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Sports Law

Want to be an NFL agent? Part II

Rules, rules, rules
So I got a lot of e-mails from people who have been reading this blog since day one saying how suprised they were about the myriad of rules that the NFL has for aspiring Sports Agents. But the rules don’t end when you finally become a registered Agent…

If you pass the written exam, you will receive some SRA’s (Standard Representation Agreements) and you can start to sign players at that point.

Once certified, the NFLPA requires compliance with its regulations. Compliance, defined by the NFLPA is:

Compliance includes but is not limited to paying an annual fee (currently $1,600 if you represent less than 10 active players and $2,100 if you represent 10 or more active players) immediately following certification, obtaining professional liability insurance from an approved carrier, attending one of three NFLPA seminars held each year for Certified Contract Advisors, providing an updated application on an annual basis, and negotiating at least one player contract within a three-year period.

The last part of compliance is a part of the regulations that is receiving a lot of criticism. Such a rule was implemented in the last Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) to weed out the many registered Agents that sit around with no clients. Instead, it is forcing many Agents who are complacent with their list of clients to go out and try to gain more clients within each three-year period even if they have absolutely no desire to represent another person. When you first start off as a Sports Agent it is very tough to boost your client list, and this may serve as a roadblock to many future agents unless the rule is repealed.

I know that the first post was a wake-up call to a lot of future Agents. If the NFL is the domain in which you have always wanted to operate, though, please do not be detered. These posts are intended to give you background knowledge that most people do not realize when they are telling their friends that they want to represent NFL players. I will be highlighting the other pro sports as well, so keep in touch!

[tags]NFL, NFLPA, certification, sports agent, cba, clients[/tags]

By Darren Heitner

Darren Adam Heitner, Esq., is a preeminent sports attorney and the founder of Heitner Legal, P.L.L.C., a Fort Lauderdale-based law firm specializing in sports law, contract negotiations, intellectual property, and arbitration. He earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Florida Levin College of Law in 2010 and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, magna cum laude, from the University of Florida in 2007, where he was named Valedictorian of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Admitted to practice in the state bars of Florida, New York, and the District of Columbia, as well as multiple federal courts, Darren also serves as a certified arbitrator with the American Arbitration Association.

As an adjunct professor, Darren imparts his expertise through teaching Sports Law at the University of Florida Levin College of Law and Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) at the University of Miami School of Law in the Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law LL.M. program. His scholarly contributions include authoring several books published by the American Bar Association, such as How to Play the Game: What Every Sports Attorney Needs to Know, and numerous articles in prominent publications like Forbes, Inc. Magazine, and Above the Law. His thought leadership in NIL has earned him recognition as one of the foremost experts by The Wall Street Journal, USA TODAY, and On3, and he has been lauded as a “power player in NIL deals” by Action Network and a “top sports trademark attorney” by Sportico.

Darren’s passion for sports law led him to establish Sports Agent Blog on December 31, 2005, initially titled “I Want To Be A Sports Agent.” The platform, created as a New Year’s resolution, has grown into a cornerstone of the sports agency community, offering in-depth analysis of industry trends, legal disputes, and agent-player dynamics. His commitment to the field is further evidenced by his representation of numerous athletes and sports agents, as well as his prior role as an Adjunct Professor at Indiana University Bloomington, where he developed and taught a course on Sport Agency Management from 2011 to 2014.

Darren’s contributions have been recognized with prestigious honors, including the University of Florida’s 40 Under 40 Award, the University of Florida Levin College of Law’s Outstanding Young Alumnus Award, and designation as the best lawyer in Fort Lauderdale by Fort Lauderdale Magazine. He remains an active voice in the sports law community, sharing insights through his weekly NIL newsletter and his X posts, engaging a broad audience on legal developments in sports.