Like the rest of his NBA brethren, Andy Rautins is going to miss a few paychecks during the lockout.

To offset that, he’s found a way to save some money.

The Knicks guard has stayed in his parents’ home outside of Syracuse during the lockout, sleeping in his childhood bedroom.

“It’s nice to get some home cooked meals up here,” Rautins, a former Syracuse star, said in a phone interview. “It’s nice because it’s a rare opportunity to spend time with family and friends. Normally, you’d been in a busy season by this time. But I’ve been trying to see the positives in [staying home] and there’s a bunch so far. It’s saving me a lot of money right now and I think that’s a big concern for a lot of players.”

If the lockout extends, Rautins will consider pursuing an internship at his financial adviser’s Manhattan firm to learn about investment advice and financial planning.

“Andy is actively planning for his life after pro sports,” says Mark Doman, Rautins’ financial adviser and the senior vice president of True Capital Management. “A lot of guys say it, but Andy wants to take steps during his career to make sure he is financially secure.”

With the lockout looming, True Capital Management conducted a cost analysis to determine the financial burden on Rautins if the lockout dragged on for anywhere between three to 12 months.

“Andy wanted a number to wrap his head around, so we provided one,” Doman said.

Rautins opted to stay at home rather than pay for housing in the greater New York area. The only major expense he incurred was paying travel to and from Los Angeles, where he worked with out other players represented by his agent, Bill Duffy. No rent, no bills, no nothin’.

“It’s just the right thing to do. You want to set yourself up for the future,” said Rautins, who has a pending team option on his 2012 contract.

Drafted in the second round by the Knicks, Rautins played in just five games last season. His season was cut short by knee surgery in April.

When he was healthy last season, Rautins said he learned a lot playing against former point guard Raymond Felton and Toney Douglas every day in practice. He also got to pick veteran Chauncey Billups’ brain for a few months.

Rautins hopes to slide into a regular role as a reserve shooter and point guard in his second year, whenever it starts.

“I want to have a much bigger role than last year,” he said. “Last year I didn’t really get much of an opportunity to play…. I feel like I’ve matured and I have a lot more experience [as a point guard].”

Rautins has been working extensively on his ball handling at Syracuse for the past few weeks after playing for the Canadian National Team at FIBA Americas over the summer. He says his knee is fully healed he’s feeling fine after suffering a concussion and broken nose in the FIBA Tournament.

“I’m ready to go,” Rautins said. “I feel good.”

Both physically and financially.

In Fall 2003, Mark Doman wrote a piece in the Texas Review Of Entertainment & Sports Law titled, Attorneys As Athlete-Agents: Reconciling the ABA Rules of Professional Conduct with the Practice of Athlete Representation. I have not been able to find a free version of the article, but if you have access to LexisNexis or WestLaw, you should be able to get a copy. Either way, look below for my synopsis of the important points.

• I have discussed time and time again why sports agents are important. Even if you feel that you can effectively negotiate your own contract, think about all the baggage that comes along with hearing about your flaws and why you are worth less than you think. Also, why do you think lawyers never represent themselves in court? It is good to have outside, unbiased opinions. In addition, Doman points out that there are other reasons to have an agent, including, having someone who can navigate through the press, general managers, and endorsement opportunities.
• I have also said that being a lawyer is definitely not necessary to be an agent, but it undoubtedly helps with creditability and knowledge in all aspects of the business. This was an excellent quote that I made sure to highlight:
  • “When the owners of professional sports franchises need representation to negotiate with the players’ unions, they seek legal counsel to draft their collective bargaining agreements, as complicated legal documents are best deciphered, interpreted, massaged, and utilized creatively by lawyers. It logically follows that the other side of the bargaining table should also use attorneys, both for collective and individual agreements, to represent the athlete whose financial futures are reliant upon the accurate interpretation and implementation of these agreements. All things considered equal, athletes should select an attorney, versus a non-attorney, who is probably more competent at deciphering complex contractual language.” – Mark Levin, NFLPA Director of Salary Cap and Agent Administration
• The main argument that the paper makes is that attorney agents must either be held to a lower ethical standard than a normal lawyer or non-attorney agents must be held to the same high ethical standards that all lawyers must abide by (ABA Model Rules).
• Bringing everyone up to the ABA standards may not make sense. For instance, ABA Model Rule 7.3 states, “a lawyer shall not by in-person or live telephone contact solicit professional employment from a prospective client with whom the lawyer has no family or prior professional relationship when a significant motive for the lawyer’s doing so is the lawyer’s pecuniary gain.” I find it tough for a lawyer to argue that he/she is not in it for any pecuniary gain. If this rule were to apply, lawyer’s would have a concrete wall to bust through in order to get a client (it would be nearly impossible without solicitation).
• At least in the state of Illinois, an attorney who represents athletes will be subject to state bar ethics guidelines.
• There is a bunch of info. about potential conflicts of interest, but I have gone in depth about that topic in the past.
  • One interesting point is that the NBA and NHL do not allow agents to represent players and management, but agents are permitted to represent both entities in the NFL and MLB. The ABA would forbid such a conflict in all circumstances.
• No matter if the players association or ABA governs conduct, attorney agents should use extra care and always disclose their current client list to all potential clients. Potential conflicts should always be expressed before any relationship is formed. Suggested in the article is that each player sign a waiver of consent.

