Assembly Bill No. 253–Assemblymen Cegavske, Hettrick, Von Tobel, Brown, Anderson, Angle, Arberry, Bache, Berman, Brower, Buckley, Carpenter, Chowning, Claborn, Collins, de Braga, Dini, Freeman, Gibbons, Giunchigliani, Goldwater, Gustavson, Humke, Koivisto, Lee, Leslie, Manendo, Marvel, McClain, Neighbors, Nolan, Oceguera, Parks, Parnell, Perkins, Price, Smith, Tiffany and Williams
Joint Sponsors: Senators O’Donnell, Neal, Carlton, McGinness,
Titus and Washington
CHAPTER..........
AN ACT relating to intercollegiate athletics; requiring the registration of athletes’ agents; requiring the secretary of state to adopt regulations establishing the fees for registration; regulating communication and contracts between athletes and agents; prohibiting certain conduct by athletes’ agents; providing a penalty; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN
SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Chapter 398 of NRS is hereby amended by adding thereto
the provisions set forth as sections 2 to 25, inclusive, of this act.
Sec. 2. As used in NRS 398.075, 398.085 and 398.095, and sections
2 to 25, inclusive, of this act, unless the context otherwise requires, the
words and terms defined in NRS 398.075 and sections 3 to 12, inclusive,
of this act have the meanings ascribed to them in those sections.
Sec. 3. “Athlete’s agent” means a natural person who enters into a
contract of agency with a student athlete or, directly or indirectly,
recruits or solicits a student athlete to enter into such a contract. The
term includes a natural person who represents to the public that he is an
athlete’s agent. The term does not include a spouse, parent, sibling,
grandparent or guardian of the student athlete or a natural person acting
solely on behalf of a professional sports team or sports organization.
Sec. 4. “Athletic director” means a natural person responsible for
administering the overall athletic program of an institution or, if an
institution has separately administered athletic programs for male
students and female students, the athletic program for males or for
females, as appropriate.
Sec. 5. “Contract for endorsement” means an agreement under
which a student athlete is employed to use, or receives consideration for
using, on behalf of the other party any value that the student athlete may
have because of publicity, reputation, following or fame obtained
because of athletic ability or performance.
Sec. 6. “Contract for professional sports services” means an
agreement under which a natural person is employed, or agrees to render
services, as a player on a professional sports team, with a professional
sports organization or as a professional athlete.
Sec. 7. “Contract of agency” means an agreement in which a
student athlete authorizes a person to negotiate or solicit on his behalf a
contract for endorsement or a contract for professional sports services.
Sec. 8. “Intercollegiate sport” means a sport played at the collegiate
level for which the requirements of eligibility for participation by a
student athlete are established by a national association for the
promotion or regulation of collegiate athletics.
Sec. 9. “Person” includes a government and a governmental
subdivision, agency or instrumentality.
Sec. 10. “Record” means information that is inscribed on a tangible
medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is
retrievable in perceivable form.
Sec. 11. “Registration” means registration as an athlete’s agent
pursuant to this chapter.
Sec. 12. “State” includes the District of Columbia, the United States
Virgin Islands and any territory or insular possession subject to the
jurisdiction of the United States.
Sec. 13. The provisions of NRS 398.075, 398.085 and 398.095, and
sections 2 to 25, inclusive, of this act may be cited as the Uniform
Athletes’ Agents Act.
Sec. 14. 1. By acting as an athlete’s agent in this state, a
nonresident natural person appoints the secretary of state as his agent
for service of process in any civil action in this state related to his acting
as an athlete’s agent in this state.
2. The secretary of state may issue subpoenas for any material that is
relevant to the administration of the Uniform Athletes’ Agents Act.
Sec. 15. 1. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 2, a person
shall not act as an athlete’s agent in this state without holding a
certificate of registration under section 18 or 20 of this act.
2. Before being issued a certificate of registration, a person may act
as an athlete’s agent in this state for all purposes except signing a
contract of agency if:
(a) A student athlete or another person acting on his behalf initiates
communication with the person so acting; and
(b) Within 7 days after an initial act as an athlete’s agent, the person
so acting submits an application for registration.
3. A contract of agency resulting from conduct in violation of this
section is void and the athlete’s agent shall return any consideration
received under the contract.
