking about his next contract.
"When I hired Scott at 18, it was to help me with my career. From the time I was a rookie, people started talking about my free-agent contract. Unfortunately, it took away from a lot of things I did on the field. I felt, at times, I was Mark Teixeira, Scott Boras' client, instead of Mark Teixeira, baseball player," he said.
Despite the loss, Boras will survive. His clients are still a who's who among the league's biggest names, and earlier this spring he added Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano.
