Eugene E. Parker

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Eugene Parker, born February 24, 1956, is the sports agent of Deion Sanders, Emmitt Smith, and many other NFL athletes. He has been named by Black Enterprise Magazines top 50 influential blacks in sports. Parker was also ranked 45 in the Sports Illustrated list of the top 101 most influential minorities in sports.^[1]

1 Biography
2 Clients
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Biography

Parker graduated from Purdue University in 1978, and graduated from Valparaiso University School of Law in 1982.^{[citation needed]}

When Parker was an undergrad student at Purdue University he studied law. He was also a four-year starter on the Purdue men’s basketball team where he scored 1,430 career points. He was a team captain for two years where he earned all big ten awards, and most valuable player awards.^[2] After his college career, Parker was drafted in the late rounds of the NBA draft by the San Antonio Spurs.^[3] He turned down the NBA ranks to take a graduate assist coaching job at Valparaiso University while he earned a law degree. Parker then went on to found his company, Maximum Sports Management. His early signings included NFL All-Pro defensive players Rod Woodson and Deion Sanders.^{[citation needed]} In 1995, Parker negotiated Deion Sanders' lucrative seven year, 35 million dollar contract, with a 13 million dollar signing bonus, which made Sanders the highest paid defensive player in the NFL at that time.^{[citation needed]} After the Sanders signing, the NFL established the "Deion Rule," which prevents rookies from deferring a large part of their salaries in favor of a signing bonus.^[4] According to the Cincinnati Business Courier, "In plain English, it means Sanders and his agent, Eugene Parker, are every bit as good -- if not better -- than the reigning kings of salary cap circumvention, the San Francisco 49ers." In 2004 he negotiated a six year deal worth $60 million for wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, making Larry the highest paid rookie in the NFL ever.^{[citation needed]}