Sports Agent Blog

SHOWING YOU THE 💰 since 2005. Founder/Chief Editor = @DarrenHeitner.

[Darren Heitner @heitner]

Nick Saban testified that you don't need to be licensed to represent college athletes. He's wrong.

The majority of states maintain mandatory registration of anyone who recruits, solicits, or represents athletes, including in connection with #NIL.

Additionally, the federal Sports Agent Responsibility and Trust Act (SPARTA) imposes nationwide disclosure obligations whenever an agent enters or attempts to enter a contract with athletes. The FTC is supposed to enforce that law.

Could the system be better? Sure. Pro players' associations regulate athlete agents. But that requires unionization.

[Darren Heitner @heitner]

The federal government doesn’t cap fees for talent agents, real estate agents, pro athlete agents, or any agent at all that I’m aware of. Why should Cruz and Cantwell be involved in setting a ceiling on what agents charge college athletes? Unions set caps, not Congress.

[Darren Heitner @heitner]

I serve as legal counsel for many agents. Let me explain why the 5% agent cap in the Cruz-Cantwell Protect College Sports Act is bad policy.

It's a price control that fails to distinguish between lower-effort school or collective agreements and the far more labor-intensive work required to source, negotiate, and service genuine third-party brand deals.

Most true #NIL endorsement opportunities are modest in value. At 5%, an agent's compensation on an $8k deal would be $400. After accounting for the time spent identifying the opportunity, conducting due diligence on the brand, negotiating the terms, and providing ongoing fulfillment support, that figure doesn't come close to covering legitimate overhead or rewarding the expertise that separates competent representation from amateur efforts.

Agents who specialize in this space routinely operate at commission rates between 10-20% on brand deals because the work is closer to traditional talent or entertainment representation than to the union-capped commissions on multimillion-dollar pro player contracts.

A flat statutory ceiling also interferes with the freedom of contract that should govern the relationship between the athlete and advisor of his/her choice. If a high-profile QB with significant national-market potential wants to pay a premium for an agent who can deliver blue-chip corporate partnerships and manage a personal brand across multiple platforms, the market (not Congress) should set that price.

The cap risks driving experienced agents out of the NIL space altogether, leaving athletes to either go unrepresented or turn to less reputable operators who may skirt the rules.

Registration, mandatory disclosure of all material terms, fiduciary standards, and a robust private right of action against fraudulent conduct are legitimate tools for preventing exploitation. But the % cap misses the mark.

[Darren Heitner @heitner]

After a lot of back and forth with the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) seeking clear guidance on its own bylaws governing agent representation in NIL matters, the responses I have received reveal a troubling disconnect between the actual text of the rules and the organization’s enforcement position.

The operative provision is Bylaw 9.9.2. It lists activities that “may impact a student-athlete’s amateur status,” including “signing a professional playing contract in any sport or hiring a registered agent to manage his/her athletic career, other than for the purpose of advising on NIL related matters.” The carve-out is clear.

Yet FHSAA counsel has now taken the position that the phrase “advising on NIL matters” does not extend to an agent who actively identifies, solicits, pitches to, or negotiates with third parties on behalf of a high school athlete. In other words, the very work an agent performs to secure NIL opportunities — the work necessary to actually advise a young athlete on what those opportunities even are — falls outside the exception.

They have further justified this view by stating that, before NIL existed, agents were “not allowed anywhere near high school student athletes,” and that the bylaw creates only a “very narrow exception” intended merely to let athletes and parents “understand NIL, nothing further.”

That is not what the bylaw says. The bylaw does not limit the exception to passive review of already-presented contracts. It does not say “advising on NIL” means only explaining terms after a deal magically appears on the table. It draws a line at managing an athletic career except when the agent is advising on NIL-related matters. Negotiating the terms of an NIL agreement is the quintessential form of that advice.

The FHSAA has also confirmed there is no separate published definition of “agent,” no interpretive memoranda, no unpublished enforcement guidelines, and no prior eligibility rulings that further explain this line. The entire restrictive policy rests on an unwritten narrowing of a bylaw that, on its face, appears to permit legitimate NIL counsel.

Why is this important? Because high schools are telling athletes that they can't sign with agents. They're being told that if they retain experienced representation to shop and negotiate legitimate, compliant NIL deals, they could still face escalating penalties under the bylaws FHSAA itself cites, which are penalties that could cost the athlete his or her eligibility. All because the governing body has quietly decided that the words it wrote do not mean what they say.

High school athletes in the NIL era deserve clear, transparent rules that match the actual text of the bylaws, not after-the-fact interpretations that shrink the only exception the organization ever made. If the FHSAA believes agents should have no substantive role in NIL whatsoever, it should amend its bylaws through the proper public process instead of enforcing a narrower rule that exists only in private correspondence.

Florida’s athletes and the families and professionals trying to guide them through a complex new landscape are entitled to better.

