Dan Lozano Wins Hearing Versus Former Partners

A panel of three arbitrators has ruled in favor of agent Dan Lozano, president of MVP Sports Group, against his former partners with the Beverly Hills Sports Council, reports Liz Mullen of Sports Business Journal. BHSC had been claiming that Lozano owed the firm $40MM for leaving and taking clients with him, including prominent names such as Joey Votto and Albert Pujols.

As Mullen writes, MLBPA certified agents are prohibited by MLBPA rules to sue one another in federal or state court. Instead, claims filed against one another are brought to a panel of arbitrators, which is overseen by the MLBPA.

Lozano left BHSC after more than 20 years with the firm in 2010, starting up his own agency — MVP Sports. Both Pujols’ 10-year, $240MM contract and Votto’s 10-year, $225MM extension were negotiated by Lozano shortly thereafter, in the 2011-12 offseason.

In addition to Pujols and Votto, MVP Sports represents a number of high-profile MLB players, including Josh Donaldson, Carlos Beltran, Manny Machado, Derek Norris, Nick Swisher, Fernando Rodney and the recently retired Michael Young, among others. A larger list of clients for each agency can be viewed in MLBTR’s Agency Database, which contains agent info for more than 2,000 Major League and Minor League players.