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Headline NFL Players Retirement

Should Agencies Be Demanded To Prepare Clients For Life After Retirement?

The Priority Sports crew.
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An article on NFL players’ career-transitioning problems focuses on Priority Sports’ effort to prepare its clients for life after football.

There exists an “extremely urgent and devastating player career-transitioning problem.”  NFL players have a very difficult time confronting this problem says Dr. Timothy Thompson in an article on Access Athletes.

I spoke to Dr. Thompson about the potential economic and social benefits for sports agencies that determine it is worth their while to build formal career transitioning preparation programs to benefit their clients.  Dr. Thompson quoted me as saying the following:

“Many companies understand the significance and importance of providing services to clientele that may not necessarily lead to a direct increase in revenue. Those companies realize that charitable measures are valuable for the end of benefiting society, but also may reap the rewards of being noticed for their efforts, which indirectly leads to an increase in profitability.

Sports agencies would be looking after their own self interests and providing a very valuable (albeit charitable) service to the individuals they represent, if they decide to spend more time, effort and energy in looking after their clients’ long term interests. It should not only be about what occurs on the field of play and in conversations with general managers, but also how athletes can transition to careers in differing disciplines once it is time to hand up the jerseys. Some agencies manage this process better than others. In today’s day-and-age, it must be an expected and demanded facet of representation.”
For the remainder of his article, Dr. Thompson focuses on the efforts of two programs developed to help prepare their clients for life after football.  One of those programs, the PLAN (Preparing for Life After football Now), was created and is managed by Priority Sports & Entertainment.

“The conference’s general focus and design is refreshingly simple. NFL and NFLPA representatives, financial advisors, life coaches, counselors, and other business professionals who are well thought of in their respective fields were invited to conduct career development workshops and then to get paired up with PSE clients who attended the event.”

The idea for PLAN was developed by Priority Sports football agent Deryk Gilmore, who said, in part, “As an agency we have always structured the company to make our clients a Priority. When other companies are having Super Bowl parties we had that option but just felt the best way to serve our clients was to structure a program to help them prepare for the future.”  PLAN has been in place for roughly 3 years, with the intention to keep it going for the foreseeable future.

Dr. Thompson’s article includes testimonials from Priority Sports clients espousing the platform and championing its many benefits.

Will other agencies create similar programs and at least attempt to mimic the success that Priority Sports has had to-date with its PLAN?  Agencies are not expected to develop, plan and support such charitable initiatives, but it may not be long until many athletes demand it.

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.