[Glushon Sports Management @GlushonSM]

10 YEARS STRONG – Thank you to everyone who helped make this possible - Das Beste Nommt Noch #GSMFamily

[Evolv Sports Management @EvolvSportsMgmt]

BEVERLY HILLS SPORTS COUNCIL AND MVP SPORTS GROUP REUNITE TO FORM EVOLV SPORTS MANAGEMENT

Two of Professional Baseball's Most Accomplished Agencies Combine to Represent Over $6 Billion in Contracts https://t.co/49qGAdHDoq

[Upper Edge Management @UpperEdgeSports]

🚨OFFICIAL: Prime 1 Sports Joins Forces with Upper Edge Sports to build the Premier NIL-to-NFL pathway

[Founder Michael Raymond @Raymond_Rep]

In the first four months of 2026 we quietly negotiated just over $1M in revenue share deals for a select group of clients at Raymond Representation.

It’s not our core focus. We’ve built our reputation as a marketing and branding agency, delivering five, six, and seven-figure brand partnerships and endorsement deals for athlete creators. That’s where we spend most of our time. But working on these revenue share deals reinforced a few things worth sharing:

Transparency is everything.
Coaches, ADs, and NIL directors are navigating constant noise. Families, agents, and players all telling different stories. The ones who stand out are honest, consistent, and professional. You can be strategic without being misleading, and that goes a long way in this space.

The market dictates value.
You’re worth what someone is willing to pay, not what you think you’re worth. Some programs will come in high, others won’t. That’s the reality. As an agent, our job is to guide expectations while still maximizing opportunity.

Fit over everything.
If you’re a real player, you’ll have options. And if you’re valuable, you’ll have financial options too. But the smartest decisions are based on fit. Coaching. System. Development. Long-term goals. Whether that’s making it to the league or maximizing earnings now, the decision has to align with the bigger picture.

At Raymond Representation, we lead with marketing, branding, and off-field value creation. But make no mistake, we are deeply experienced in negotiating revenue share, collective, and NIL deals across the board.

We’ve been doing it since day one.

[Darren Heitner @heitner]

22 of the top 100 picks in the 2026 NFL Draft are represented by Athletes First.

[Pete Nakos @PeteNakos]

Hutton Reed, who ran the agency Package Deal Sports, is joining the Colorado front office as an assistant director of recruiting, a source tells @On3.

https://t.co/2q7hg80ZKB

[Darren Heitner @heitner]

Athletes First represents 9 of the 32 players selected in the 1st round of the 2026 NFL Draft. That's 28% of the 1st round represented by a single agency.

Excel Sports had 4 clients selected. CAA and WIN Sports each had 3 clients taken.

60% of the 1st round rep'd by 4 agencies.

[Darren Heitner @heitner]

The College Sports Commission says covering an athlete's agent fees through a third party is prohibited. Fine. But if the athlete never signed the agreement, what exactly did they fail to report? The privity problem is real, and the CSC has no solution.
https://t.co/y1dySU4HC9

[Spotrac @spotrac]

2026 #NFL Draft 1st Round by Agency

Athletes First: 9
Excel Sports Management: 4
CAA Sports: 3
Win Sports Group: 3
Klutch Sports: 2
Rosenhaus Sports: 2
VaynerSports: 2
AthElite Agency: 1
GSE Worldwide: 1
Priority Sports: 1
The Familie: 1
Young Money APAA Sports: 1
Younger & Associates: 1
On Time Agency: 1

[Scott Soshnick @soshnick]

👀👀👀
Double Agent? Washington Cap Director Reps Rival Big Ten Players https://t.co/Wl1EOxO4wP via @sportico @DanielLibit

[Daniel Kaplan @KaplanSportsBiz]

former NFLPA counsel Heather McPhee, who is suing the union and its former ex. director, asked the court to suspend the case because she suffered a serious accident and is hospitalized. Wishing her the best

[Darren Heitner @heitner]

Thank you @FOS for profiling my practice and the state of #NIL law today. Transfer disputes. Eligibility fights. Revenue-sharing litigation. It's all happening, and athletes need counsel before they sign anything. https://t.co/5hnho8S3Rr

[Adam Schefter @AdamSchefter]

Longtime NFL agent Kelli Masters of KMM Sports is partnering with Scott Borchetta, founder of Big Machine Records and Big Machine Racing, and Erik Logan, CEO and Chief Advisor for Tony Robbins. Borchetta Entertainment Group now will be entering the football space.

[Jeff Passan @JeffPassan]

The Major League Baseball Players Association fired chief operating officer Xavier James and its head of human resources, Michael O'Neill, with cause today, sources tell me and @DVNJr. The firings came after an internal investigation spurred by the DOJ looking into the MLBPA.

[Darren Heitner @heitner]

If you’re an agent and you’re charging a commission on an athlete’s scholarship and/or not letting an athlete out of the representation agreement without a 90 day period passing, then you should reconsider your profession.

[Darren Heitner @heitner]

Agents should hold off on signing pro representation agreements with college athletes. The NCAA tells me there’s more information to come, but this rule change is specific to individuals who have not yet enrolled in college. Logistically, this sounds like a mess if an agent can sign a HS athlete to a pro representation agreement that then needs to be terminated once the player enrolls at a university.