Test Drive Our New Site! We have some improvements in the works that we're excited for you to experience. Click here to try our new, faster, mobile friendly beta site. We will be maintaining our current version of the site thru the end of 2024, so you can switch back as our improvements continue.
Legislation Quick Search
06/30/2024 11:18 PM
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?SPick=20210&chamber=H&cosponId=37355
Share:
Home / House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

Subscribe to PaLegis Notifications
NEW!

Subscribe to receive notifications of new Co-Sponsorship Memos circulated

By Member | By Date | Keyword Search


House of Representatives
Session of 2021 - 2022 Regular Session

MEMORANDUM

Posted: May 19, 2022 04:23 PM
From: Representative Jesse Topper
To: All House members
Subject: Uniform Athlete Agent legislation
 
In 2015 and 2019, the Uniform Law Commission (“ULC”) updated the Uniform Athlete Agents Act (“UAAA”).  Current law in Pennsylvania reflects the 2000 version of the Uniform Athlete Agents Act [see 5 Pa.C.S. Chs. 31 and 33].  With the U.S. Supreme Court decision in National Collegiate Athletic Association v Alston, it is time for Pennsylvania to adopt the updated Uniform Athlete Agents Act to ensure our law best reflects the current post-Alston decision landscape.  In Alston, the Supreme Court upheld a district court ruling that the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s rules limiting education-related compensation violated section 1 of the Sherman Act.

There is an immense amount of money at stake for a wide variety of professional athletes and those who represent them post-Alston. While seeking to best position one’s clients and maximize potential income is both legal and good business practice, the recruitment of a student athlete while he or she is still enrolled in an educational institution can cause substantial eligibility problems for both the student athlete and the educational institution, which in turn leads to severe economic sanctions and loss of scholarships for the institution. The problem becomes worse where an unethical agent misleads a student, especially where the athlete is not aware of the possible effects of signing the agency agreement or where an agency is established without notice to the athletic director of the institution. In an effort to address these problems, the ULC drafted the UAAA, which was approved in 2000.

The UAAA provided for the uniform registration and certification of individuals who sought to represent student athletes who were or may have been eligible to participate in intercollegiate sports. Agents who were issued a valid certificate of registration in one state were able to cross-file that application (or a renewal thereof) in all other states that adopted the act. Individuals who applied for registration as agents were required to disclose relevant information including their training, experience, and education, and whether they or an associate had been convicted of a felony or crime of moral turpitude or had their agent’s license denied, suspended, or revoked in any state.

ULC revised the UAAA in 2015 and 2019 to align more closely with NCAA changes to their bylaws and reflected a pre-Alston decision.  After the decision, the ULC made some revisions to their 2019 recommendations to account for the Alston decision and it is that version of the Athlete Agents Act that will be introduced.

Attached is a draft of the proposed legislation.  I have worked with the Department of State, who oversees the Athlete Agents Act, and the ULC to ensure we have the best version of this legislation. 

Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions.
 
 

View Attachment


Introduced as HB2633