Rimas Sports, the sports agency co-founded by pop star Bad Bunny, has committed “a series of serious violations” in its dealings with baseball players, according to the Major League Baseball Players Association. The MLBPA presented its allegations to a federal judge in Puerto Rico this week, The Athletic’s Evan Drellich reports.
Rimas’ inappropriate actions included offering a $200,000 interest-free loan to a player the agency was trying to acquire as a client, and providing a $19,500 gift to another player who had signed with the organization.
Other incentives cited in a memo the MLBPA filed with the court included Rima’s representatives giving non-customer players VIP tickets to Bad Bunny shows and access to a luxury suite at a Phoenix Suns game .
In April, the MLBPA revoked the certification of Rimas agent William Arroyo after investigating complaints from other agents about providing improper benefits to players the agency did not represent. Two of Rimas’ co-founders, Noah Assad and Jonathan Miranda, were also officially barred from becoming agents who could represent MLBPA members.
The highest-profile client Rimas has signed is Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr., who reportedly signed with the agency in May. Other players Rimas has represented include Wilmer Flores of the San Francisco Giants, Francisco Alvarez of the New York Mets and Ronny Mauricio and Santiago Espinal of the Cincinnati Reds.
Rimas Sports, the Port of Bad Bunny company, has signed EXCLUSIVO with MLB superstar Ronald Acuña Jr. 🔥🇻🇪 pic.twitter.com/BjolqYOdck
— Bunny’s Network (@badbunnynetwork) May 16, 2024
From a layman’s perspective, the incentives Rimas offers don’t sound outlandish compared to what other sports agencies have likely done to attract potential clients. Although there may be formal protocols to be followed for recruiting and signing clients that Rimas did not follow.
The argument, which was supported by an arbitrator, also appears to be that Rimas went beyond what agencies are normally allowed to use when competing for players – especially when it is funded by Bad Bunny, the best-selling Latin artist in US history .
Rimas responded by arguing in federal court that its practices were unfairly investigated “in a discriminatory, biased and predetermined investigation” designed to bankrupt the agency, according to The Athletic’s report. Revoking Arroyo’s certification and barring Assad and Miranda from formally becoming agents amounts to a “death penalty” for the company, Rimas claims.
