CHAPTER 7. ATHLETES AND ATHLETE AGENTS

§420. Declaration of purpose

            A. The legislature hereby recognizes that it is a special privilege afforded to athlete agents and other persons acting in a representative, advisory, or managerial capacity to contact athletes to secure their athletic abilities for professional sports teams, professional sports organizations, or for endorsement or commercial opportunities. The legislature also feels that with that privilege should come certain duties, obligations, and responsibilities. The legislature hereby enacts the laws of this Chapter to regulate those contacts and relationships and to protect young, inexperienced athletes in this state from unscrupulous athlete agents and other persons who would seek to exploit such athletes, or their educational institutions or schools, when entering or seeking to enter into an agent contract, endorsement contract, or professional sport services contract or when obtaining or seeking to obtain employment with a professional sports team, or commercial opportunities.

            B. It is the further purpose of the legislature in enacting this Chapter to protect athletes from contacts with and accepting things of value from athlete agents and other persons in a manner so as to cause such athletes to unintentionally lose their eligibility to compete in interscholastic or intercollegiate athletics, or otherwise suffer financial or reputational harm.

            C. It is the further purpose of the legislature to protect the educational institutions and schools of this state from unscrupulous athlete agents, athletes, and other persons who would cause such educational institutions or schools to suffer various sanctions, penalties, or other adverse consequences as a result of unlawful activities in connection with athletes participating in sports at such educational institutions and schools.

            D. Accordingly, the legislature, in enacting the provisions of this Chapter, hereby creates causes of action, rights, and remedies for such educational institutions or schools and athletes to recover for damages caused to the educational institution, school, or athlete by any person acting in violation of this Chapter. Such causes of action specifically include but are not limited to the cause of action known as tortious interference with an athlete contract, statutory civil remedies, and enforcement actions by the division under applicable unfair trade practices law.

            Acts 1999, No. 302, §1; Acts 2004, No. 351, §1; Acts 2026, No. 895, §1, eff. June 9, 2026.