Call me silly, but I value Baseball America’s prospect rankings over any other source. Their Top 100 list for 2006 was just released, with Tampa Bay’s Delmon Young at the top of the list. I hope this kid becomes a star, because pretty much every publication that I have read so far which discusses baseball […]
Author: 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.
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NFL Franchise Tags
The deadline for NFL teams to secure a “Franchise Tag” on one of their best roster players is today. Once the day is over, NFL teams will have a better understanding of which players are truly on the free-agent block. Some interesting names that have not been tagged are: Drew Brees (San Diego Chargers), LeCharles […]
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New Contributor!!!
Everyone welcome the newest contributer to “I Want to be a Sports Agent”: Nicholas Shwayri. Recently we have been averaging an increased 50 unique visits per day and we are seeing the placement of this blog move up search engine listings such as Google and Yahoo! daily. Please continue to forward this site to any […]
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Kobe Bryant meet Game Theory
Between school, work, updating this blog, and hard-core partying, I have had little time this semester to read for pleasure. I just reached page 117 of 342 in Basketball on Paper by Dean Oliver, and came across an interesting passage last night that I wanted to discuss. With a lot of hype over Kobe Bryant’s […]
Thanks to a reader who pointed out that Baseball Prospectus Radio had Dr. Lynn Lashbrook, President and Founder of Sports Management Worldwide on its radio show this past week. Before getting into the actual dialogue of the conversation, let’s look a little into Dr. Lashbrook’s company. Sports Management Worldwide offers online courses which train individuals […]
100 baseball players entered the arbitration season, and the average salary obtained after the hearings (or after a deal was brokered before a hearing took place) is $2.5 million. While that number may not seem too shabby, the trend since 2004 is that arbitration verdicts (or prior settlements) are decreasing in monitary value yearly. In […]
Whenever I stumble upon a website that I think is valuable for any current or aspiring Sports Agent, I post it on this blog. Recently, I ran across Cot’s Baseball Contracts, a site dedicated to disclosing the fine details of contracts for every team in Major League Baseball. There is also some contract information about […]
Check this post out! While this may have absolutely nothing to do with being a Sports Agent, I find it to be ridiculously funny. As a HUGE fan of mascots, the Stanford Tree (Cardinal) ranks up there with the Syracuse Orangeman and Cocky, the South Carolina mascot. Shame on you, Stanford tree. Shame on you. […]
SPARTA stands for “The Sports Agent Responsibility and Trust Act,” and along with the UAAA (Universal Athlete Agent Act), it is an important document to become accustomed to. Of SPARTA’s three primary objectives, I find the second objective to be the most important. Its second objective places violations of the act under the jurisdiction of […]
So with the client only winning 40% of arbitration cases, it should not be suprising the Alfonso Soriano (now of the Washington Nationals) lost his hearing for $12 million per year. In baseball, Final Offer Arbitration is used, which has the team and player both submit their “final offers” to the panel of three arbitrators, […]