An agent agreement is the one contract the law tells you how to read, because the state acts list what must be in it and tell you what the warning has to say. This page is that checklist, the federal disclosure on top of it, the union forms that govern pro playing contracts, and the five clauses that satisfy the statute and still cost athletes money.
The statute's checklist
Section 10 of the Revised Uniform Athlete Agents Act, matching the 2000 Act's requirement in substance, says an agency contract must be in a record signed by the parties and must state:
| Required | What it means in practice |
|---|---|
| The states in which the agent is registered | Registration is state by state; a contract listing none, or not yours, is the first thing to check against the registry |
| The fee, and the method of calculating it, and any other pay the agent gets | The percentage, what it is a percentage of, and whether it continues on renewals; the fees page covers the market |
| Any person not named who will be paid because of the signing | Runners, recruiters and finders; the acts make the agent disclose them |
| Reimbursable expenses | What the athlete will be billed for beyond the percentage |
| The services to be performed | Playing contract, endorsements, both, or something narrower |
| The duration | When it ends, which the termination clause then qualifies |
Then three more things: the warning in capitals (below), a separate signed acknowledgment of the eligibility consequences, and a parent's or guardian's signature for an athlete under 18. Section 10(e): a contract that does not conform "is voidable by the student athlete." Section 4: a contract from an unregistered agent is void, and the consideration comes back.
The warning
The acts require it in capitals, and in substance it reads: WARNING TO STUDENT ATHLETE. IF YOU SIGN THIS CONTRACT: (1) YOU MAY LOSE YOUR ELIGIBILITY TO COMPETE AS A STUDENT ATHLETE IN YOUR SPORT; (2) IF YOU HAVE AN ATHLETIC DIRECTOR, WITHIN 72 HOURS AFTER SIGNING THIS CONTRACT OR BEFORE THE NEXT SCHEDULED ATHLETIC EVENT IN WHICH YOU PARTICIPATE, WHICHEVER OCCURS FIRST, BOTH YOU AND YOUR ATHLETE AGENT MUST NOTIFY YOUR ATHLETIC DIRECTOR; AND (3) YOU MAY CANCEL THIS CONTRACT WITHIN 14 DAYS AFTER SIGNING IT. CANCELLATION OF THIS CONTRACT MAY NOT REINSTATE YOUR ELIGIBILITY. Texas's notice reads "NOT LATER THAN THE 16TH DAY"; New York's window is 5 days, Ohio's 10, California's 15. The warning is the part of the contract the law wrote; its absence is the surest sign the agent did not.
The federal disclosure
SPARTA requires a separate document before an agency contract is signed: a disclosure signed by the athlete, or by a parent or guardian if the athlete is under 18, carrying a boldface notice beginning "Warning to Student Athlete: If you agree orally or in writing to be represented by an agent now or in the future you may lose your eligibility," and stating the 72-hour notice to the athletic director. An agent who signs without it has violated the Act, which the FTC enforces. The SPARTA page has the statute.
The union forms
For a professional playing contract the agreement is not the agent's own paper but the union's. The NFLPA's Standard Representation Agreement sets the fee at 1.5% unless both sides initial 2%, 2.5%, 3% or another figure, caps it at 3%, and is filed with the union; the regulations bar any fee until the player is paid and define what counts as compensation. The NBPA's Standard Player Agent Contract carries the 4% cap (2% on minimum seasons) and is likewise filed. Both forms carry their own termination terms. In NCAA men's basketball, an agreement with an NCAA-certified agent after a draft evaluation request must be written, disclosed to the school, and terminated before the next term if the player returns.
The five clauses that pass the statute and still go wrong
A March 2026 review of NIL representation agreements by the law firm McDonald Hopkins names them, and the contracts page lists them alongside the clauses in the deals themselves:
- A perpetual licence to the athlete's name, image and likeness, which lets the agent keep using it after the relationship ends.
- Lopsided termination. The agent can leave at will; the athlete only for a documented breach, after a long notice period, while fees continue.
- Fees that outlive the relationship. Commission on any deal the agent touched, including renewals and later deals with the same brand, for years after.
- No stated duty to put the athlete's interests first, disclose conflicts, or ask before representing a competing athlete.
- No registration, which under the acts makes the whole contract void.
Each is legal to write and binding once signed, which is why the acts give the athlete a window to cancel; the cancel page covers it.
How Leave fits
Leave reads a representation agreement back in plain words: whether each item on the statute's checklist is present, what the fee is calculated on and whether it survives termination, who may end the agreement and how, what licence to the athlete's name it grants, and whether the warning and the cancellation right are there. It is software, not a law firm or an agent, does not advise on whether to sign, and is not legal advice; it takes 0% of any deal. The athlete reads first, then decides.
Questions athletes ask
What does the law require an agent contract to say?
Under the Revised Uniform Athlete Agents Act, § 10, and the 2000 Act before it, a signed record stating the states in which the agent is registered; the fee and its method of calculation and any other pay the agent receives; any unnamed person who will be paid because of the signing; reimbursable expenses; the services; and the duration. Plus the warning in capitals, a separate eligibility acknowledgment, and a parent's signature for a minor.
What does the warning say?
In substance, in capitals, that if the athlete signs they may lose eligibility to compete as a student athlete; that if they have an athletic director, within 72 hours after signing or before the next scheduled athletic event, both athlete and agent must notify that director; and that the athlete may cancel within the window after signing, and that cancellation may not reinstate eligibility.
What if the contract is missing something?
It is voidable by the athlete under the state acts. If the agent was not registered in the state, the contract is void and the agent returns what was paid. Under the Revised Act the athlete may sue; a liable agent forfeits the fee.
What about a pro playing contract?
The players' association's standard form governs: the NFLPA's Standard Representation Agreement, which sets the fee at 1.5% unless both sides initial a higher rate up to 3%, and the NBPA's Standard Player Agent Contract, with its 4% cap. Those forms are filed with the union, and a club may negotiate only with a certified agent or the player.
What clauses go wrong even when the statute is met?
A March 2026 law-firm review of NIL representation agreements names five: a perpetual licence to the athlete's name, image and likeness; termination the agent can use freely while the athlete can only end for documented breach after long notice; commissions that continue on renewals and later deals for years after the relationship ends; no stated duty to put the athlete's interests first or disclose conflicts; and an agent not registered in the state.
Be your own agent. Leave.