The Business of Sports Agents

by Kenneth L. Shropshire, Timothy Davis, N. Jeremi Duru

"An insider's guide to the current state of the sports agent business for those now in the industry, those interested in becoming a professional agent, and public officials who may be called on to draft or enforce regulations."—Choice, in a review of a previous edition

Successful sports agents are comfortable with high finance and intense competition for the right to represent talented players, and the most respected agents are those who can deal with the pressures of high-stakes negotiations in an honest fashion. But whereas rules and penalties govern the playing field, there are far fewer restrictions on agents. In The Business of Sports Agents, Kenneth L. Shropshire, Timothy Davis, and N. Jeremi Duru, experts in the fields of sports business and law, examine the history of the sports agent business and the rules and laws developed to regulate the profession. They also consider recommendations for reform, including uniform laws that would apply to all agents, redefining amateurism in college sports, and stiffening requirements for licensing agents.

This revised and expanded third edition brings the volume up to date on recent changes in the industry, including:
—the emergence and dominance of companies such as Creative Artists Agency and Wasserman Media Group
—high-profile cases of agent misconduct, principally Josh Luchs, whose agent certification was revoked by the NFLPA
—legal challenges against the NCAA that may fundamentally change the definition of amateurism
—changes to agent regulations resulting from new collective bargaining agreements in all of the major professional sports
—evaluation of the effectiveness of the Uniform Athlete Agents Act (2000) to regulate agent conduct
—issues faced by the increasing number of agents representing athletes who work abroad as well as athletes from abroad who work in the United States.

Whether aspiring sports agent, lawyer, athlete seeking an agent, or simply interested in understanding the world of sports representation, the reader will find in The Business of Sports Agents the most comprehensive overview of the industry as well as a straightforward analysis of its problems and proposed solutions.

Kenneth L. Shropshire is the David W. Hauck Professor at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

Timothy Davis is the John W. and Ruth H. Turnage Professor of Law at Wake Forest University School of Law.

N. Jeremi Duru is Professor of Law at Washington College of Law, American University.

304 pages, Hardcover

First published October 4, 2002

About the author

Kenneth L. Shropshire, the David W. Hauck Professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, is the author of several award-winning books such as The Business of Sports, The Business of Sports Agents, The Sports Franchise Game, In Black and White, Sports and the Law, and Basketball Jones. His expert views have been presented in Wall Street Journal, Sports Illustrated, National Public Radio, and Nightline. A Stanford and Columbia Law graduate, Shropshire previously worked in private law practice and as an executive with the LA Olympic Organizing Committee. He is also the Director of the Wharton Sports Business Initiative.

Reviews

[Manoj Kumar]

Nice but how I can red it

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Business of Sports agents is a ok book. Out of 10 I would rate it a 6.5 because I'm a huge sports fan and this book made me kinda depressed because the details that the author wrote that a lot of agents get sued for not doing there job well, and it scares me because its never a good thing to be sued. But the good thing about this book is that it gives an amazing background and the life of agents representing the players and their day to day work. Its worth reading because if you want to become a sports agent then this is a perfect book for you because the author shows you how to become an agent and what business you do with your players and teams. The author tells you the reality of what its like being sued or not doing a good job. Reputation is a huge thing in the sports agent world because if you are a agent you want to have clients that will be big stars and you wanna to have them and not someone else. I enjoyed this book because this book showed me the good and bad side in being a sport agent. There is always a good thing and bad thing in business.

[Evan Broner]

The Business of Sports Agents speaks on the jobs and duties that a sports agent must handle every day. Personally I liked the book because is aspire to be sports agent, but for people don't want to go trough that path, I wouldn't recommend it. I read this book to learn more about the industry, and what specific things they do with the players. I personally related because I envisioned my own self doing the same tasks of the agents. The book met my expectations by covering most of the work that sports agents must do. The hardest part of being a sports agent is dealing with conflict of interest, the writers explained the most important rule, “critical features of the agent/athlete relationship are the agent’s obligation of undivided loyalty and the duty to act in good faith at all times.(Davis 85)” The relates to the idea that even when we are bombarded with lucrative situations, that might harm our athlete, you must do your job and what is morally right. I heavily enjoyed this book learning about the industry, and I would recommend this book to anybody aspiring to be in the sports agency field.