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College Football Players Contract Negotiation NFL Players Recruiting Sports Agents

Upshaw: New Recruiting Rules?

Gene Upshaw, exec. director of the NFLPA, has recently stated his desire to change the rules on agents recruiting of college football players. Currently, agents are not able to sign a player or give a player anything of monetary value without that player losing his/her NCAA eligibility, but there are no rules against an agent making contact with such player. Mr. Upshaw wants to change it so that all contact must be avoided until a player declares himself for the NFL draft [Upshaw to propose new rule to control agents].

I am not surprised to see this news coming shortly after new developments in the Reggie Bush scandal. The problem is that those being investigated for giving gifts to Reggie Bush would not fall under the class of people regulated by the NFLPA. Agents that represent players in contract talks are bound by the NFLPA’s regulations, but financial advisors and marketing representatives are not [NFLPA Might Restrict Agents]. How then would Gene Upshaw’s new rule effectively prevent situations like the Reggie Bush scandal from occurring again in the future? Richard Berthelsen, the NFLPA’s general counsel wants to make each player’s agent responsible for any benefits given to a player through a 3rd party (i.e. Joel Segal taking the blame for allowing Reggie Bush to receive money) or just extend the NFLPA’s rules to govern activities of marketing representatives (makes more sense).

Currently, discussions are being held solely within the NFLPA.

ProFootballTalk.com says that league insiders find the proposal to be a bad idea [Sept 17, 2006].  Personally, I think it is a great idea. I recommend e-mailing the Executive Department of the NFLPA asking them to choose to follow their initiative to govern activities of marketing representatives.

A couple of issues that I have:

1. What will be the enforcement mechanism? We cannot stop agents from breaking current NCAA rules. How can we expect agents to be punished when breaking a new rule of “no contact until draft committed?”

2. What will the penalty be if convicted of approaching an athlete that has not yet declared for the NFL draft?

3. How would putting the blame on a player’s contract advisor for a marketing representatives action fix any current problem, and wouldn’t that only complicate matters further?

[tags]gene upshaw, nfl, nflpa, football, contract, advisor, sports agent, agent, sport agent, reggie bush[/tags]

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.