That’s all I’ve got. If you want more, then go read the actual law review article!

“It’s a business. You can be here one day and gone the next.”

That’s what Landry Fields shared with me last week, describing his motivation to prepare for this upcoming season as if there won’t be a lockout. But as it turns out, that’s been Fields’ motivation all along, including off the court, ever since he was drafted by the Knicks in the second round last summer.

Not only did Fields realize he wasn’t going to make millions in his first year like a first-round pick, he knew there was a threat of a work stoppage the following year. Fields wanted to be prepared financially, so a week after the Knicks called his name he enlisted the services of a prominent financial adviser, Mark Doman of True Capital Management, who represents approximately 50 NBA, NFL and MLB players.

After Fields’ parents, Steve and Janice, and his agent, Chris Emens, had several conversations with Doman, he was officially on board. About 10 months ago, they started working together even before Fields moved to New York. The first question Doman asked Fields was, “Do you want to spend your offseason here if you don’t have the Knicks facility to go to?” Doman not only took into consideration the potential lockout, but that Fields’ contract was only for one year guaranteed with a team option for the second. Fields told Doman that he didn’t want to work out at a local gym, such as 24 Hour Fitness; instead, he wanted to train back home in the Los Angeles area where he had prepared for the NBA draft.

That’s when Doman went to work. He made sure that Fields wouldn’t have anything tying him down financially in New York once the season ended in April. Doman helped Fields find an apartment rental in White Plains, N.Y. — “Rookie season, you just want to be able to roll out of bed and go right to work,” Doman says — arrange his rental furniture and vehicle (Mercedes), and evaluate price comparisons for other purchases to make sure he got the best bang for his buck. After Fields’ roughly one-year lease ended, Doman shipped Fields’ car out to LA, where he’s currently renting a place near where he works out. Now he has zero New York-related payments to worry about, even storage facility costs.

“The real key,” Doman says, “was that, even as a rookie, with his first paycheck, we were already figuring out how much we needed to put away for the lockout. So from his first paycheck to now, we’ve been preparing him for this lockout. So he is more than ready to go if this thing goes for a sustained period of time.”

Once the labor dispute comes closer to a resolution, Doman will go apartment hunting for Fields in New York City’s Upper West Side neighborhood. In the meantime, Doman is stressing to Fields to take advantage of every off-court opportunity, especially given the possibility of a prolonged lockout during which he’ll receive no income from the Knicks.

“As a popular New York athlete, he gets lots of opportunities to do appearances through his agent,” Doman says, “so we’re emphasizing the importance of taking those opportunities. So far this summer, he’s made about five appearances. Right now, if he’s able to do an appearance or two per month, it basically covers his living expenses for that respective month, so he doesn’t have to dip into his savings. Currently, he’s a Nike athlete and there’s also other large endorsement deals coming up for him, which will help preserve his proverbial nest egg during this work stoppage. The key right now is preserving his assets.”

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Fields talked about his involvement with Doman exclusively for ESPNNewYork.com.

Zwerling: Tell me about how you first met Mark and what attracted you to his services. What did you feel like you needed help with regarding money management?
Fields: I first met Mark last summer during the Vegas Summer League. At that time, I hadn’t had a financial adviser yet. My buddy on the team, Andy Rautins, introduced me to Mark. It felt like a relationship; we just hit it off right away. He’s a great guy. Everything he was telling me was stuff that appealed to me. I knew going into this next season I wasn’t going to make Amare money or anything like that. I really wanted somebody who I could trust to help me with my whole plan regarding my money and how I would do stuff towards the lockout. It was a natural fit. We clicked on all levels.

