Representing The Professional Athlete

This book is an interactive, hands-on guide to negotiating, drafting and litigating agreements in the context of representation of professional athletes. The book begins with the negotiation and drafting of a standard form athlete representation agreement. In so doing, it details all of the NCAA amateurism rules and the legal do's and don'ts relating to the recruiting of pre-professional athletes. Subsequent chapters track the typical progression of a successful professional athlete's career: the drafting, negotiating and (where necessary) litigating of product endorsement and license agreements in the increasingly important context of protecting professional athletes' rights of publicity. Interactive group negotiation/drafting hypotheticals are also provided in the areas of fantasy sports, and of representing the "mature athlete" who is nearing the end of his career. The book concludes with a Jerry McGuire-type litigation hypothetical and settlement agreement negotiation exercise involving the "super-agent" entering and exiting the "mega agency."

Find out what it takes to be a professional athlete or sports official... The sports world offers many opportunities. Professionals work as: •Athletes, •Coaches, •Umpires and referees, and •Other sports officials. The world of professional sports is exciting—and demanding. You'll need physical coordination, strength, endurance...and a good character. As an athlete, coach, or sports official, you must demonstrate integrity, so that others will trust your leadership... Have the courage to stand up for what is right... Be self-disciplined enough to stick to your career until you succeed... Act on behalf of your community, demonstrating your citizenship. Find out more about this exciting career—read Professional Athlete & Sports Official.

An Athlete's Guide to Agents, Fourth Edition is designed to better prepare athletes and their families to screen, select, and work with an agent and other advisers who will guide the athlete around the business minefields and into the sports gold mines. This substantially revised fourth edition examines agent services and fees, financial management, insurance, endorsements, the dilemma of replacing an agent, renegotiating and holding out, NCAA regulations, and other topics of interest to pre-professional and professional athletes in the U.S. and across the globe. In essence, this book is a caution label on the package of useful services an agent will try to sell to an athlete.

In my years of dealing with individuals in the entertainment business, whether it be through an entertainment law firm or private consulting, one constant I have noticed is that many individuals in this business do not understand the business of their craft. I believe the same goes for athletes and often with similarly devastating results. Make no mistake about it, sports is part of the entertainment business. Whether it is the $24 billion deal which the NBA made, in 2014, with Turner Broadcasting and The Walt Disney Company or the $871.6 in revenue (81% came from TV and marketing fees) that the NCAA made in 2012, sports is and will continue to be show business. Given this high-powered nature of sports, it is vital for athletes (particularly high-school and beyond) to become familiar and better educated on the dynamics and economics of their respective leagues; and to better position themselves for success on their own terms. This manual aims to bring you clear and practical strategies on how to succeed as an athlete. This manual is written for you, the athlete; to prepare you to raise the bar, because he who prepares has already won half the battle. You were born to B.A.L.L.!