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Lane Kiffin Revives Our Interference With Contractual Relations Convo

Remember when I took roughly a week of your time going on a rant about interference with contractual relations?  If you need a refresher, see: Sports Agents Interfering With Contractual Relations, Digging Deeper Into The Contractual Interference Claim, and The Interference With Contractual Relations Conversation Continues.  In those posts, I looked into the claim that a sports agent may have when a rival intentionally acts to steal clients away.  If you have time, I suggest reading through each in their entirety.

This claim based in tort may have other applications in the sports world as well.  The Tennessee Titans plan to give it a try against former Tennessean, Lane Kiffin.  It is based on the possibility that Kiffin intentionally recruited former Titans running backs coach Kennedy Pola in an effort to add him to the USC football staff, even though Kiffin had an understanding that Pola was under contract.

Michael McCann of the Sports Law Blog points out that the lawsuit against Kiffin mentions that the coach maliciously interfered with Pola’s contract.  What seems like an enhanced claim is based on the fact that the under Pola’s contract, the Titans required that Pola obtain written permission from the Titans president and GM before entertaining any competing offers.  If Kiffin knew about that clause, yet willfully and wantonly disregarded it in his recruitment of Pola, could we possibly see punitive damages awarded as well?  The Titans have at least mentioned punitive damages as a possible remedy in its complaint.

As for the complaint that was filed:


Titans v Kiffin

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.