Fort Wayne sports legend Eugene Parker dies
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) – One of professional sports most prominent player agents has died.
Eugene Parker died Thursday night after a brief battle with kidney cancer, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Parker is well-known in Fort Wayne for his legendary basketball playing career at Concordia High School and later at Purdue University. He was eventually drafted by the San Antonio Spurs, but never played professionally.
He founded Maximum Sports Management 30 years ago in Roanoke and was most recently associated with Relativity Sports.
His clients have included five Hall of Famers, including Fort Wayne’s Rod Woodson. He’s also represented Emmitt Smith, Deion Sanders, Devin Hester, and Hines Ward.
Current NFL players Parker represented included Larry Fitzgerald, Richard Seymour, and Ndamukong Suh.
Parker presented Sanders for the 2011 Hall of Fame, one of only four agents to do so.
He recently signed Bishop Luers and Notre Dame football player Jaylon Smith who will take part in the 2016 NFL Draft later this month.
Parker’s family released a statement Friday morning:
The family of Eugene Parker is deeply saddened to report the loss of their beloved husband and father. Eugene passed away on March 31, 2016 after a brief and heroic battle with cancer.
Eugene was a husband, father, and a man of faith. The President of Relativity Football and NFL Player Agent, Parker will forever be remembered as a man of integrity and a tough negotiator. With a genuine interest in what was best for the men he represented, he was able to change the rules of the game, literally.
Eugene is survived by his wife June and his children Tia, Eugene Jr., Brandon, Solomon and Austin.
Arrangements are pending.
Parker graduated from Purdue in 1978 and from the Valparaiso University School of Law in 1982.
Forbes reported last year he’s reported more than a billion dollars in player contracts.
Parker is survived by his wife and five children.
Friday morning all types of people across the football community were posting notes about Parker’s death.