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College Football Players Recruiting Sports Agents

It’s Duck Hunting Season

Not knowing whether the brochure you hand out to a player is too specific and thus considered to be personally tailored towards an athlete is one thing.  But all of us agents know when we are clearly breaking the NCAA rule, which strictly prohibits the disbursement of any type of monetary benefit to a student-athlete.  Yet, somehow, violations continue.  As a profession, let’s cut this crap already.

The most recent case is out of the University of Oregon, where offensive tackle Fenuki Tupou was suspended for the first game of this season for receiving money and a free meal from Tim Norling of LMM Sports Management.  Lock, Metz and Malinovic cannot be too happy to see their company’s name making headlines for this nonsense.

Norling denies that he paid for the meal or gave Tupou any additional money.  My only question then is why would Tupou make such a big deal over $30 ($10 for the meal, $20 in cash handed over afterwards)?  I would not think that he has any personal vendetta against Norling, and even if he did, would he not care about missing the first game of his important senior season based on a lie?  Tupuo self-reported the violation, which probably would have never been dug up by Oregon, the NCAA, or the NFLPA.

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.

One reply on “It’s Duck Hunting Season”

so topou had to give $100 back and sit out a game, if it’s not true he must REALLY have it in for this agent…

jeez, this isn’t the first “issue” with lock, metz, and malinovic….

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