Rothstein Dreamed of Sports Empire
You saw "RRA" all over Miami Dolphins games, Heat games, Panthers games, last year's BCS National Championship game at the Orange Bowl, a Don King-promoted boxing match, even the Super Bowl.
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| MetroMix/Mychal McDonald |
| Rothstein chumming with Marino |
You have to imagine he would have found a way to get the RRA logo on tonight's BCS championship if he weren't incarcerated.
There is no question that Rothstein paid a lot of stolen money to buy sponsorships at premiere sporting events. But why? Well it wasn't out of pure ego (though that would seem possible with Rothstein) -- it was all part of his attempt to become king in the sports world, chiefly through a company called Goal Line Management, which he bought his way into in December 2008. He transformed it into RRA Goal Line Management -- a company that hit the market with a typical Rothstein splash and cash.
"Scott was a jock sniffer; he was a big fan, and he wanted to hang out with the players," said one source in the sports business. "When he got into the business, he wanted to be top dog. They were going to buy their way into being the number-one sports agency. That was their goal. He wanted to be like CAA [Creative Artists Agency in Los Angeles]. He wanted to beat out [Miami sports agent] Drew [Rosenhaus]. The problem is you can't beat out Drew. He'sunstoppable. Once a player signs with Drew, they are with Drew for life."
RRA Goal Line Management, with Rothstein partner and sports agent Brian Levy at the helm, didn't really make much of a dent. The company boasted a couple of high-profile clients -- including NFL coaches Mike Tomlin of the Steelers and Raheem Morris of the Bucs -- but never got the marquee names Rothstein wanted, said the source. "Scott found out how hard it is to sign players," said the source. "There are just so many agencies out there, and CAA automatically gets the first-round picks. And just because you have Dan Marino around doesn't mean you're going to sign Tim Tebow."
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| MetroMix |
| Ronnie Brown doing his show at Bova. |
For instance, Rothstein sponsored Dolphins star running back Ronnie Brown's Monday-night radio show at Bova Prime. "I think they were trying to buy up Ronnie Brown," said the source. "Why would they give him a Bova Prime show? How much do you think Ronnie Brown got paid?"
The RRA Goal Line company is now listed in bankruptcy records as a target for seizure. Also on the list is the Rothstein-owned RRA Sports and Entertainment, which was formed to handle endorsement deals for athletes just a few weeks before Rothstein's empire collapsed. Dolphins linebacker Crowder was one of the first clients of the company.
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| MetroMix/Mychal McDonald |
| Crowder at Bova Prime . |
The question for the bankruptcy trustee may be how to distinguish Goal Line from RRA Goal Line. Obviously, Levy's business had value and clients prior to Rothstein buying into it, but how much of the business came from Rothstein cash?
"Of all of Rothstein's assets, this is one that they could open the books and say, 'We found money,'" said the source. "They have clients; they just didn't take over the market. They failed because Scott bought it just last year. He only got one season. If Scott would have continued what he was doing, God knows how big he would have gotten. He had unlimited funds."
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