JZ: Unfortunately when you look at the numbers, an estimated 60 percent of former NBA players are broke within five years of retirement. When did you first think about the financial advising side of pro sports? When did it first hit you that this might help you in your career?
LF: It actually came more so when I started speaking with Mark. I wanted to learn the business side of everything. I understood that the NBA is not going to last forever. I have to get into something after I’m done playing. He’s kind of been bringing me along with different things, teaching me a few things. It’s been great so far. What he does is pretty tedious. I’ve gotta say he’s got a tough job because I know he spends hours upon hours in the office. But it’s still an art that I want to learn.

JZ: During your rookie season, did you hear any horror stories that made you want to jump on financial advising more quickly?
LF: There are always stories about guys who are having financial difficulties, but I’m one of those people that look at other situations that can be bad and learn from that, rather than go through it myself and then learn. With Mark, it’s been great. He’s been on top with me about all financial obligations. I understand what I need to do. I understand the whole lockout as well. We might not be playing basketball for a while, so I need to save, especially with the kind of contract I had. It’s not necessarily one where I can just sit here and blow money.

JZ: What have you learned the most as far as financial investments? What’s important for you in setting up your future?
LF: It’s not necessarily one thing. I want to understand what’s going on with my money. I don’t want to just say, “Here Mark, here’s all my money, invest it, do what you want with it. Don’t fill me in.” It’s not like that at all. When we talk — when we have our monthly meetings, our annual meetings — about what’s been going on, I want to understand exactly what he’s been doing with my money about where it’s been pushed, how I can have better income coming in. With me, it’s just more of I don’t want to be in the dark about my money.

JZ: Have you encouraged your teammates or other pro athletes to consult with Mark? Have you spread the word that seeking out a financial adviser is critical?
LF: Yeah, definitely. I know with Mark, he’s been great. I know he’s helped me out a lot this year. He and my agent have worked side by side. I try to help out Mark a lot with the whole recruiting thing because I understand what he does, his services, that he provides for me is a lot more than what I’m paying for. Hopefully one day, I’ll be able to compensate fully for all the stuff that he does for me because he does a whole lot of stuff behind the scenes that doesn’t necessarily get all recognition that he deserves.

With the recruiting stuff, when I have a private moment with a player who I think could benefit from Mark’s services, I’ll find out about what kind of person he is, how he’ll fit in with this whole group that Mark has. Because it’s important for Mark that he works with players who are really committed to doing well for themselves off the court. If a player is not the right fit for him, he goes in a different direction. Essentially, Mark takes it very personally when a player doesn’t succeed off the court. It’s a more personal connection than any other service I’ve been a part of because he and the athlete will be working together for years beyond sports. Even the players themselves grow very close through their involvement with Mark.

Overall, I’ll give him my honest opinion about guys. It’s definitely a relationship that goes beyond business because in order for him to like to work with guys and to do those extra little things that aren’t in his job description, I feel like you have to have that bond. It’s something that he prides himself on and each guy he has from now on fits the mold.

For a more comprehensive look at Doman’s work with pro athletes, click here.

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Quam sit proin nec wisi massa in, nibh integer, ut viverra, ante eget vestibulum mus sed orci, sed in. Semper ac pede consequat justo imperdiet justo, volutpat leo, wisi mollis metus lorem nibh donec egestas, ut non orci est aut, rhoncus ultrices vitae mauris massa nunc. Suscipit condimentum urna neque nulla, in luctus massa ornare elementum eu amet, faucibus ut non. Feugiat luctus, hac ut enim lorem vivamus blandit, suspendisse proin, amet consectetuer suscipit in dui maecenas, vulputate augue est fusce lobortis aliquam erat. Consectetuer feugiat ante at morbi. Cum erat felis arcu suspendisse sagittis, sit proin et auctor, nunc adipiscing ac, in donec donec in vel velit lacinia, pretium morbi vulputate neque nam taciti placerat. Risus erat convallis dictum ac ac turpis, et volutpat donec nulla, magna ante hendrerit congue elit mi, velit nam, accumsan cras quis. Turpis libero mollis. Risus et aliquam a risus auctor, congue vitae nunc. Pellentesque massa adipiscing tempus consequat sit, proin accumsan viverra commodo elit dis, ipsum odio facilisi sit, nec justo dictum risus, sit magna et vitae. In pharetra ac lobortis mauris pede vestibulum, cras nisl, sed amet pharetra natoque ultricies, in amet leo mattis ullamcorper luctus at. Velit suspendisse porta donec orci volutpat, viverra a imperdiet, tortor faucibus eget, sed sem nascetur quisque, vestibulum lacinia dapibus eu litora quis.

