Alabama is Serious about Agent Regulations

Since the post made about the UAAA (Uniform Athlete Agents Agent) on January 6th, one new state has passed the act, making it 34 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S Virgin Islands as adherents. Alabama is one of those states. Section 8-26A-4 of Alabama’s state act under the UAAA says:

(a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b), an individual may not act as an athlete agent in this state without holding a certificate of registration under Section 8-26A-6 or Section 8-26A-8.

(b) Before being issued a certificate of registration, an individual may act as an athlete agent in this state for all purposes except signing an agency contract, if both of the following occur:

(1) A student-athlete or another person acting on behalf of the student-athlete initiates communication with the individual.

(2) Within 14 days after an initial act as an athlete agent, the individual submits an application for registration as an athlete agent in this state.

(c) An agency contract resulting from conduct in violation of this section is void and the athlete agent shall return any consideration received under the contract.

Looking at Section 8-26A-15, criminal penalties are laid out for violators of the above section:

(a) The commission of any conduct prohibited by an athlete agent in subsection (a) of Section 8-26A-14 and who has intentionally not registered under this chapter is a Class B felony.

(b) Except for subdivision (1) of subsection (b) of Section 8-26A-14, the commission of any conduct prohibited by an athlete agent in Section 8-26A-14 is a Class C felony.

(c) The commission of any conduct prohibited by an athlete agent in subdivision (1) of subsection (b) of Section 8-26A-14 is a Class A misdemeanor.

(d) The commission of any conduct prohibited by a student-athlete in Section 8-26A-14 is a Class A misdemeanor, and in addition to penalties otherwise prescribed by law, an individual having been convicted shall perform a minimum of 70 hours of community service.

One of the problems with the UAAA and individual state acts is that critics believe that they are not applied in as many cases as they should be. Jason Goggins of Savage Sports Management (link on left side of page) would not agree with those critics.

Mr. Goggins has been charged in the state of Alabama for not registering as a Sports Agent before allegedly contacting University of Alabama wide receiver, Tyrone Prothro. Raymond L. Savage, Jr. (CEO of Savage Sports Management) says that Jason Goggins has never been registered as an agent at all.

Looking at the criminal penalties, it is evident that if a state wishes to fight against a Sport Agent’s abuses, the Sports Agent may go down hard with misdemeanor and felony counts. According to the Alabama attorney general’s office, this is the eight criminal case that has been surfaced in Alabama against Sports Agents. As a Class C felony, Mr. Goggins could serve up to 10 years in prison and be fined up to $5,000 (Alabama is serious about agent licenses).

There is a debate going on among legislators in the state of Alabama on this issue. Representative Gerald Allen says that under state law, Jason Goggins should be recognized as a registered agent since the company that he is employed under (Savage Sports Management) does have a proper Sports Agent license in Alabama.

Word of advice: make sure to read through a state’s regulations and the entire UAAA before even approaching a potential client. It may save you a ton of money and possible jail time.

[tags]tyrone prothro, savage sports management, sports agents, uaaa, uniform athlete agents act, state regulations, alabama sports, university of alabama[/tags]