"I'm not an agent, I'm a marketing rep" is a sentence athletes hear often, and the distinction is real as a job description and absent as a matter of law. This page sets out what the role does, what each rulebook calls it, what it costs, and what the athlete who does it themselves is doing instead.
The job
A marketing representative does the endorsement side of the agent's job without the playing contract:
- Finding deals. Pitching the athlete to brands and local businesses, answering casting calls, working marketplaces.
- The rate. Knowing what similar work pays by format and reach, and negotiating it. Opendorse's co-founder told Fortune in September 2026 that this, pay information athletes lack, is most of what representatives supply, since there is no central database of college deals.
- The contract. Usage rights, exclusivity, term, deliverables, termination, the six parts of every deal.
- The admin. Invoicing, content approvals, scheduling, and sometimes the NIL Go entry as the athlete's one named representative, though the athlete makes the final submission.
- The brand. Some manage the athlete's social presence and appearances as a package.
What a marketing representative does not do is negotiate a playing contract; that needs a union certification, which is a separate credential and a separate cap. Many agencies offer both under one roof, with the marketing side on a different fee.
What each rulebook calls it
| Framework | What it says |
|---|---|
| NCAA (Bylaw 12.02.8, in force July 1, 2025) | A professional sports agent is anyone who represents an individual "for the purpose of marketing the individual's athletics ability or reputation as a professional athlete for financial gain," and the definition names "a certified contract advisor, financial advisor, marketing representative, brand manager." For NIL, Bylaw 22.3.1 allows "professional services, including agent representation." |
| SPARTA (federal) | An agency contract is one in which a student athlete authorizes a person "to negotiate or solicit on behalf of the student athlete a professional sports contract or an endorsement contract." A marketing representative who signs one is an athlete agent under the Act, with its disclosure, its 72-hour notice and FTC enforcement. |
| The state acts | The Revised Uniform Act's agent includes a person who, for compensation, procures or negotiates professional employment and one who, for compensation, manages business affairs; its "endorsement contract" definition covers value from athletic fame. Registration, the written contract with the warning box and the 14-day cancellation apply. Florida requires its athlete-agent licence to represent a college athlete on NIL contracts; Louisiana brought NIL agents under its act in 2026. |
| The pro unions | The NBPA's regulations cover agents' "negotiation of marketing or sponsorship agreements" but put no percentage on them; the WNBPA caps fees on league and team marketing agreements at 5% and is silent on the rest. No union certifies or caps a marketing-only representative of a college or high school athlete. |
What it costs
No union is party to an endorsement deal, so no union caps the fee, and college and high school athletes have no union at all. 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 NIL Research Poll found that of the 18% of college athletes who had help with high school deals, about two thirds paid a percentage, and the median cut was about 20%. The percentage usually follows the deal for its term, renewals included, and the fees page lays out what it is calculated on. The Protect College Sports Act, passed by the Senate 77 to 22 on September 28, 2026, would cap a college athlete's endorsement agent fee at 5%; it is held at the House desk as of October 13, 2026.
The agreement
Because a marketing representative is an athlete agent under the state acts, the agreement must be a signed record stating the fee and its method, the states of registration, any other person paid because of the signing, expenses, services and duration, with the warning in capitals and the 14-day right to cancel. On top of the statute, a March 2026 review by the law firm McDonald Hopkins names the five clauses that go wrong in NIL representation agreements: a perpetual licence to the athlete's name and image, termination only the agent can use freely, commissions that outlive the relationship, no stated duty to put the athlete's interests first, and no registration. The cancel page covers the way out when one of those is already signed.
Eligibility
NIL representation has been allowed since Bylaw 22.3.1 took effect in January 2024, so a marketing representative does not cost an enrolled athlete eligibility. Two rules still apply: no benefits from any agent to the athlete, family or friends (12.3.2.3), and the agent may facilitate a brand's payment only if the brand is the source of the money (22.3.2), which is the line between a representative and a booster. The eligibility page has the rest.
Doing it yourself
Every task in the job above can be done by the athlete, and most are: Opendorse's figure is that 67% of the school-paid compensation it tracks goes to athletes without an agent. What the representative supplies is time, relationships and rate information. The comparison page puts a marketing representative at 20% beside a marketplace, a lawyer at a flat fee, the school and software, with the break-even stated.
How Leave fits
Leave does the information part of the marketing representative's job for the athlete who keeps it: what similar work pays at your reach, the rules and deadlines for your state and level, public opportunities as threads, every contract explained part by part, and a record of every deal and its exclusivity. It takes 0% of any deal and is not a representative of any kind: it does not pitch, negotiate, sign or submit for anyone, and it is not legal advice. The athlete is their own marketing representative; Leave is what they use.
Questions athletes ask
What does a marketing representative do?
Finds brand and endorsement deals, pitches the athlete to businesses, sets and negotiates the rate, reads the usage rights, exclusivity and term, handles invoicing and sometimes the disclosure, and manages the athlete's social or appearance schedule around the deals. It is the marketing row of the agent's job without the playing contract.
Is a marketing representative legally an agent?
In every framework that matters, yes. NCAA Bylaw 12.02.8 names a marketing representative and brand manager within its definition of a professional sports agent when the purpose is marketing the athlete's ability or reputation as a professional. SPARTA defines an agency contract to include endorsement contracts. The Revised Uniform Act reaches anyone who, for compensation, procures or negotiates endorsement contracts or manages an athlete's business affairs, so state registration applies. Florida requires its athlete-agent licence for NIL representation of college athletes.
Does a marketing representative affect NCAA eligibility?
Not for NIL: Bylaw 22.3.1 has allowed professional services, agent representation included, for NIL activities since January 2024. The bar on pro-marketing agents while enrolled (12.3.2) is about representation to market the athlete as a professional, and benefits from any agent are still prohibited (12.3.2.3). The agent may facilitate a brand's payment only if the brand is the source of the money (22.3.2).
How much do they charge?
Whatever the agreement says; no union caps it. Agents quoted by ESPN in February 2026 put the going rate at 10 to 20% of each deal, with 15 to 30% sought under lifetime marketing agreements; ESPN's poll of 1,000 college athletes found a median cut of about 20% among those who had help in high school. The federal Protect College Sports Act, passed by the Senate in September 2026, would cap a college athlete's endorsement agent fee at 5%; it is held at the House desk.
What should the agreement say?
The state acts require a signed contract stating the fee and how it is calculated, the states where the representative is registered, any other person paid, expenses, services and duration, with a warning in capitals and a 14-day cancellation right. Law firms reviewing NIL representation agreements flag five clauses: a perpetual licence to the athlete's name and image, termination only the agent can use freely, commissions that continue after the relationship ends, no stated duty to put the athlete first, and no registration.
Can I do it myself?
Yes. No rule at any level requires a marketing representative. Opendorse's co-founder told Fortune in September 2026 that 67% of the school-paid compensation it tracks goes to athletes with no agent, and that what representatives mostly supply is pay information athletes lack. The comparison page sets the options side by side.
Be your own agent. Leave.