Sec. 16. An applicant for registration shall submit an application to
the secretary of state in a form prescribed by him. The application must
be accompanied by the appropriate fee established by the secretary of
state pursuant to section 21 of this act. An application filed pursuant to
this section is a public record. The application must be in the name of a
natural person and, except as otherwise provided in section 17 of this act,
be signed or otherwise authenticated by the applicant under penalty of
perjury and state or contain:
1. The name of the applicant and the address of his principal place
of business;
2. The name of the applicant’s business or employer, if applicable;
3. Any business or occupation engaged in by the applicant for the 5
years next preceding the date of submission of the application;
4. A description of the applicant’s:
(a) Formal training as an athlete’s agent;
(b) Practical experience as an athlete’s agent; and
(c) Educational background relating to his activities as an athlete’s
agent;
5. The names and addresses of three natural persons not related to
the applicant who are willing to serve as references;
6. The name, sport and last known team for each person for whom
the applicant acted as an athlete’s agent during the 5 years next
preceding the date of submission of the application;
7. The names and addresses of all person who are:
(a) With respect to the athlete’s agent’s business if it is not a
corporation, the partners, members, officers, managers, associates or
sharers of profits of the business; and
(b) With respect to a corporation employing the athlete’s agent, the
officers, directors and shareholders having an interest of 5 percent or
more;
8. Whether the applicant or any person named pursuant to
subsection 7 has been convicted of a crime that, if committed in this state,
would be a crime involving moral turpitude or a felony, and identify the
crime;
9. Whether there has been any administrative or judicial
determination that the applicant or any person named pursuant to
subsection 7 has made a false, misleading, deceptive or fraudulent
representation;
10. Any instance in which the conduct of the applicant or any person
named pursuant to subsection 7 resulted in the imposition of a sanction,
suspension or declaration of ineligibility to participate in an
interscholastic or intercollegiate athletic event on a student athlete or an
institution;
11. Any sanction, suspension or disciplinary action taken against the
applicant or any person named pursuant to subsection 7 arising out of
occupational or professional conduct; and
12. Whether there has been any denial of an application for,
suspension or revocation of, or refusal to renew, the registration or
licensure of the applicant or any person named pursuant to subsection 7
as an athlete’s agent in any state.
Sec. 17. A natural person who has submitted an application for, and
holds a certificate of, registration or licensure as an athlete’s agent in
another state may submit a copy of the application and certificate instead
of submitting an application in the form prescribed under section 16 of
this act. The copy of the application and certificate must be accompanied
by the appropriate fee established by the secretary of state pursuant to
section 21 of this act. The secretary of state shall accept the copy of the
application and certificate from the other state as an application for
registration in this state if the application to the other state:
1. Was submitted to the other state within 6 months next preceding
the submission of the application in this state and the applicant certifies
that the information contained in the application is current;
2. Contains information substantially similar to or more
comprehensive than that required in an application submitted in this
state; and
3. Was signed by the applicant under penalty of perjury.
Sec. 18. 1. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 2, the
secretary of state shall issue a certificate of registration to a natural
person who complies with section 16 of this act or whose application has
been accepted under section 17 of this act.
2. The secretary of state may refuse to issue a certificate of
registration if he determines that the applicant has engaged in conduct
that has a significant adverse effect on his fitness to act as an athlete’s
agent. In making this determination, the secretary of state may consider
whether the applicant has:
(a) Been convicted of a crime that, if committed in this state, would be
a crime involving moral turpitude or a felony;
(b) Made a materially false, misleading, deceptive or fraudulent
representation in his application or as an athlete’s agent;
(c) Engaged in conduct that would disqualify him from serving in a
fiduciary capacity;
(d) Engaged in conduct prohibited by section 25 of this act;
(e) Had registration or licensure as an athlete’s agent suspended,
revoked or denied, or been refused renewal of registration or licensure as
an athlete’s agent, in any state;
(f) Engaged in conduct whose consequence was that a sanction,
suspension or declaration of ineligibility to participate in an
interscholastic or intercollegiate athletic event was imposed on a student
athlete or an institution; or
(g) Engaged in conduct that significantly adversely reflects on his
credibility, honesty or integrity.
3. In making a determination pursuant to subsection 2, the secretary
of state shall consider:
(a) How recently the conduct occurred;
(b) The nature of the conduct and the context in which it occurred;
and
(c) Any other relevant conduct of the applicant.
