Social Media Becoming Important Negotiating Tool

If one needs any evidence of how social media can spread rumors of imminent signings, look no further than the Jon Gruden-to-University of Miami incident from Sunday night. It's broken down well here by Sports by Brooks.

Teams, players, coaches, and agents have always negotiated through the media. (See Yankees vs. Jeter) And none of those parties is afraid to drop a bad tip, either, to create leverage.

But now, with the growth of social media, the significance of these tactics have grown exponentially. The second a middling reporter (myself included) posts something remotely controversial or surprising, Pandora's Box has been opened and there's no turning back.

It goes to show that nowadays, when there is smoke, there may not necessarily be fire.