Most of what regulates sports agents in the United States is not federal law. It is a model statute, drafted once and enacted state by state, which is why the rules look alike across the country and differ at the edges. This page explains the model, its two versions, what each requires, and where the states depart from it.
Where it came from
In 2000 the Uniform Law Commission, the body that drafts model laws for the states, approved the Uniform Athlete Agents Act, written after a decade of agents signing college athletes with gifts and promises that cost the athletes their eligibility. States adopted it quickly; 42 have enacted it. In 2004 Congress passed SPARTA, the federal statute, and wrote into § 7807 its view that the states should enact the Uniform Act, so the two were designed to work together: SPARTA as a federal floor enforced by the FTC, the Uniform Act as the state licensing and contract regime. In 2015 the Commission approved a Revised Act, amended in 2019, to widen the definition of an agent and strengthen the athlete's remedies; it has 19 enactments as of October 2026, with South Carolina's bill pending. The SPARTA page covers the federal half.
What both versions require
| Requirement | What the Act says |
|---|---|
| Registration | An individual may not act as an athlete agent in the state without a certificate of registration. If the athlete initiated contact, the agent may act, except sign a contract, by applying within seven days. The application discloses identity, training, prior registrations and discipline; states add fees, bonds and background checks. |
| The contract | A signed record stating the states of registration, the fee and how it is calculated, any other person paid because of the signing, reimbursable expenses, services and duration. A warning in capitals: eligibility may be lost; both athlete and agent must notify the athletic director within 72 hours or before the next game; the athlete may cancel within 14 days and cancellation does not restore eligibility. A separate signed eligibility acknowledgment. A parent or guardian signs for a minor. A non-conforming contract is voidable by the athlete. |
| Notices | The agent notifies the school before contacting an enrolled athlete (within 10 days if the athlete initiated); both notify the athletic director within 72 hours of signing. |
| Cancellation | Within 14 days, by notice in a record. Cannot be waived. The athlete pays nothing and returns nothing. |
| Prohibited conduct | False or misleading inducements; giving anything that may cost eligibility; initiating contact while unregistered; predating or postdating; encouraging others to do any of these. |
| Consequences | An unregistered agent's contract is void and the consideration is returned. Civil penalty up to $50,000 in the uniform text. Each state sets a misdemeanor or felony. The school may sue for harm; under the Revised Act the athlete may too, and a liable agent forfeits the fee. |
What the Revised Act changed
- A wider definition. The 2000 Act's agent is a person who enters or solicits an agency contract or procures pro employment. The Revised Act adds anyone who, for compensation or in anticipation of it, advises on "finances, business pursuits, or career management decisions" or manages business affairs "by providing assistance with bills, payments, contracts, or taxes," and anyone who gives value or advice in anticipation of representing the athlete. A paid "manager" or "advisor" who never calls themselves an agent is inside.
- Professionals excluded, with limits. A licensed professional (attorney, financial planner, accountant) providing customary services is not an agent, unless they recruit the athlete into an agency contract, negotiate pro employment for compensation, or charge athletes by a different method than other clients. The 2000 Act has no such exclusion.
- Family handled differently. The 2000 Act excludes a spouse, parent, sibling or grandparent (and guardian) by name. The Revised Act has no named exemption; it treats advice on choosing an agent "in a family, coaching, or social situation" as outside unless the adviser is paid by an agent, and its official comment says a parent advising their child is not an agent. A paid family manager may be. The parent page sets this out.
- Interscholastic athletes named. "Student athlete" expressly includes high school athletes.
- The athlete may sue. Section 16 gives the athlete, not only the school, a right of action; a liable agent forfeits pay and refunds consideration.
- The 2019 amendment on benefits. An agent may give a benefit that could cost eligibility only if the agent notifies the athletic director within 72 hours and the athlete acknowledges it in a record.
- Endorsement contracts are defined to cover value from athletic fame, which brings NIL representation within the Act's reach.