Sec. 19. 1. An athlete’s agent may apply to renew a registration by
submitting an application for renewal in a form prescribed by the
secretary of state. The application must be accompanied by the
appropriate fee established by the secretary of state pursuant to section
21 of this act. An application filed pursuant to this section is a public
record. The application for renewal must be signed by the applicant
under penalty of perjury and must contain current information on all
matters required for an original registration.
2. A natural person who has submitted an application for renewal of
registration or licensure in another state, instead of submitting an
application for renewal in the form prescribed pursuant to subsection 1,
may file a copy of the application and a valid certificate of registration or
licensure from the other state. The copy of the application and certificate
must be accompanied by the appropriate fee established by the secretary
of state pursuant to section 21 of this act. The secretary of state shall
accept the copy of the application and certificate from the other state as
an application for renewal in this state if the application to the other
state:
(a) Was submitted in the other state within 6 months next preceding
the filing in this state and the applicant certifies that the information
contained in the application is current;
(b) Contains information substantially similar to or more
comprehensive than that required in an application for renewal
submitted in this state; and
(c) Was signed by the applicant under penalty of perjury.
3. A certificate of registration or a renewal of registration is valid for
2 years.
Sec. 20. 1. The secretary of state may suspend, revoke or refuse to
renew a registration for conduct that would have justified denial of
registration under subsection 2 of section 18 of this act.
2. The secretary of state may issue a temporary certificate of
registration while an application for registration or renewal of
registration is pending.
Sec. 21. 1. The secretary of state shall adopt regulations
establishing fees for:
(a) An initial application for registration;
(b) An application for registration based upon a certificate of
registration or licensure issued by another state;
(c) An application for renewal of registration; and
(d) An application for renewal of registration based upon an
application for renewal of registration or licensure submitted in another
state.
2. The fees must be sufficient to cover the costs of administration of
the Uniform Athletes’ Agents Act.
Sec. 22. 1. Within 72 hours after entering into a contract of
agency or before the next scheduled athletic event in which the student
athlete may participate, whichever occurs first, the athlete’s agent shall
give notice, in a record, of the existence of the contract to the athletic
director of the institution at which the student athlete is enrolled or the
athlete’s agent has reasonable ground to believe the student athlete
intends to enroll.
2. Within 72 hours after entering into a contract of agency or before
the next scheduled athletic event in which the student athlete may
participate, whichever occurs first, the student athlete shall inform the
athletic director of the institution at which he is enrolled that he has
entered into the contract.
Sec. 23. 1. A student athlete may cancel a contract of agency by
giving notice of the cancellation to the athlete’s agent in a record within
14 days after the contract is signed.
2. A student athlete may not waive the right to cancel a contract of
agency.
3. If a student athlete cancels a contract of agency, he is not required
to pay any consideration under the contract or to return any
consideration received from the athlete’s agent to induce him to enter
into the contract.
Sec. 24. 1. An athlete’s agent shall retain the following records for
5 years:
(a) The name and address of each natural person he represents;
(b) Any contract of agency into which he enters; and
(c) Any direct cost he incurs in recruiting or soliciting a student
athlete to enter into a contract of agency.
2. Records required by this section to be retained are open to
inspection by the secretary of state during normal business hours.
Sec. 24.5. 1. A person, other than an athlete’s agent or student
athlete, who causes a student athlete or an institution to violate a rule of
the national collegiate athletic association to which the institution is a
member, or aids in any such violation, is liable to the institution for
damages as provided in subsection 2 if:
(a) The person knew or reasonably should have known that a rule was
violated or would be violated; or
(b) The violation of the rule is a contributing cause of:
(1) Disciplinary action, including loss of eligibility, taken by the
institution against a student athlete; or
(2) Disciplinary action taken by the national collegiate athletic
association against the institution or a student athlete.
2. Damages that may be awarded against a person who causes a
violation of a rule of a national collegiate athletic association, or aids in
any such violation, include:
(a) Costs incurred by the institution relating to any investigation or
hearing conducted by the national collegiate athletic association
concerning the violation; and
(b) Lost revenues to the institution from:
(1) Lost contracts for televising athletic events;
(2) A decline in ticket sales;
(3) Being prohibited from participating in postseason athletic events
and tournaments; and
(4) Other discernible opportunities through which the institution
would have realized revenue if the rule had not been violated.
3. If an institution prevails in an action brought pursuant to this
section, it is entitled to an award of reasonable attorney’s fees and costs.
