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NFL Players Recruiting Sports Agents

Jack Bechta Hates Fax Machines

bechtaJack Bechta is the head honcho at JB Sports (Jack Bechta and Associates).  Jack has been negotiating deals for professional football players since the early 1990s, and still boasts a respectable client roster to this day.  In his time as an NFLPA Certified Advisor, Jack has negotiated over 200 contracts for his players.  The man has seen a lot in his time, and has decided to give some of his knowledge away with his column at The National Football Post.  His most recent article will make many peoples’ jaws drop, but it is an excellent foray into the world of sports agency, directly from someone who has been in the business of representing athlete for a very long time.

His latest piece is titled, You’re Fired.  It seems that Bechta got inspiration for writing the post from the recent break-up of Boldin and Rosenhaus, which has been discussed a few times already on this blog.  The article includes quite a bit of Leigh Steinberg bashing, but the main point that Bechta is trying to get across to the reader is that every agent lives in fear of getting fired.  The fax machine is not an agent’s friend.  Certified checks in envelopes are what we prefer.  Bechta does a lot of self-promoting in the piece, but overall, I thought it had some good insight into our profession (or atleast those who want to be football agents).  Competition is brutal.  You must always be on top of your game.  Never underestimate what others are doing while you sleep.

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.