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Recruiting Sports Agents

Newly Discovered Docs Detail How A California AAU Program Tried To Sign An Exclusive With A Sports Agency

In the beginning of March, it was revealed that former sports agency runner Christian Dawkins was slapped with a six month prison sentence after it was determined that he recruited basketball players, providing money as inducements, to sign with an NBA agent. In reply to a tweet that I published concerning the above, NFL agent Eric Metz wrote, “Not enough room in prisons for all of the agents paying players before they get to leagues.”

Newly discovered documents provided to Sports Agent Blog seem to assist in demonstrating just how pervasive contemplated payment schemes have been. These documents concern an AAU program that has worked with players such as Kevin Love and other top athletes. In fact, it is the same AAU program that was paid $250,000 by Jay Williams’ former sports agency.

Sports Agent Blog is in possession of a “Broker Agreement” dated January 28, 2014 that was intended to be between a former sports agency Top-Tier Sports Management Inc. and AAU coach Pat Barrett, with the latter individual labeled the “Broker.” The first WHEREAS clause of the document succinctly wraps up the relationship. It states:

“WHEREAS TTSM [Top-Tier Sports Management Inc.] anticipates that it will become the exclusive agent of record for all and any players who play(ed) under the Broker’s AAU program, who is owner of South California All Stars (the “Players”).”

Pat Barrett Broker Agreement - Page 1

The text following that sole WHEREAS clause goes on to lay out the compensation that TTSM will provide to Barrett in exchange for becoming the “exclusive agent of record.”

TTSM was to pay Barrett $7,000 as a donation to Barrett’s AAU program prior to execution of the agreement. Thereafter, TTSM would pay another $15,000 donation to the AAU program. Another $28,000 was to be paid by June 18, 2014, after Broker “showcased agreement progress.”

Barrett’s compensation continued. He would receive 2% of the fees TTSM received based on player endorsement contracts after TTSM acquired at least six professional athlete clients. He was also to be entitled to 5% of the fees TTSM earned from those endorsement contracts once TTSM had at least nine clients.

Pat Barrett Broker Agreement - Page 2

If TTSM was happy with Barrett’s services, then it would have been required to increase its annual contribution to the AAU program by $10,000 per year.

All of the aforesaid compensation provided by TTSM to Barrett was in exchange for Barrett providing “sit-downs/meetings with immediately family members of the Players that Broker has access to prior to the end of the 2014 AAU program season.” The document included a list of mandatory sit-downs with: Stanley Johnson, Marcus Lovett Jr., Vance Jackson, Tyler Dorsey, Kelly Oubre, Cliff Alexander and Spencer Dinwiddie.

“Agency requires at least 3 Players to represent in the 2015 NBA Draft,” states the document.

Pat Barrett Broker Agreement - Page 3

The Broker Agreement in Sports Agent Blog‘s possession was only executed by Barrett, with his signature placed next to an indicated date of January 29, 2014 and the signature of a witness in close proximity therewith. There are no signatures placed on behalf of Top-Tier Sports Management, Inc.

Sports Agent Blog has attempted to make contact with those named on the document, but has not received a reply to date.

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.