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A Premier Coaching Agency

Working together with another entity has its advantages, but also entails taking a risk based on the eventual possibility of not seeing eye to eye at some point in the future. A law firm and a marketing/PR company that both have represented coaches in the past are putting the potential inadequacies of working with a rival to the side, and have joined forces with the aim of creating mutual success in the sports representation industry.

Stinson Morrison Hecker, one of the largest U.S. law firms, has combined its Coaching division with Premier Sports Management’s Coaching division, to create the uber-coaching entity called, Premier Stinson Sports. Each party will maintain a 50% interest in the formation of the new entity, that will only bring together each company’s Coaching divisions.

Premier brings to the table its experience in Marketing and PR, along with coaching clients, Pete Carroll, Lane Kiffin, Ed Orgeron, and Steve Sarkisian. I think that Sarkisian is the only one who needs any introduction; he is USC’s assistant head coach. Stinson adds a list of coaches headlined by Roy Williams, who was recently seen rooting for his old team. Overall, 75 college and professional coaches will be represented under one roof (not literally) by Premier Stinson Sports.

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.

4 replies on “A Premier Coaching Agency”

I’ll give it six months. Partnerships between established firms never, ever work. Probably once a week I run news in my Rep Rumblings on a partnership that has dissolved. The personalities associated with these kinds of deals are just too big — it’s very, very, very hard to share credit.

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