The legendary Charles C. "Cash and Carry" Pyle, considered by most to be the first sports agent, negotiated a $3,000-per-game contract for Red Grange to play professional football for the Chicago Bears in 1933. Today, salaries in the tens of millions of dollars are commonplace, and instead of theatrical promoters and impresarios, professionally trained businessmen and lawyers dominate the business. But whereas rules and penalties govern the playing field, there are far fewer restrictions on agents. Incidents of agents' manipulating athletes, ranging from investment scams to outright theft of a player's money, are far too frequent, and there is growing consensus for reform In The Business of Sports Agents , Kenneth L. Shropshire and Timothy Davis, experts in the fields of sports business and law, examine the history of the sports agent business and the rules and laws developed to regulate the profession. They also consider recommendations for reform, including uniform laws that would apply to all agents, redefining amateurism in college sports, and stiffening requirements for licensing agents. This revised and expanded second edition brings the volume up-to-date on recent changes in the industry, including: - the closing of one of the largest agencies - high-profile personnel moves - passage of the federal Sports Agent Responsibility and Trust Act - the National Football League's aggressive and high-profile efforts to regulate agents "A timely look at the business, legal and ethical aspects of the athlete representation business. The authors spotlight the unsavory side of the business, from improper payments to student athletes to agents defrauding their pro clients. They offer a series of possible cures, including tougher regulation of agents and changing the way we think of amateurism."— Street and Smith's SportsBusiness Journal " The Business of Sports Agents is highly recommended for anyone looking to get into the industry."— The Midwest Book Review Kenneth L. Shropshire is David Hauck Professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and Director of the Wharton Sports Business Initiative. He is author of Agents of Opportunity: Sports Agents and Corruption in Collegiate Sports, also published by the University of Pennsylvania Press. Timothy Davis is the John W. and Ruth H. Turnage Professor of Law at Wake Forest University School of Law. He is coauthor of Sports and the Law: A Modern Anthology. Preface to the Second Edition The Business of Sports Agents seriously examines one of the most intriguing professions to develop as sport has become big business entertainment. The sports agent industry has been glamorized by motion picture, television, and journalistic accounts. Who would not want to be the businessperson behind the all-star athlete? This text is focused on the business and legal aspects that impact sports agents. This book is the third iteration of a work originally published by one of the current authors, Kenneth Shropshire, in 1990. In the decade and a half that has passed since the publication of that work, Agents of Opportunity: Sports Agents and Corruption in Collegiate Sports , much has occurred. This third work reflects that evolution. The first three chapters of this book describe what is currently taking place in the sports agent industry. Chapters 1 and 2 examine the history of the sports agent industry, its legal foundations, and what it is that agents do. Chapter 3 considers the status of consolidation occurring among firms in the industry. Chapter 4 begins the book's examination of the problems affecting the sports agent. Focusing on client recruitment, Chapters 5 through 8 examine criminal, ethical, and agent qualification issues. There, particularly in the ethical discussion, many questions yet to be answered by the courts are raised. Chapter 9 looks at long-standing amateurism principles and how they contribute to many of the unethical activities of agents and student athletes. Chapter 10, "Knights of Columbus Rules? Private Sports Agent Regulations," sets forth agent regulations that have been put in place by private organizations such as the National Football League (NFL). Chapter 11, "The Laws," presents an overview of state laws aimed at regulating agents. This chapter also explores legal actions that may be asserted against agents without the aid of these statutes. Chapter 12 addresses the uniform law that regulates agents. The final chapter evaluates where we currently stand and where the industry is headed. Many of the relevant statutes may be found at www.NCAA.org and elsewhere on the Internet. That site and others have the capability of regular updates that are truly valuable in this field. It should be noted that the book focuses largely, although not exclusively, on United States-based team sports. This is not intended to suggest that the athlete agent industry does not have international dimensions; it certainly does. With the emphasis on U.S. t