Rich Rodriguez being sued by former agency for breach of contract

ByKYLE BONAGURA
August 18, 2017, 3:12 PM

— -- Arizona football coach Rich Rodriguez is being sued for breach of contract by the agency that used to represent him.

Creative Artists Agency filed a lawsuit Wednesday in federal court seeking $230,250 it says it is owed for completed work on Rodriguez's behalf.

The lawsuit says Rodriguez entered into an oral agreement with CAA in 2011, after which the agency negotiated his contracts for an on-air analyst role at CBS Sports Network and as the coach at Arizona. Rodriguez agreed to pay 10 percent of his earnings from his CBS deal and 4 percent from his contract at Arizona, which totaled more than $300,000 until sometime in the fall of 2015, when Rodriguez ended his relationship with CAA.

CAA contends that even though it is no longer representing Rodriguez, it is still owed money from the contract it negotiated before their separation. The lawsuit says CAA attempted to resolve the dispute with Rodriguez's attorney, who refused to negotiate.

Bennett Speyer, Rodriguez's attorney, said Friday they plan to fight the allegations vigorously.

"Coach Rodriguez had an 'at-will' agency relationship with CAA that began in 2011," Speyer said in a statement. "He paid CAA fees in excess of $280,000 through 2015, when he terminated the relationship. Rodriguez never entered in to a written contract with CAA, nor did he ever verbally agree to pay fees for any period after 2015."?

The agency represented Rodriguez on his initial deal at Arizona and three subsequent amendments, the final of which was signed in June 2015. That contract runs through May 31, 2020.

A spokesman for Arizona declined to comment on the matter.

Information from ESPN's Adam Rittenberg was used in this report.