When Mark Doman was 15 years old, he interned for a prominent basketball agent, Curtis Polk, who told him, “Whatever you do, kid, don’t count on working in sports with athletes. Get a real job, get a real education — but if you get to work with athletes, that’s icing on the cake.” Doman followed that advice to a tee. More than 10 years later, after interning for other agents, a major agency (Octagon), the Boston Celtics, the NCAA legislative body and NFL Players Association, he landed a position at a private wealth management firm in midtown Manhattan, where he advised pro athletes on their investment portfolios. Since January 2010, Doman, 33, has served as a Senior Vice President of True Capital Management, a firm that specializes in investment advice and financial planning for high-net-worth individuals, entertainers and approximately 150 NBA, NFL and MLB players, including the Knicks’ Landry Fields. Doman, along with his team in New York, handles the day-to-day services of about 50 of those 150 clients.

Doman took time out of his busy day at True Capital’s New York office (the firm’s headquarters are in San Francisco) to provide ESPNNewYork.com with an exclusive behind-the-scenes look into his work with local pro athletes.

10 Things You Should Know About My Job

1. What are we really talking about when we’re managing money for pro athletes? What they really are is the equivalent to identifiable lottery winners. What I mean by that is when you talk about somebody who’s won the lottery, we’re talking about instant wealth; not accumulated through years in the business world. The only difference is that we can identify athletes at an early age. What’s so different about managing money for a pro athlete versus a regular high-net-worth individual is that your typical millionaire is in their 40s, 50s, 60s. Pro athletes are in their early 20s. I’ll give you my saying: These pro athletes have the earning power of someone who’s in their 50s or 60s, they have the retirement concerns of someone who’s typically in their 60s or 70s, but they’re in their early 20s. So the financial planning is almost more important early on than the investing.
2. The key with my job is really about teaching them perspective. It’s very hard to explain to a 23-year-old with a $1 million in their bank that buying 10 flat-screen TVs might not make the most sense, if that million has to last them the next 50 years. Their perspective can be distorted. I’ll give you two ways that there’s a lack of perspective. One is a lack of perspective as it relates to the amount of money they have versus how long it’ll last him. Two, further distorting their perspective is that they compare themselves against the other guys in their locker room; not against other people outside of sports. The minute they walk through that player’s parking lot and they see the proverbial car show going on, they lose all perspective on what is “normal.”
3. So what do I do day to day? First, I want to make it clear that without my team, my work would be impossible. Every day, I’m responsible for handling the day-to-day financial needs of my clients, which requires constant communication with the entire team. Every day, we review their investment portfolios and make sure we understand what’s going on in the financial market. We believe in preparing for the long-term, not trying to make a quick buck. The next step is we spend a lot of time doing financial planning for them and showing them different ways of gaining perspective on their money. We show them how purchasing decisions affect their long-term outlook. By handling their bill paying when requested, we help them better identify what they need versus what they want. For the rookies, we go in long before they get their first paycheck and we create a financial plan around what their projected income is during the life of their rookie contract and we do a cost-of-living analysis based on the respective city they’re living. We handle housing, cars, family obligations. We build a financial plan around that and then we’re constantly adjusting and refining that plan based on reality. With all of these responsibilities, you can see how important a team approach really is.
4. I work hand-in-hand with agents to make sure our clients are financial secure during their entire lifetime. An agent, or contract adviser, is an integral part of an athlete’s life. My goals are the same as theirs in the sense that I want the athletes to have money for their entire lifetime. I step in and help with their long-term financial planning; agents must think more short-term to maximize the athlete’s earning power. That’s why I decided to do what I do. Their athletic abilities is what gives the athletes the opportunities to earn this money, but they need guidance for life after sports. Sports can be three to 10 years of their life, but then their post-athletic career is typically 40 to 60 years. It’s that part of their life that I’m really concerned about planning for.
