On February 23, Darren Heitner of Heitner Legal wrote an article on Sports Agent Blog highlighting the State of Oregon’s efforts to modify its sports agent law. Oregon is one of dozens of states with a sports agent law on its books.
As a leading lawyer in the realm of sports agency, Heitner was also asked by Law360 to provide some commentary on the proposed changes to Oregon’s athlete agent statute. The following are quotes extracted from the Law360 article.
“The traditional definition of an athlete agent is one who negotiates a contract between an athlete and a team or a more expansive definition of one who may be negotiating for an athlete with a brand for endorsement or marketing opportunities,” attorney Darren Heitner of Heitner Legal PLLC, who has represented sports agents, told Law360.
“But here, the state of Oregon appears to be trying to include anyone from financial planners to accountants, etc., anyone who has any role in an athlete’s potential business affairs,” he said. “I have never seen expansion or an attempt at an expansion of the definition of an agent that Oregon is considering.”
“Here it appears that the state is not only concerned about the university but also the athlete, who may lose potential eligibility to compete if an agent violates the act,” he said. “To me, this is a first of a kind.”