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Ranking The Sports Agent Attorneys

While no state and no players’ association requires an agent to be an attorney in order to become a licensed sports agent (the NFL does require that the person have a postgraduate degree, though), many agents did go to law school, and quite a few have passed at least one state Bar Exam.  There are many benefits of having a legal education, or at least employing someone who has gone through the three years of learning things like Contracts, Negotiations, Legal Drafting, etc.

On September 4, 2008, I decided to take a look at the law schools that some of the industry’s best have attended in the past.  This week, BitterLawyer.com decided to take the task one step forward, ranking the top 11 agents who have gone to law school.  I have to thank the website for mentioning my name and this site in their article.

Ranked at the top of the list is Drew Rosenhaus, who went to Duke University School of Law.  He is followed by Scott Boras, who graduated from University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law.  Up next are the two men behind CAA Football (Tom Condon – University of Baltimore and Ben Dogra – St. Louis University Law School).  Rounding out the top 5 is Arn Tellem, who went to University of Michigan Law School.

The comments in the post make note that most of the agents listed went to a TTT.  UrbanDictionary.com sheds some light on what TTT means (I have changed it around a bit to make it appropriate for this site).

Third tier toilet. Generally used as a pejorative term for law schools that are not prestigious, aka Top 14 law schools. To certain people, a law school is either a TTT or a Top 14 school, there is no in-between.

Vanderbilt Law School is ranked #17 according the US News and World Report, but it is still a TTT because it isn’t in the Top 14; it doesn’t matter how close a school’s ranking is to the top 14, if it is not in the Top 14, it is automatically a TTT.

I wouldn’t look too far into why many successful agents did not go to a Top 14 law school.  The only thing I would say is something I have always believed in – Going to a top school may open up some doors that would not normally exist; however, going to a top school does not guarantee success.  And TTT schools have produced MANY successful people.

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 “Ranking The Sports Agent Attorneys”

As a graduate of a so-called TTT, I can tell you that the “TTT” designation is a term primarily tossed around by bitter, miserable, elitist, condescending lawyers at New York firms who are watching their lives waste away and having their souls crushed as they work ungodly hours doing mindless busy work such as document review. Yes, these lawyers get paid a lot more than I do, but the tradeoff of a chance to do more in life than work is a small price to pay.

Amen to that man. Someone’s always gotta be hatin, but thats ok. Somone’s gotta do it

sports agents who have training in the law do not wish to become a licenced attorney because failure to pass the bar exam will prevent an agent from being certified by a professional league

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