Two numbers describe every agent fee: the percentage, and what it is a percentage of. The unions settle both for playing contracts. For everything else the agreement the athlete signs settles them, and nothing else does. This page gives each union's rule from its own regulations, then the uncapped side, then the arithmetic.
Playing contracts: the caps, league by league
| League | Maximum | What the regulation says |
|---|---|---|
| NFL | 3% | Of the compensation the player receives in each season covered by the contract the advisor negotiated. The Standard Representation Agreement sets 1.5% unless both sides initial 2%, 2.5%, 3% or another figure. Lower caps on one-year tenders: 2% on a first franchise or transition tag or an RFA tender, 1.5% on a second tag, 1% on a third. "Compensation" counts salary and signing, reporting and roster bonuses, practice squad pay above the minimum, and earned incentives; not Pro Bowl or All-Pro bonuses or bargained benefits. Paid only after the player is paid. |
| NBA | 4% | For any season paid above the minimum; 2% for a season paid only the minimum, judged season by season. First-round rookies on the scale: 4% of the amount above the guaranteed 80%. Counts base salary, signing bonus and performance bonuses received; not the In-Season Tournament or playoff pools. Due only after the player is paid. The regulations cover marketing agreements but put no percentage on them. |
| WNBA | 5% | Of compensation actually received (base salary, signing bonus, earned performance bonus), and 5% on WNBA league or team marketing agreements. |
| MLB | No cap | No fee at all unless the negotiated salary is above the league minimum; no fee that takes net salary to the minimum or below; bonuses count only if earned; nothing on postseason pools, bargained allowances, group licensing or the pre-arbitration bonus pool. The agent invoices within 120 days of the season's end or forfeits the fee. |
| NHL | No cap | No NHLPA cap was found in published text; 4 to 5% is reported as typical. |
| NWSL | n/a | The CBA lets a player designate an agent; the league may compensate a player's agent up to 10%, and dual representation is banned from 2026. |
| Soccer (FIFA) | 5% / 3% | FIFA's regulations cap fees at 5% of remuneration up to $200,000 a year and 3% above it (10% / 6% for dual representation). The cap was suspended worldwide in December 2023; in July 2026 the EU's top court held it is not a restriction "by object" and sent the proportionality question back to a German court. Whether it is enforced now is unclear. |
Two things the table shows. The caps are low because a playing contract is negotiated inside a collective bargaining agreement that already sets minimums, maximums and rookie scales; the agent's room to add value is bounded, and the union bounds the fee to match. And the caps apply only to compensation under a contract with a club. The NFLPA and NBPA regulations say so in their definitions; marketing income is outside them.
Endorsements, marketing and NIL: no cap anywhere
An endorsement deal is a contract between the athlete and a company. No league is party to it, so no union regulates the agent's fee on it. College and high school athletes have no union at all, so nothing caps their agents on any deal. What the market shows:
- Agents quoted by ESPN in February 2026 put the going rate at 10 to 20% of each deal.
- The same report says some agents seek 15 to 30% under lifetime marketing agreements, and quoted the head of the Texas High School Coaches Association calling the situation "almost at a crisis."
- ESPN's NIL Research Poll of 1,000 college athletes (December 2025): 18% had help with NIL deals in high school; of those, about 67% gave the helper a percentage, and the median cut was about 20%.
- A March 2026 law-firm review of representation agreements flags the clause that matters most on fees: commissions that continue for years after the relationship ends, on renewals and on later deals with the same brand. The percentage follows the deal for its whole term.
The contracts page lists the five red flags in an agent agreement. Forty-two states also require agents to register, and the state acts require the fee and its method to be stated in a signed contract with a 14-day cancellation right.
The 5% bill
The Protect College Sports Act of 2026 (S. 4668) passed the Senate 77 to 22 on September 28, 2026. Its summary says it requires agents to register and bars an agent from charging a college athlete a fee on an endorsement contract above 5% of the contract's value. It was received in the House and held at the desk on October 5, 2026; the House returns November 9 and the bill dies if not passed by January 3, 2027. An earlier Florida bill proposing a 5% state cap died in the state senate in 2026. Neither is law as of October 13, 2026.
The arithmetic, on three sizes of career
| Income | Agent at the NFL cap (3%) | Agent at 20% on endorsements | Leave at $49 a month |
|---|---|---|---|
| $100,000 a year in endorsements | n/a | $20,000 | $588 |
| $2 million playing contract, one season | $60,000 | n/a | $588 |
| $50,000 of NIL deals a year | n/a | $10,000 | $588 |
The comparison page has the full table, including the break-even: a 20% fee and a $49-a-month subscription cost the same at $2,940 of deals a year. Below that the percentage is the smaller number; above it the subscription is. They buy different things: the fee buys representation, the subscription buys the information to represent yourself.
What the fee is calculated on
This is where athletes get surprised, and the regulations are precise. In the NFL and NBA the base is compensation actually received, after the player is paid, on the seasons the agent negotiated. In MLB the agent cannot take a fee that drags a player to the minimum. On endorsement deals the base is whatever the representation agreement says, and the common version is the gross amount of every deal the agent "procured", renewals included. The blog post on gross versus net walks through the difference on real numbers.
How Leave fits
Leave takes 0% of any deal. It is software: it explains each contract in plain words, shows what similar work pays, and keeps every deal and its terms in one record, for $49 a month after a free trial. It does not negotiate, represent or solicit for anyone, and it is not legal, tax or financial advice. The athlete decides whether a percentage is worth paying; the numbers above are there so the decision is made with them in view.
Questions athletes ask
How much does an NFL agent take?
At most 3% of the compensation for each season of the contract the agent negotiated, under the NFLPA regulations. The standard representation agreement defaults to 1.5% unless both sides initial a higher rate. One-year tenders carry lower caps, 2% on a first franchise or transition tag or RFA tender, 1.5% on a second tag, 1% on a third. The fee is paid only after the player is paid.
How much does an NBA agent take?
At most 4% of compensation for any season paid above the league minimum, and 2% for a season paid only the minimum. On a first-round rookie scale contract, 4% applies only to the part above the guaranteed 80%. The NBPA regulations put no percentage on marketing agreements.
Is there a cap in MLB or the NHL?
No percentage cap in either. The MLBPA allows no fee unless the negotiated salary is above the league minimum and none that takes net pay to the minimum or below, with nothing on postseason pools or group licensing. No NHLPA cap was found in published text; 4 to 5% is reported as typical.
What do agents charge on NIL and endorsement deals?
There is no cap. Agents quoted by ESPN in February 2026 put the going rate at 10 to 20% of each deal, with some seeking 15 to 30% under lifetime marketing agreements. ESPN's poll of 1,000 college athletes found that of those who had help with high school deals, about two thirds paid a percentage and the median cut was about 20%.
Is a 5% cap coming?
The Protect College Sports Act (S. 4668) passed the Senate 77 to 22 on September 28, 2026. It would require agents to register and cap an agent's fee on a college athlete's endorsement contract at 5%. As of October 13, 2026 it is held at the House desk and dies on January 3, 2027 if not passed. Florida proposed a state 5% cap in 2026; the bill died in the state senate.
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