Categories
Headline Sports Agents Sports Business

My Task = Mission Impossible

This is an awesome week for me.  I am traveling across the country, from Pennsylvania, to Jacksonville, Florida, and finally to Bloomington, Indiana, to speak about being a sports agent.  One of the main things that people want to hear is the story of how I got into the agent profession at such a young age, without any financial backing, and while remaining ethical at all times.  Whether you are a 25-year-old agent or in your 50s with years of experience in this business, it is very hard to stay competitive in a profession crowded with people who will do almost anything to get a client.

NBA agent Mark Termini recently stated, “This is a business of entrepreneurs and pirates, and an agent decides which one he wants to be, and some (agents) are a little of both.  But if you start making deals and cutting deals and doing side deals (with players, their associates or family members), ultimately you get caught up in a game of where they might get you before you get them.  There are a number of very successful agents who play that game, and the clients they have lost would fill an All-Star game roster.”

I have been in the sports agent business for less than four years, put up my own shingles before ever representing a client at another firm, and started my company before I had even graduated with my Bachelors of Arts degree.  But I am blessed with great clients, and will soon have players on Major League rosters, and hopefully will break into the NBA as a contract advisor in the near future, as well.  Even if I never have a client make it to the MLB or NBA, though, I will still be happy with my foray into the sports agent business, because I will know that I never broke a law, rule, or regulation, never resorted to shady client stealing tactics, and never paid a client or his handlers for the “privilege” to represent him.  I consider an myself to be an entrepreneur more than an agent, and the only time I am a pirate is at a Caribbean themed party.

There is just way too much to lose, including sleep, if I were to stoop to the low levels of some in the sports agent business.  Violating NCAA rules and state laws would not be worth it; I would be jeopardizing my ability to act as an attorney, run this website, and advocate for a level playing field for agents.

Do I have zero chance at being successful?  Termini also is quoted as saying, “I’ve never paid a player or a person associated with a player — period, and I can tell you that my career would be impossible to duplicate in the current environment.”  I will gladly make an attempt at mission impossible.

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.

3 replies on “My Task = Mission Impossible”

Darren,

I have been following your blog for a few years now and learn a lot from what I read. Now knowing that you give talks like this at universities, I would really like to talk to you about potentially doing the same here at Emory. Through a grassroots effort, I led the establishment of a sports business club and I would love to have a talk led by you be one of our events next semester. It would be enlightening for our members to hear that the agent business does not have to be shut out to them because they prefer to act ethically in business. In fact, one of my good friends here, Steve Bralver, who graduated a year and a half ago, is one of your clients. Please send me an email at marc.miller@emory.edu if you would be interested in this. Thank you for your time and the continued insight that you have shared with me for the past few years and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

-Marc Miller
Goizueta Business School Class of 2012

I am a college freshman with the intentions of becoming an NBA agent. This blog post has to be one of my favorite posts that I have ever read. INTEGRITY is what needs to be seen in this industry; thank you Darren Heitner for entering this industry with integrity.

Comments are closed.