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Sports Agents

Fiduciary Duty

Looking over the history of posts on this blog, I was surprised to find very little content relating to an agent’s fiduciary duty to act in the best interest of his/her client at all times.  Fiduciary duty is a term which means that there exists a special relationship where trust, confidence, or responsibility to others in certain circumstances.

Sports Law Blog points to an example of where an agent is being sued for beach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty [Golfer’s Suit Against Agent Heating Up].  Golfer, David Toms, is looking to break his contract with his agent (David K. Parker of Links Management Group, LP located in Plano, Texas) and gain compensatory damages with interest.  For a complete list of reasoning on why the fiduciary duty was breached, head on over to the external link above.

Toms believes that his agent’s actions have made his game suffer…or maybe he just does not want his contract with his current agent to be automatically renewed at the end of this year… [David Toms sues his agent].

[tags]david toms, agent, sports agent, golf, fiduciary duty[/tags]

By Darren Heitner

Darren Heitner created Sports Agent Blog as a New Year's Resolution on December 31, 2005. Originally titled, "I Want To Be A Sports Agent," the website was founded with the intention of causing Heitner to learn more about the profession that he wanted to join, meet reputable individuals in the space and force himself to stay on top of the latest news and trends.

Heitner now runs Heitner Legal, P.L.L.C., which is a law firm with many practice areas, including sports law and contract law. Heitner has represented numerous athletes and sports agents as legal counsel. He has also served as an Adjunct Professor at Indiana University Bloomington from 2011-2014, where he created and taught a course titled, Sport Agency Management, which included subjects ranging from NCAA regulations to athlete agent certification and the rules governing the profession. Heitner serves as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Florida Levin College of Law, where he teaches a Sports Law class that includes case law surrounding athlete agents and the NCAA rules.

2 replies on “Fiduciary Duty”

[…] Sports Agents should take this as a wake up call. Representing an athlete does not start and end with your client’s on-field struggles. It should continue once the player is retired. Along with suggesting reading material to your clients (like OT Magazine) and referring them to financial advisers, an agent should be alongside their players whenever needed. Not only will commissions still be made, but it falls into the fiduciary duty to do whatever you can to benefit your client. […]

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