Sec. 25. 1. An athlete’s agent shall not, with the intent to induce a
student athlete to enter into any contract:
(a) Give any materially false or misleading information or make a
materially false promise or representation;
(b) Furnish anything of value to the student athlete before the student
athlete enters into the contract; or
(c) Furnish anything of value to a natural person other than the
student athlete or another registered athlete’s agent.
2. An athlete’s agent shall not intentionally:
(a) Initiate communication, direct or indirect, with a student athlete to
recruit or solicit him to enter into a contract of agency, unless the agent
is registered pursuant to this chapter;
(b) Refuse or fail to retain or permit inspection of records required to
be retained pursuant to section 24 of this act;
(c) Fail to register when required pursuant to section 15 of this act;
(d) Include materially false or misleading information in an
application for registration or renewal of registration;
(e) Predate or postdate a contract of agency; or
(f) Fail to notify a student athlete, before he signs or otherwise
authenticates a contract of agency for a particular sport, that the signing
or authentication will make him ineligible to participate as a student
athlete in that sport.
3. An athlete’s agent who violates this section is guilty of a gross
misdemeanor.
4. The secretary of state may impose an administrative fine of not
more than $25,000 upon an athlete’s agent for a violation of the Uniform
Athletes’ Agents Act.
Sec. 26. NRS 398.005 is hereby amended to read as follows:
398.005 As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires,
the words and terms defined in NRS [398.015 to 398.075, inclusive,]
398.045, 398.055 and 398.061 have the meanings ascribed to them in those
sections.
Sec. 27. NRS 398.075 is hereby amended to read as follows:
398.075 “Student athlete” means a [student who is eligible and
competes individually or as a member of a team in intercollegiate athletic
events subject to the rules of the national collegiate athletic association to
which the institution the student athlete is attending is a member.] natural
person who engages in, is eligible to engage in or may be eligible in the
future to engage in any intercollegiate sport. For the purposes of a
particular sport, the term does not include a person who is permanently
ineligible to participate in that sport.
Sec. 28. NRS 398.085 is hereby amended to read as follows:
398.085 1. [A person who causes a student athlete or an institution to
violate a rule of the national collegiate athletic association to which the
institution is a member, or aids in any such violation, is liable to the
institution for damages as provided in subsection 2 if:
(a) The person knew or reasonably should have known that a rule was
violated or would be violated; or
(b) The violation of the rule is a contributing cause of:
(1) Disciplinary action, including loss of eligibility, taken by the
institution against a student athlete; or
(2) Disciplinary action taken by the national collegiate athletic
association against the institution or a student athlete.
2. Damages that may be awarded against a person who causes a
violation of a rule of a national collegiate athletic association, or aids in
any such violation, include lost revenues to the institution from:
(a) Lost contracts for televising athletic events;
(b) A decline in ticket sales;
(c) Being prohibited from participating in postseason athletic events and
tournaments; and
(d) Other discernible opportunities through which the institution would
have realized revenue if the rule had not been violated.
3. It is a defense to a cause of action under the provisions of this
section that, at the time the rule of the national collegiate athletic
association was violated, the defendant was an employee of the:
(a) National collegiate athletic association whose rule was violated; or
(b) Institution maintaining the action,
and was acting within the scope of his employment.
4. If an institution prevails in an action brought pursuant to this
section, it is entitled to an award of reasonable attorney’s fees and costs.]
An institution has a right of action against an athlete’s agent or a former
student athlete for damages caused by a violation of the Uniform
Athletes’ Agents Act. In such an action, the court may award to the
prevailing party costs and reasonable attorney’s fees.
2. Damages of an institution pursuant to subsection 1 include losses
and expenses incurred because, as a result of the conduct of the athlete’s
agent or former student athlete, the educational institution was injured
by a violation of the Uniform Athletes’ Agent Act or was penalized,
disqualified or suspended from participation in athletics by a national
association for the promotion and regulation of athletics, by an athletic
conference or by reasonable self-imposed disciplinary action taken to
mitigate sanctions likely to be imposed by such an organization.
3. A right of action pursuant to this section does not accrue until the
institution discovers or by the exercise of reasonable diligence should
have discovered the violation by the athlete’s agent or former student
athlete.
4. Any liability of an athlete’s agent or former student athlete
pursuant to this section is joint and several.
5. This section does not restrict the rights, remedies or defenses of
any person under other law or in equity.
