Alimony Modification
Keith Glass, 58, an agent whose clients have included seven-time NBA champion Robert Horry, said players aren't the only ones who feel the financial blow of a labor stoppage. Contracts can't be signed, preventing agents like Glass, who has divorced three times, from collecting commissions.
Glass said he filed an alimony modification request for himself during the 1998-99 NBA lockout. He said he won a 40% reduction, while unable to recall the dollar amounts.
"There will be filings, all right," Glass said. "You can bet it's already being done by agents."
Big money will be at stake for players like Cromartie. The 27-year-old got a $500,000 advance of his $1.7 million salary from the Jets to settle child-support matters. He has been among the players to criticize the NFL and players association for not reaching an agreement.
"How abt the owners and the NFLPA get ur behinds back to the table and talk it out there," he said on Twitter a week after the owners locked out players on March 12.
First Paychecks
None of the more than 15 NFL, NBA and National Hockey League agents contacted would say whether they were helping prepare, or had helped prepare, modification requests for clients.
Under terms of their labor contracts, NFL players don't receive their first paycheck for the 2011 season until September and NBA players until November. Rudolph said applications need to be made in advance to ensure that any change coincides with the income cutoff.
Not all athletes consider modification. Oakland Raiders running back Darren McFadden, who has three children with three women, has enough money to pay his support even in the event of a lockout, said his agent, Ian Greengross. McFadden in 2008 signed a six-year, $60 million contract that included a guaranteed $26 million.