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Sports Law

Don’t Represent Alabama Athletes?

“[Don’t] ever represent any player that is a resident or goes to school in the state of Alabama. I am not an agent anymore, but I wouldn’t do it.” – Mike Trope, author of Necessary Roughness and former NFLPA agent.

Trope was quoted in SportsBusiness Journal (subcription required) in reference to the Raymond Lee Savage Jr. story that I have reported on in the past.  Do Alabama’s notoriously tough agent laws truly create such a high risk of potential penalty that it is clearly not worth recruiting in the state?  A potential verdict of ten-years in prison for Savage for failing to register as an athlete agent in Alabama (Class C felony)…seems like quite a hefty consequence.  I am having a tough time trying to argue with Trope’s opinion.

By Darren Heitner

Darren Heitner created Sports Agent Blog as a New Year's Resolution on December 31, 2005. Originally titled, "I Want To Be A Sports Agent," the website was founded with the intention of causing Heitner to learn more about the profession that he wanted to join, meet reputable individuals in the space and force himself to stay on top of the latest news and trends.

Heitner now runs Heitner Legal, P.L.L.C., which is a law firm with many practice areas, including sports law and contract law. Heitner has represented numerous athletes and sports agents as legal counsel. He has also served as an Adjunct Professor at Indiana University Bloomington from 2011-2014, where he created and taught a course titled, Sport Agency Management, which included subjects ranging from NCAA regulations to athlete agent certification and the rules governing the profession. Heitner serves as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Florida Levin College of Law, where he teaches a Sports Law class that includes case law surrounding athlete agents and the NCAA rules.

5 replies on “Don’t Represent Alabama Athletes?”

If the slimeballs would do the right thing then laws such as the agent law in Alabama would not exist. So stop complaining. I am for agent contact through the school’s compliance office prior to any contact with a player. If the agent does not comply they are forbidden to work as an agent. Or they are skinned alive and fed to gators. Just my opinion about slimeball agents.

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