In a recent Associated Press story that continues to be referenced by many in this industry, the authors point out that “more than half of the 42 states with sports agent laws have yet to revoke or suspend a single license, or invoke penalties of any sort.” Don’t count Florida as one of the states that has yet to take any action against an unscrupulous agent. In fact, Florida is recognized as one of the states that takes its athlete agent laws seriously (I have talked about Alabama’s enforcement in the past, as well).
Florida takes its athlete agent laws so seriously, that its Department of Business and Professional Regulation will be holding a round-table meeting in the near future to discuss licensing issues in the athlete agent profession. I am honored to receive an invitation to the meeting and hope to add value to the discussion.
One topic of discussion will be whether “runners” should be licensed as agents, or whether some other type of registration or credential would be appropriate. The current “athlete agent” definition in the state of Florida includes all employees and other persons acting on behalf of the agent, which seems to include runners under its umbrella.
Will a licensing system for runners work? Runners are effective because they operate behind the scenes and under the table. Runners coming out of the woodworks to get licensed sounds as crazy as William “Worldwide Wes” Wesley coming out of the dark and signing an employment contract with Creative Artists Agency. But in all seriousness, if runners have to be licensed, then won’t the runners have other unlicensed runners working under them? There will always be somebody willing to take the risk of building a relationship with a player without being licensed. Runners typically aren’t professionals who have gone to graduate school (unlike many agents).
I am very interested in your thoughts on this matter.
