Bo McKinnis is a

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

sports agent. He was a student manager of the baseball team at Mississippi State University. While attending graduate business school at

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

, he was asked by a Mississippi State teammate,

Pete Young Pete or Petes or ''variation'', may refer to: People * Pete (given name) * Pete (nickname) * Pete (surname) Fictional characters * Pete (Disney), a cartoon character in the ''Mickey Mouse'' universe * Pete the Pup (a.k.a. 'Petey'), a character ...

(who pitched in the Major Leagues with the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

), to serve as his sports agent. He has gone on to represent over 100 Major League players, including

Paul Byrd Paul Gregory Byrd (born December 3, 1970), is an American former professional baseball starting pitcher, who is currently a TV sports broadcaster for Atlanta Braves games on Bally Sports Southeast. While pitching in Major League Baseball (MLB), ...

R. A. Dickey Robert Allen Dickey (born October 29, 1974) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Seattle Mariners, Minnesota Twins, New York Mets, Toronto Blue Jays and Atlanta Bra ...

, Sonny Gray, and

Rusty Greer Thurman Clyde "Rusty" Greer III (born January 21, 1969) is an American former Major League Baseball outfielder for the Texas Rangers. He most recently worked for Texas Wesleyan University serving as the Assistant Head Coach under former teammate ...

. He has represented over 20 first round draft picks, including

Dewon Brazelton Dewon Cortez Brazelton (born June 16, 1980) is an American former professional baseball pitcher in Major League Baseball. He played professionally for the Tampa Bay Rays and the San Diego Padres. He last pitched in the major leagues in 2006. Ea ...

(third overall in 2001) and David Price (first overall in 2007).

Largest Major League Salary and Largest Pitchers Contract

In December 2015, McKinnis negotiated the largest contract in Major League Baseball history for a pitcher when David Price received a seven-year $217 million contract from the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

. This also tied the record for largest average salary ever received by any player at $31 million per year, tying with

Miguel Cabrera José Miguel Cabrera Torres (born April 18, 1983), nicknamed "Miggy", is a Venezuelan professional baseball first baseman and designated hitter for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Since his debut in 2003 he has been a two-t ...

of the Detroit Tigers. This contract is also the largest contract ever in the history of the Boston Red Sox franchise.

Both Cy Youngs

In 2012, McKinnis became the first, and only, agent ever to represent both Cy Young Award winners in the same year. David Price won the award in the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

and

won the award in the

National League of Professional Baseball Clubs The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team sp ...

Arbitration Record

In January 2015, McKinnis negotiated the largest one-year contract in the history of

salary arbitration when David Price received a 2015 salary of $19,750,000 from the Detroit Tigers.

Pitchers Signing Bonus Records

McKinnis is one of only two agents to have twice set the record for the largest signing bonus ever given to a drafted pitcher. In 2001, he set the record for the largest signing bonus ever given to a drafted pitcher with

receiving $4.2 million from the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home v ...

. In 2007, McKinnis broke his own record when David Price received an even larger signing bonus, $5.6 million, also from the Rays.

Book Citations

McKinnis has been written about and referenced in four books:

Michael Lewis Michael Monroe Lewis (born October 15, 1960) Gale Biography In Context. is an American author and financial journalist. He has also been a contributing editor to ''Vanity Fair'' since 2009, writing mostly on business, finance, and economics. He ...

's 2003 book, Moneyball;

's 2008 book, ''Free Byrd'';

's 2012 autobiography, ''Wherever I Wind Up: My Quest for Truth, Authenticity and the Perfect Knuckleball''; and Shi Davidi's 2013 book, ''Great Expectations: The Lost Toronto Blue Jays Season''. In addition, McKinnis became the first sports agent to ever be featured in the Sporting News 125-year history in the column "On the Agent Side" in its January 17, 2011 issue.On the Agent Side
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mckinnis, Bo American sports agents Mississippi State University alumni Living people Year of birth missing (living people)