series. Davis also handles the programming for Boxeo de Oro, the boxing series promoted by Oscar de la Hoya on the HBO Latino service. Highlight Reel: Davis was part of the HBO team that negotiated a groundbreaking deal to work with Showtime on the 2002 Lennox Lewis-Mike Tyson showdown.”
Front-Office Executives
Jimmie Lee Solomon Jr., Senior Vice President of Baseball Operations, MLB, 49: “Solomon grew up on a cattle farm outside a small Texas town with a population of 200. His day began at 4:30 a.m. with the morning chores: feeding cows, slopping hogs, and mending fences. Then it was a bath, breakfast, and to the bus stop for school. My father had three sons and two daughters and he needed the sons to do that work, recalls Solomon. He used us in the morning before the bus came, and when the bus came in the afternoon and dropped us off, he was waiting for us in the pickup and we worked almost ’til dark. His father’s labor-intensive work schedule created an adept farm hand and a future top executive. Now senior vice president of Major League Baseball, Solomon regulates the great American pastime. One of the league’s most influential executives, he oversees Major League operations, minor league operations, international operations, the Major Lea
gue Scouting Bureau, the Arizona Fall League, and various special projects. His career highlights include negotiating an unprecedented 10-year, $170 million agreement that revitalized the relationship between Major League Baseball and the minor leagues. In addition to playing football and running track, Solomon excelled academically and went on to graduate from Dartmouth College in 1978 and Harvard Law School in 1981. But throughout it all, he would always adhere to the lessons he learned at the farm-hard work and preparedness. In business, people always say, ‘So and so is lucky’ or ‘So and so is very fortunate to get that position.’ I just think that the more prepared you are, the luckier you tend to get, says Solomon. You can’t keep your foot on first and steal second. That just won’t happen.”
Eugene E. Parker, President, Maximum Sports Management, 49: “A dealmaker extraordinaire with more than $2 billion in professional sports contracts under his belt, Parker has signed some of the greatest starters in NFL history. Among his active players are New York Jets running back Curtis Martin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Derrick Brooks, Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward, and Arizona Cardinals running back Emmitt Smith. For each of these deals, Parker’s Indiana-based firm has received up to 3% of the total contract value. Last year, this graduate of Valparaiso University Law School helped wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald become the richest rookie in NFL history with a $60 million, six-year deal with the Arizona Cardinals. Then there’s the infamous Deion Sanders contract. When Sanders signed his $35 million contract with the Dallas Cowboys in 1995, the flashy cornerback made contract history. Sanders’ contract included a $13 million signing bonus and prompted the NFL to institute the Deion rule.