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[Gómez] Reds top prospect Elly de la Cruz will pay 10% of his career salary earnings due to an agreement he signed with Big League Advantage (BLA), a company that loans money to athletes in exchange of a percentage of his salary earnings if he reaches a major league in their sport.

  • June 10, 2023


[Gómez] Reds top prospect Elly de la Cruz will pay 10% of his career salary earnings due to an agreement he signed with Big League Advantage (BLA), a company that loans money to athletes in exchange of a percentage of his salary earnings if he reaches a major league in their sport.

41 comments

  2. This is fucking gross man.

    Taking advantage of young players in that manner.

  5. The full tweet was too long to use as a title but it finishes with an obvious criticism:

    >Reds top prospect Elly de la Cruz will pay 10% of his career salary earnings due to an agreement he signed with Big League Advantage (BLA), a company that loans money to athletes in exchange of a percentage of his salary earnings if he reaches a major league in their sport.

    >**Low bonuses and minor league salaries push young players to this agreements.**

  6. They really need to teach these kids about money a lot sooner. I fucking hate this

  8. Would be funny if he found a lawyer and accountant that could find a way to get paid that got around the predatory agreement he signed

  9. I bet you most of the people they “help” are low income international players. This is absolutely terrible. I wonder how much they gave him, and what other players have signed similar deals.

  13. I wonder how much he got for 10% of career earnings.

    He was considered a top 100 prospect before even last season, so unless he made the deal as soon as he turned 18, you have to assume career earnings of $10 million or more.

  15. Usually not a contrarian but I think this really isn’t the bad deal people are talking about. The players are paid a lot of money up front and are fully aware of the impacts and not all of them work out in the majors. Even Fernando tatis jr did a deal with this company. I don’t think I’ve heard of any players complaining of their agreements.

  18. if my calculations are (kinda) right, they’ve already made 2k off him this week alone

  20. Holy shit I didn’t realize third party ownership was legal in American sports. This shit finally got driven out of soccer in the last 10 years – I can’t believe we’re about to let this happen here. These people are absolute scum.

  21. It’s kind of like a venture capital investment. He’s a start up and he sold series A equity. He’s now going public and the early investors will make a killing.

  22. Jonathan Schoop used that when he was with us, got $7 million in exchange for a percentage of earnings over that.

    He’s made way more than that but most players don’t have a career like him, I understand them taking these deals, especially when they don’t come from money.

  24. Say they loaned him $100K. If he goes on to make $100 mil then damn he got fleeced but either way he will be fine financially

  25. These leeches are the absolute worst. It’s a major issue for soccer players, especially those coming out of South America and Africa.

    They buy up the player’s future earnings and even image rights when they’re just kids. It’s sometimes enough to scuttle deals with major international clubs that either don’t want to get dragged into litigation with these scumbags or don’t want to pay the ransom to make them go away.

  26. 10% on perpetuity? what the fuck lol

    I get that most Dominican/Cuban prospects won’t pan out, but this is payday loans level of scumbaggery.

  30. What could he need big money for right now? Is a top athlete in that city needing to hire security? The reds shoulda got to him first lol

  31. Don’t be mad at the company; be mad at the orgs for not paying players enough that they take this bet.

  33. Don’t miss the forest for the trees on this one. Focus the hate on the minor leagues for not paying players a decent wage. That’s the root problem. This type of loan is merely a symptom.

    As long as the minors don’t pay shit, these types of loans are the way many players afford to live during those years. And as long as the minors don’t pay shit, these loans aren’t going anywhere.

    The interests behind keeping minor league pay low would love nothing more than for people to get distracted by these loan companies. The perfect decoy.

    Treat the root cause and the symptoms heal naturally.

  35. I’ll play devils advocate. We have no idea how much money this company loaned him and how much money he will make. Could be a good deal for him.

  36. I work with some MLB players the have signed with Big League Advance. The BLA money is not a loan, as stated in the Tweet. Players do not owe anything back if they never make the majors. Like someone said before me, the company is more like a venture capitalist. They will make a lot of money off a few players and never see a return on a lot of the others who flame out in the minors. I do not really have an opinion on the ethics of it all. Many people take out student loans at the same age but still have to pay them back if they do not get a job in the field they got a degree in.

  38. Damn, that’s like professional sports version of predatory payday loan joints.

  39. Ten percent is a pretty big cut, especially over a career. I didn’t know predatory lending was a thing in minor league baseball; it’s disgusting.

  41. The plan: secure endorsements with the baseball stars of tomorrow by investing in kids.

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