Bo McKinnis is a

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

sports agent A sports agent is a legal representative (hence agent (law), agent) for professional sports figures such as athletes and coaches. They procure and negotiate employment and Testimonial, endorsement contracts for the principal (commercial law), at ...

. He was a student manager of the baseball team at Mississippi State University. While attending graduate business school at

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

, he was asked by a Mississippi State teammate, Pete Young (who pitched in the Major Leagues with the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos () were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (baseball), National League ...

), to serve as his sports agent. He has gone on to represent over 100 Major League players, including Paul Byrd, R. A. Dickey, Sonny Gray, and Rusty Greer. He has represented over 20 first round draft picks, including Dewon Brazelton (third overall in 2001) and David Price (first overall in 2007).

Largest Major League Salary and Largest Pitchers Contract

In December 2015, McKinnis negotiated the largest contract in Major League Baseball history for a pitcher when David Price received a seven-year $217 million contract from the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

. This also tied the record for largest average salary ever received by any player at $31 million per year, tying with Miguel Cabrera of the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

. This contract is also the largest contract ever in the history of the Boston Red Sox franchise.

Both Cy Youngs

In 2012, McKinnis became the first, and only, agent ever to represent both Cy Young Award winners in the same year. David Price won the award in the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

and R. A. Dickey won the award in the National League of Professional Baseball Clubs.

Arbitration Record

In January 2015, McKinnis negotiated the largest one-year contract in the history of

salary arbitration when David Price received a 2015 salary of $19,750,000 from the

Pitchers Signing Bonus Records

McKinnis is one of only two agents to have twice set the record for the largest signing bonus ever given to a drafted pitcher. In 2001, he set the record for the largest signing bonus ever given to a drafted pitcher with Dewon Brazelton receiving $4.2 million from the Tampa Bay Rays. In 2007, McKinnis broke his own record when David Price received an even larger signing bonus, $5.6 million, also from the Rays.

Book Citations

McKinnis has been written about and referenced in four books: Michael Lewis's 2003 book, Moneyball; Paul Byrd's 2008 book, ''Free Byrd''; R. A. Dickey's 2012 autobiography, ''Wherever I Wind Up: My Quest for Truth, Authenticity and the Perfect Knuckleball''; and Shi Davidi's 2013 book, ''Great Expectations: The Lost Toronto Blue Jays Season''. In addition, McKinnis became the first

to ever be featured in the

Sporting News ''The Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a ...

125-year history in the column "On the Agent Side" in its January 17, 2011 issue.On the Agent Side
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mckinnis, Bo American sports agents Mississippi State University alumni Living people Year of birth missing (living people)