It is somewhat rare for the general public to get an inside look at the disputes that take place within the confines of professional sports players’ unions. The disputes are arbitrated and intended to stay private; however, sometimes there is nothing that the players’ associations can do to keep those arbitration matters behind closed doors. […]
Author: 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.
NFL agent Todd France of Creative Artists Agency prevailed against a rival agent Jason Bernstein through the NFL Players Association’s arbitration process. Typically, these decisions are confidential and outside the purview of the general public. However, this case has now been made public by virtue of a federal court filing that seeks to have a […]
Baseball agent Robert Garber has filed a lawsuit against Merrill Lynch and its employee Bruce Lee. The Complaint, filed in Illinois, seeks compensation in an amount above $50,000 based on counts of tortious interference with contractual relations. Garber, who serves as President of RMG Sports Group, has represented the likes of Roy Oswalt, Craig Gentry, […]
If you are interested in representing fighters participating in the ONE Championship, then you now must first be certified with the organization. Chairman Chatri Sityodtong announced the creation of a certification program earlier today and made it clear that only agents and/or managers who have received certification by ONE Championship will be permitted to work […]
Early on April 5, it was reported that Los Angeles Lakers guard Lonzo Ball and his player agent Harrison Gaines ended their contractual relationship. Ball provided a statement that Gaines served as a trusted advisor and close friend, while Gaines thanked Ball for the opportunity of working with him. Harrison Gaines was willing to answer […]
NFL agent Ben Dogra is back representing professional athletes after a bit of a hiatus and a win against his former employer Creative Artists Agency in a long fought arbitration battle. But he is also not done litigating, with his most recent action filed against NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III. Dogra claims that he and […]
There are two sides to every story. That is apparently true with regard to a meeting held between roughly sixty National Football League players and six certified Contract Advisors a couple of weeks ago in Key Biscayne, Florida. As I reported on March 16, the NFL Players Association had followed up the meeting attended by […]
Many National Football League players are celebrating this weekend. Some of them are recipients of massive deals from the prior week, which included a combined amount of roughly $1.7 billion promised to players in the future with $842 million of that guaranteed. However, the celebrations are slightly tamed for a few by the events that […]
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 […]
An National Basketball Players Association certified Player Agent has sued veteran sports agency Goodwin Associates Management Enterprises (commonly referred to as Goodwin Sports) for breaching their severance agreement and allegedly inflicting emotional distress. Player Agent Muhammad Abdur-Rahim filed the Complaint in California state court, seeking $570,000 as well as exemplary and punitive damages. Atlanta-based Abdur-Rahim, […]