In any negotiation, there has to be a foundation set that both parties respect and understand in order to reach a mutual benefit. Leverage, tactics, and ultimatums can also play a huge part, but in a smooth negotiation where livelihoods are in the mix, sometimes just being honest and upfront is the best way to keep the bread on your table. This can come as a surprise to some in the sports industry because there is a lot of big money moving around and even worse, bigger egos. But not all players, owners, and front offices are the same because not all negotiations hold the same intentions.
I recently had an opportunity to interview a personal friend of mine as well as an up and coming star from the Canadian Football League, Dorian Smith, who has just recently signed a 4-year contract extension with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Dorian was a First Team All Pac-12 defensive end back in 2008 and has spent the past three seasons with the Blue Bombers as a dominant defensive tackle. After holding his own in 2009 where he racked up 47 tackles and eight quarterback sacks, while also recovering one fumble, it was time to renegotiate the terms of Dorian’s contract before another team demanded his services elsewhere.
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| Courtesy of www.bluebombers.com |
When asked about the most important aspects to his negotiation, Dorian suggested a few key foundations and aspects that helped keep both sides honest and conscious of what both parties’ request and ideas were. The first and most important was appreciation. He explained that this helped set the level of respect in order to carry on the negotiations so that both parties knew that they collectively wanted mutual benefits to work in both the short term and long term once a potential deal was reached.
The second aspect, which had to come directly after the appreciation, was now taking all of the people involved out of the negotiation. He explained that emotions and feelings do not pay the bills and that he wanted his statistics and contributions to the team to speak for his negotiating. A message that is hard to argue with is a message worth arguing, which is why hip hop artist Jay-Z said it best, “Men lie, women lie, numbers don’t!”
The third and final aspect Dorian touched on in his explanation of his contract extension was the using of leverage in order to tackle the biggest hurdle, his worth. He used the average amount of other players in the league that made more than he did at the same position, but with less statistical dominance as he in order to show exactly what he feels he deserved and why. He was setting himself up with a way to show his power within the negotiation by using key examples that only solidified his request as being one of the highest paid defensive tackles in the Canadian Football League.
In the end, Dorian was given the deal he wanted, and the team was happy they resigned their rising star defensive monster. But Dorian isn’t completely satisfied just yet. “I’m happy to be a Blue Bomber, but now its time to be a champion!”
Smith, D. (2011, Sept 13). Telephone interview.
Carter (Jay-Z), S. (2009). Kingdom Come [CD].
Winnipeg Blue Bombers, (2009). Winnipeg blue bombers roster. Retrieved from http://www.bluebombers.com/roster/show/id/2035