5. I’ve used this lockout as an opportunity as a catalyst for getting guys to say, “What am I going to do after sports?” Some of them have gone back to college to finish their degrees; some of them have gotten internships in real estate, financial planning and insurance planning. One of my clients, the Broncos’ David Bruton, is substitute teaching in Ohio. In terms of the financial planning for the lockout, over the last year we required every client to create a separated savings account entitled “lockout savings.” We required each client, based on their personal budget, to put away up to one year of living expenses. We created a budget that would allow them to have the liquidity if the lockout was prolonged without interfering with their investments. Although you hear about a lot of guys who are going broke, my clients are so well prepared for the lockout that not one of them is concerned about making it through it. However, the rookies are in a tough spot. Essentially they have to continue living like college kids until they get that first check. Some of them had to move back home with their parents. Only the top-tier rookies are being taken care of well by their agents and earning off-field money by the way of signing autographs for the card companies, doing appearances and things of that nature.
6. Players are all very well aware of how many go broke after retirement, but it’s amazing that despite their awareness of it, only a few of them take the steps necessary to protect themselves. So the question is, why do three out of four NFL players go broke within two years of retirement, and three out of five NBA players go broke within five years of retirement? There are a variety of reasons. The first two reasons relate to perspective, which I mentioned earlier, and then the third reason relates to athletes’ being overly generous by helping some of the people who helped them get to this point. I’m very supportive of them helping their family, but the key is to manage the process effectively to ensure their loved ones’ well-being as well as their own. Our job at my company is to show them how to balance their expenses, which includes taking care of their loved ones to ensure their lifestyle is financially secure beyond their athletic career. You’d be surprised, a lot of guys who end up going broke, it’s not because they’re out at the club popping bottles. Providing support to their family is not a bad thing, but it cannot be done piecemeal; they must have a plan in place for how to best help their loved ones. We manage the families as well depending on the circumstances.
7. Our fees are very competitive and standard across the industry. We charge a percentage on assets we manage and a fee for financial planning. If you want me to just buy and sell your stocks and bonds, it’s one fee. If you want me to buy and sell your stocks and bonds, and you want me to find an apartment and buy a car for you and pay your bills and find what the best TV is for your money, those are separate fees.
8. All of our new clients come from word of mouth and referrals. You’d be surprised, we spend very little time doing any recruiting or business development. It literally boils down to, “Hey, you should meet my teammate.” The locker room is a small place; everyone knows each other. That’s how it builds. I don’t constantly ask these guys, “Hey, do you have anyone you can recruit for me?” It’s always been, “Hey, what do you think about them as a person? Do we want this person to be a part of this family?” I really look at the group of young men that I work with as a family because that’s the only way, frankly, that I can do all the extra stuff that isn’t in my job description and dedicate the hours that I dedicate to guys like Landry. I put in 13 to 15 hours a day with my clients. If I’m dealing with a guy who’s a troublemaker, that inevitably takes away time from my clients who deserve it. For me, the only way I really make this a profitable business if I work with these guys for 10, 20, 30 years. Of that 30-year relationship, they’re a pro athlete for only a fraction of that time. So what does it mean? It means that I better like these people as human beings; not just as athletes.
9. I’m hoping in the future that I’m one of the guys who the leagues invite to speak to the rookies. While the rookie transition programs in the NBA and NFL do a pretty good job of educating these guys, they typically don’t invite in folks from the private side to talk at those events. I actually spend a lot of time with my clients before those transition programs, so when they attend they’re already familiar with the messages discussed there.
10. The biggest perk of my job is that no two days are alike. Every single day brings a lot of new challenges to me and the team at True Capital. Also, I become personally and emotionally invested in each client because I’m intimately involved in every detail of their life off the field or off the court. When you get to that point, you really start to care about these folks. And the other thing I love is because I become so personally and emotionally invested in it, it makes me work harder. We look at our clients like family because they depend on us to steer them into their life after sports. It’s a huge responsibility and we all become very close. The challenge is to make sure with all this hard work that I’m not neglecting my own family. My wife, Laura, has the patience of a saint; she understands what we’re building at TCM and the effort involved. One of the more humbling moments of my job was when I told my clients that I got engaged in March 2010 to be married. I think I told them on a Wednesday and by Friday, almost 20 active NFL players that I work with flew to New York to surprise me for an impromptu engagement party. That was just unbelievable. They all, through me, have gotten to know each other better. I constantly refer to my clients, my business partners and administrative staff as family.