What are the Fee Regulations in Major U.S. Sports?

Post author By Darren Heitner
Post date May 3, 2006
6 Comments on What are the Fee Regulations in Major U.S. Sports?

Will 3% cut it?

Before deciding which sport you want to specialize in as an Athlete Agent, it is important to understand the maximum commission available on player contracts. These cap on Agent fees are only regarding team contracts, and Sports Agents may charge a different fee for marketing endorsements (usually 15%-25% as a rule).

Here are the current fee regulations:
MLB – no cap
NFL – 3%
NHL – no cap
NBA – 4%

It is rare to see a Sports Agent get the maximum percentage in an NBA contract. Recently, there was a push by NFL players to lower the maximum percentage that an Agent may receive in an NFL team contract from to 2%. It did not pass, however, and the ceiling remains at 3%.

For more information about the recent ruling made by the NFL Executive Committee, check out Show Me 97 Percent of The Money: NFL Agent Maximum Fee to Remain at 3 Percent. It includes an interesting statement by Kellen Winslow, Sr. that I am not sure I agree with.

[tags]mlb, nfl, nba, nhl, fee regulations, sports agents, nfl fee[/tags]

By 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.

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6 replies on “What are the Fee Regulations in Major U.S. Sports?”

[…] Also, the raise in player salaries should be looked at alongside the salary caps in the 4 sports. It seems that contracts in baseball will always be much larger than in the other major American sports. […]

[…] NBA: Highest paid player = Shaquille O’Neal – 2005/06 Salary: $20 million – 4% Commission (capped): $800,000 10th highest paid player = Michael Finley – 2005/06 Salary: $15,937,500 – 4% Commission (capped): $637,500 […]

[…] Collective Bargaining Agreements – General Contract Provisions (ex: minimum player salary, maximum agent fees, etc.), Merchandising and Licensing Rights (ex: endorsement or appearance issues), Standard Form Contracts, Scope of a Commissioner’s Authority. […]

These caps just make it easy for the H.S. grads entering the leagues to do the math

this site rocks. it has help me alot in gaining valuble infomation. thank u guys

Is this why Seth Levinson is so successful? It must be fun, but stressful to be an sports agent. insider.espn.go.com

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