Sec. 29. NRS 398.095 is hereby amended to read as follows:
398.095 1. A [contractual relationship between a student athlete and
a sports agent must:
(a) Be in writing;
(b) Be] contract of agency must be in a record signed or otherwise
authenticated by the
[student athlete and the sports agent;
(c) Be notarized by a notary public; and
(d) Contain a notice in substantially the following form:
WARNING: A student athlete who signs this agreement may lose
eligibility to compete in intercollegiate athletics.
Nevada law requires that notice of this agreement be sent by
registered or certified mail to the president and athletic director of the
institution the student athlete is attending and the head coach of each
intercollegiate athletic event in which the student athlete competes for
it to be valid and enforceable.
Under Nevada law, a student athlete may rescind this agreement
within 20 days after the date he signs the agreement or the date on
which the president, athletic director and head coach of the institution
the student athlete is attending receives notice of the agreement.
A student athlete who signs this agreement before the last
intercollegiate competition for which he is eligible and competes after
signing the agreement may cause his team to forfeit all games in
which he competes after signing the agreement and may render his
team ineligible for postseason competition.
2. A notarized copy of the writing required by subsection 1 must be
provided to the student athlete at the time he signs it.
3. A sports agent who enters into a contractual relationship with a
student athlete during the student athlete’s period of eligibility shall, not
later than 3 days after entering into the contractual relationship, send notice
of the contractual relationship by registered or certified mail to the
representatives of the institution the student athlete is attending.
4. A student athlete may rescind a contractual relationship he has
entered into with a sports agent by providing the sports agent with written
notice of his rescission not later than 20 days after:
(a) Signing the agreement; or
(b) Notice of the contractual relationship is received by the president,
athletic director and head coach of the institution the student athlete is
attending.
5. A student athlete may not waive his right to rescind a contractual
relationship pursuant to subsection 4.
6. Any consideration received by a student athlete pursuant to a
contractual relationship with a sports agent or to induce the student athlete
to enter into a contractual relationship with a sports agent shall be deemed
a gift to the student athlete if the student athlete rescinds the agreement
pursuant to subsection 4 or if the agreement is void and unenforceable.
7. Any contractual relationship between a student athlete and a sports
agent which does not comply with the provisions of this section is void and
unenforceable.] parties.
2. The contract must state or contain:
(a) The amount of and method of calculating the consideration to be
paid by the student athlete for services to be provided by the athlete’s
agent under the contract and any other consideration the agent has
received or will receive from any other source for entering into the
contract or providing the services;
(b) The name of any person not listed in the agent’s application for
registration or renewal of registration who will be compensated because
the student athlete signed the contract;
(c) A description of any expenses that the student athlete agrees to
reimburse;
(d) A description of the services to be provided to the student athlete;
(e) The duration of the contract; and
(f) The date of execution.
3. The contract must contain, in close proximity to the signature of
the student athlete, a conspicuous notice in boldface capital letters:
WARNING TO STUDENT ATHLETE
IF YOU SIGN THIS CONTRACT:
(1) YOU WILL LOSE YOUR ELIGIBILITY TO COMPETE AS A
STUDENT ATHLETE IN YOUR SPORT;
(2) IF YOU HAVE AN ATHLETIC DIRECTOR, WITHIN 72
HOURS AFTER ENTERING INTO THIS CONTRACT, BOTH YOU
AND YOUR ATHLETE’S AGENT MUST NOTIFY HIM; AND
(3) YOU MAY CANCEL THIS CONTRACT WITHIN 14 DAYS
AFTER SIGNING IT. CANCELLATION OF THIS CONTRACT MAY
NOT REINSTATE YOUR ELIGIBILITY.
4. A contract of agency which does not [comply with the provisions of
this section] contain the required warning is void and unenforceable. The
student athlete need not pay any consideration under it or return any
consideration received from the athlete’s agent to induce him to enter
into it.
5. The athlete’s agent shall give a record of the signed or otherwise
authenticated contract to the student athlete at the time of execution.
Sec. 30. The amendatory provisions of this act do not apply to
offenses committed before October 1, 2001.
Sec. 31. NRS 398.015, 398.025, 398.035, 398.065 and 597.920 are
hereby repealed.
Sec. 32. 1. This section and sections 1 and 21 of this act become
effective upon passage and approval.
2. Sections 2 to 20, inclusive, and 22 to 31, inclusive, of this act
become effective on October 1, 2001.
20~~~~~01