Categories
Headline UFL

Agents Upset At UFL For Non-Payment Of Agent Fees

Over the weekend, I spoke with quite a few agents who are very upset with the United Football League (UFL).  This time, it has absolutely nothing to do with the UFL’s $150,000 transfer fee.  Instead, agents are up in arms about the UFL’s slow process in paying out agent fees.  In fact, one agent told me that one of the UFL head coaches texted him to let him know that they are not certain that they are going to pay agent fees.

Paragraph 21 of the UFL Player Contract is titled, “Player Agent.”  21(e) allows the player signing the contract to elect to pay his agent through a percentage fee arrangement, flat fee arrangement, or hourly fee arrangement.  No structure may result in the agent earning any more than 3% of the player’s base salary, signing bonus, and performance bonus received by the player.  The following section, 21(f) permits the player to elect to have his team pay his agent directly.  Therein lies the current problem.  Teams aren’t paying out what they owe.

Michael Preston, Communications Director for the UFL, says that payments are being processed.  Agents are not holding their breath.

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.

2 replies on “Agents Upset At UFL For Non-Payment Of Agent Fees”

Comments are closed.