Where states differ
California never adopted either version; its Miller-Ayala Athlete Agents Act covers agent, endorsement, financial-services and pro-services contracts, exempts licensed attorneys and talent agencies with limits, and exempts family acting only for their own child from most sections. Florida licenses agents through its Department of Business and Professional Regulation under its own statute, with the family exclusion by name, no attorney exclusion, and a licence required for NIL representation of college athletes. Texas registers agents through the Secretary of State, requires a players' association certification for a "professional athlete agent," and gives a 16-day cancellation right instead of 14. Louisiana's Act 895 of 2026 brought NIL agents under its act with a registration deadline of August 1, 2026. Connecticut repealed its version effective January 1, 2018. The registration page has each in more detail. The state-by-state table, read from each statute, shows where the map and the model diverge.
What the Act does not do
It does not require any athlete to have an agent, and nothing in it forbids an athlete from negotiating for themselves; Connecticut's old caption, "Athlete not required to utilize athlete agent," said what every version assumes. It does not cap fees. It does not certify competence; registration checks identity and history. And it does not reach the pro leagues' own certification, which each players' association runs under its collective bargaining agreement.
The current federal picture
The Protect College Sports Act of 2026 (S. 4668) passed the Senate 77 to 22 on September 28, 2026. Its summary says it would require agents to register and cap a college athlete's endorsement agent fee at 5%; the summary of the reported version describes registration with a state, which would build on the Uniform Act rather than replace it. The bill is held at the House desk as of October 13, 2026 and dies on January 3, 2027 if not passed.
How Leave fits
Leave is software and is outside every definition above: it does not recruit, solicit, negotiate, manage money or sign for anyone, and takes 0% of any deal. It explains a contract, including an agent's representation agreement, in plain words, so an athlete can check the Act's required contents, the fee, the registration states, the warning and the cancellation right, before signing. It is not legal advice; the state's own enactment, linked above where read, is the authority.
Questions athletes ask
What is the difference between the UAAA and the RUAAA?
The 2000 Act (UAAA) centres on the agency contract and on procuring professional employment, and excludes family by name. The Revised Act (RUAAA, 2015, amended 2019) widens "athlete agent" to anyone paid to advise on finances, business or career or to manage an athlete's business affairs; excludes licensed professionals doing customary work; drops the named family exemption in favour of treating unpaid family advice as outside the Act; expressly covers interscholastic athletes; gives the athlete a right to sue; and, since 2019, allows an agent to give a benefit if the athletic director is notified within 72 hours and the athlete acknowledges it.
Which states have which?
The Uniform Law Commission's map, as of October 13, 2026, shows the 2000 Act enacted in 42 states and the Revised Act with 19 enactments, with South Carolina's bill pending. Louisiana's 2026 act, effective June 9, 2026, is the newest. California never enacted either and has its own Miller-Ayala Act; Connecticut repealed its version effective January 1, 2018; Florida licenses agents under its own statute.
What does the Act require of an agent?
Registration with the state before acting (a seven-day grace to apply if the athlete made contact); a written, signed contract stating the registration states, the fee and its method, any other person paid, expenses, services and duration, with a warning in capitals and a separate eligibility acknowledgment; a parent's signature for a minor; notice to the athletic director within 72 hours of signing or before the next game; and no false inducements, no gifts that cost eligibility, no contact while unregistered, no predating.
What rights does the athlete have?
To cancel within 14 days of signing, in a record, without payment and without returning anything, a right that cannot be waived; to void a contract that lacks the required contents; to treat an unregistered agent's contract as void and get the consideration back; and, under the Revised Act, to sue the agent, who forfeits the fee if liable. Cancellation does not restore eligibility that was lost.
Does the Act require athletes to use agents?
No. It regulates the people who act as agents. Connecticut's earlier version was even captioned "Athlete not required to utilize athlete agent." Nothing in either version forbids an athlete from negotiating for themselves.
Be your own agent. Leave.