Event Recap: Michael Huyghue ('84)

 

On Friday, October 4th, the Cornell Sports Business Society was lucky enough to host Michael Huyghue for a workshop: "How to Negotiate in the Professional Sports Arena". This event was the first of its kind for our organization. Huyghue is currently the president of Michael Huyghue & Associates, where he works consulting professional sports teams, agents, and other sports properties.

Huyghue is the former, and inaugural, commissioner of United Football League. His resume includes: hearing arbitration cases for the NFL, being named the youngest GM in professional football history after joining the NFL World League, serving as the vice president for the Detroit Lions and Jacksonville Jaguars, and founding Axcess Sports & Entertainment, where he represented a number of professional athletes. Huyghue is a graduate of the CALS school at Cornell and received his degree in law from the University of Michigan.

Rather than a standard question and answer event, Huyghue's workshop was more akin to an interactive lecture. He outlined the methods of a successful negotiation and "how to get the most out of a deal", focusing on three key ideas: preparation, leverage, and urgency. Read more after the jump.
The first key to a successful negotiation, Huyghue stressed, was extensive preparation, and being "focused on all the dynamics". Firstly, and most importantly, you should "know what you're after and you you think they're after". Huyghue said that these things should be flexible. As an example, Huyghue said that you would never want to have a rigid number in mind and take a deal at that number, only to find out later that your negotiating partner was prepared to give you a better deal.

Another piece of advice he offered was to keep your side understaffed, since a smaller team creates mutual trust, and your goal is to make your partner comfortable, rather than intimidate them. He also emphasized the importance of adjusting your strategy based on different factors. One of the many variables he offered was setting, "if the negotiation is at Panera Bread, don't wear your suit", whereas you would if it was at the team's office.

Another factor are the character traits of the other person, which Huyghue figures out through pre-negotiation phone calls, "know who you're negotiating against", Huyghue said. An anecdote he gave was having to negotiate with, what he called, a "military-joe" type, who would get up extremely early. An easy way to relate to someone like this is to wake up extremely early, so they can see that you're relatable. This is a useful tactic even if "you're going to sleep for six hours afterwards", Huyghue joked.

Huyghue explained that creating leverage, defined simply as "getting somebody to move towards your side", is an incredibly important negotiating skill. The person who holds leverage is the person who stands to lose less from a negotiation. He stressed not giving in to your partner if you're afraid of the outcome, you should always make a deal that you're comfortable with making. He also stressed the importance of being the "one giving the facts", it makes your partners trust you and view you as a reliable source of information, which you can use to your advantage. Huyghue was critical of bluffing as a tactic, preferring posturing instead. Posturing, implies an ultimatum, like saying that you're probably going to walk away if a deal isn't made soon, but still leaves you in a flexible position.

The importance of urgency was another key point Huyghue made. For an example of a time he increased his own leverage using urgency in a negotiation, Huyghue told us a story from his days with the Jaguars, when he was negotiating a rookie contract for a future pro-bowler. He explained that the amount of money a team can spend on its first year players is fixed, comparing it to a pie. This player, a first round pick, had rejected Huyghue's initial offer. Instead of increasing his offer, he instead started signing later picks to slightly above market value deals, which persuaded them to sign quickly. Once the first rounder saw the other players signing, he saw the piece of "the pie" that he was entitled to shrinking, and he quickly signed, knowing that he had a lot to lose if he waited out any longer.

Huyghue closed his workshop with a quick breakdown of the NFL salary cap, stressing that the consistently good teams make sure that they're most expensive players are the ones making the biggest impact on the field, essentially building from the top-down. The less successful teams often have, on average, 7 non-starters in their top 25 players, where 80% of their payroll is committed. 

Finally, when asked to give advice for students interesting in getting involved in player operations, Huyghue advised that you do your research on a team's recent moves, and give smart analysis on those decisions. He stressed that you should not simply display yourself as fan, but show an understanding of the financial and on-field implications of certain decisions. For students interested in player representation, he advised that they find an established agent to work with, since there are so many nuances to the CBA, and it's best to be familiar with these complexities before representing any players on your own.

As always, the Sports Business Society extends its sincerest gratitude to alumni like Michael Huyghue, who take their time to share their experiences with our members. As an organization looking to prepare students for work in the sports business field, Michael's shared experiences and advice are invaluable to us. We learned the subtle differences and challenges that negotiating in the sports industry presents, and all of us are better off because of his teaching. With such an unprecedented event, Michael was able to provide truly unique and interesting insight into negotiations in sports, and we hope to have him back in the future.

Event Preview: Three Questions with Michael Huyghue

 

Join the Cornell Sports Business Society in Ives 105 on Friday (10/4) at 4:30, where former UFL Commissioner, Michael Huyghue '84, will be conducting a workshop on "Negotiations in the Professional Sports Arena." 

Michael Huyghue is the President of Michael Huyghue & Associates, where he consults professional sports teams, agents, and other sports-related properties. Michael Huyghue received his undergraduate degree from Cornell University and his law degree from the University of Michigan.

After graduation from law school, Huyghue began his career as a legal intern for the NFL's Players Association and was later an attorney with the NFL's Management Council in 1987, handling arbitration hearings. At the age of 29, he became the youngest general manager in professional football when he joined the NFL's World League in 1989. Huyghue joined the Detroit Lions as vice president and general counsel, before becoming senior vice president of football operations for the Jacksonville Jaguars in the team's inaugural NFL season. During Huyghue's tenure with the Jaguars, the team became the "winningest" franchise in expansion history, achieving two AFC Central Division Championships and an unprecedented two AFC Championship appearances.

Huyghue has served on many of the NFL Commissioner's prominent committees, including the NFL Management Council, the Executive Working Group Committee, the NFL College Advisory Committee, the NFL Europe League, and as a Trustee of the NFL Players Insurance Trust. Prior to becoming commissioner of the United Football League in 2006, Huyghue was CEO and founder of Axcess Sports & Entertainment, where he represented a number of NFL, NBA and PGA tour players.

Huyghue was kind enough to participate in a 3Q Interview to help preview the event.  Here's what he had to say:

(1) The Negotiations Workshop will be the first of its kind for the Cornell Sports Business Society; why did you choose to do this and what value do you hope students can gain from this session?

I think the value of teaching "real life" situations is a good supplement to the traditional class room experience. We practitioners in the real world can offer a unique perspective to academic study. I wanted students to come away with a real skill and not necessarily just practical knowledge.

(2) In your opinion, what is the greatest myth or misunderstanding about business negotiations?

I think the biggest myth is a one size fits all approach. Every negotiation is different. You can't anticipate every situation and you can't necessarily take the same cookie cutter approach to each negotiation. Every situation is unique and you might have to approach each situation from a different vantage point.

(3) During your extensive history within the sports industry, which business negotiation do you consider to be a turning point in your career?

I think the best lesson, if you will, that I learned during my business career is that you really only gain the greatest degree of leverage in a negotiation when you are prepared to walk. Unless and until you feel you can walk away from the deal you are ultimately at the risk of conceding more than you should.

*BONUS* What do you miss most about your days at Cornell?

There is an energy around the Cornell environment that I call the Cornell experience. It is unique to each student but similar in the sense that it allows you to expand your horizons by asking questions like "what if and why not". You don't get to explore those thoughts as much in business world. That is a precious freedom I miss.

Join the Cornell Sports Business Society in Ives 105 on Friday (10/4) at 4:30, where former UFL Commissioner, Michael Huyghue '84, will be conducting a workshop on "Negotiations in the Professional Sports Arena." Check out the event on Facebook more information.