The Evolution of the United States – Japanese Player Contract Agreement

(Editor's Note: What follows is a piece by Robert J. Romano, founding partner of The Romano Sports & Entertainment Agency. Romano can be reached at (203) 777-9797)   History of the Agreement   The initial United States – Japanese Player Contract Agreement was entered into in 1967 after a dispute arose between Major League Baseball's (MLB) San Francisco Giants and Japanese Professional Baseball League's (NPB) Nankai Hawks over the rights to pitcher Masanori Murakami. Prior to the 196