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S.B. 60 Enrolled
This act enacts the Uniform Athlete Agents Act. The act defines terms. The act requires
registration of athlete agents and describes the form of the application for registration. The
act creates requirements for agency contracts including warnings to student athletes. The
act requires a student-athlete to notify the educational institution where the student is
enrolled within 72 hours of signing an agency contract. The act allows a student-athlete to
cancel an agency contract within 14 days after it is signed. The act requires an athlete agent
to retain records. The act prohibits an athlete agent from engaging in certain conduct. The
act provides criminal, civil, and administrative penalties.
This act affects sections of Utah Code Annotated 1953 as follows:
ENACTS:
15-9-101, Utah Code Annotated 1953
15-9-102, Utah Code Annotated 1953
15-9-103, Utah Code Annotated 1953
15-9-104, Utah Code Annotated 1953
15-9-105, Utah Code Annotated 1953
15-9-106, Utah Code Annotated 1953
15-9-107, Utah Code Annotated 1953
15-9-108, Utah Code Annotated 1953
15-9-109, Utah Code Annotated 1953
15-9-110, Utah Code Annotated 1953
15-9-111, Utah Code Annotated 1953
15-9-112, Utah Code Annotated 1953
15-9-113, Utah Code Annotated 1953
15-9-114, Utah Code Annotated 1953
15-9-115, Utah Code Annotated 1953
15-9-116, Utah Code Annotated 1953
15-9-117, Utah Code Annotated 1953
15-9-118, Utah Code Annotated 1953
15-9-119, Utah Code Annotated 1953
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section 15-9-101 is enacted to read:
15-9-101. Title.
This chapter is known as the "Uniform Athlete Agents Act."
Section 2. Section 15-9-102 is enacted to read:
15-9-102. Definitions.
As used in this chapter:
(1) "Agency contract" means an agreement in which a student-athlete authorizes a person
to negotiate or solicit on behalf of the student-athlete a professional-sports-services contract or an
endorsement contract.
(2) "Athlete agent" means an individual who enters into an agency contract with a
student-athlete or, directly or indirectly, recruits or solicits a student-athlete to enter into an agency
contract. The term includes an individual who represents to the public that the individual is an
athlete agent. The term does not include a spouse, parent, sibling, or grandparent of the
student-athlete or an individual acting solely on behalf of a professional sports team or professional
sports organization.
(3) "Athletic director" means an individual responsible for administering the overall athletic
program of an educational institution or, if an educational institution has separately administered
athletic programs for male students and female students, the athletic program for males or the athletic
program for females, as appropriate.
(4) "Contact" means a communication, direct or indirect, between an athlete agent and a
student-athlete, to recruit or solicit the student-athlete to enter into an agency contract.
(5) "Division" means the Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing created in
Section 58-1-103 .
(6) "Endorsement contract" means an agreement under which a student-athlete is employed
or receives consideration to use 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.
(7) "Intercollegiate sport" means a sport played at the collegiate level for which eligibility
requirements for participation by a student-athlete are established by a national association for the
promotion or regulation of collegiate athletics.
(8) "Person" means an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership,
limited liability company, association, joint venture, government, governmental subdivision, agency,
or instrumentality, public corporation, or any other legal or commercial entity.
(9) "Professional-sports-services contract" means an agreement under which an individual
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.
(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.
(11) "Registration" means registration as an athlete agent pursuant to this chapter.
(12) "State" means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the
United States Virgin Islands, or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the
United States.
(13) "Student-athlete" means an individual who engages in, is eligible to engage in, or may
be eligible in the future to engage in, any intercollegiate sport. If an individual is permanently
ineligible to participate in a particular intercollegiate sport, the individual is not a student-athlete for
purposes of that sport.
Section 3. Section 15-9-103 is enacted to read:
15-9-103. Administration -- Rulemaking -- Service of process -- Athlete Agents
Licensing Board.
(1) (a) This chapter shall be administered by the Division of Occupational and Professional
Licensing and is subject to the requirements of Title 58, Chapter 1, Division of Occupational and
Professional Licensing Act, so long as the requirements of Title 58, Chapter 1, are not inconsistent
with the requirements of this chapter.
(b) In accordance with Title 63, Chapter 46a, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act, the
division may make rules necessary to implement the provisions of this chapter.
(2) By acting as an athlete agent in this state, a nonresident individual appoints the director
of the division as the individual's agent for service of process in any civil action in this state related
to the individual's acting as an athlete agent in this state.
(3) (a) There is created the Athlete Agents Licensing Board consisting of four athlete agents
and one member of the general public.
(b) The Athlete Agents Licensing Board shall be appointed and serve in accordance with
Section 58-1-201 .
(c) The duties and responsibilities of the Athlete Agents Licensing Board are in accordance
with Sections 58-1-202 and 58-1-203 .
(d) In addition, the Athlete Agents Licensing Board shall designate one of its members on
a permanent or rotating basis to:
(i) assist the division in reviewing complaints concerning the unlawful or unprofessional
conduct of a licensee; and
(ii) advise the division in its investigation of these complaints.
(e) A member of the Athlete Agents Licensing Board who has, under Subsection (3)(d),
reviewed a complaint or advised in its investigation may be disqualified from participating with the
board when the board serves as a presiding officer in an adjudicative proceeding concerning the
complaint.
Section 4. Section 15-9-104 is enacted to read:
15-9-104. Athlete agents -- Registration required -- Void contracts.
(1) Except as otherwise provided in Subsection (2), an individual may not act as an athlete
agent in this state without holding a certificate of registration under Section 15-9-106 or 15-9-108 .
(2) Before being issued a certificate of registration, an individual may act as an athlete agent
in this state for all purposes except signing an agency contract, if:
(a) a student-athlete or another person acting on behalf of the student-athlete initiates
communication with the individual; and
(b) within seven days after an initial act as an athlete agent, the individual submits an
application for registration as an athlete agent in this state.
(3) An agency contract resulting from conduct in violation of this section is void and the
athlete agent shall return any consideration received under the contract.
Section 5. Section 15-9-105 is enacted to read:
15-9-105. Registration as an athlete agent -- Form -- Requirements.
(1) An applicant for registration shall submit an application for registration to the division
in a form prescribed by the division. An application filed under this section is a public record under
Title 63, Chapter 2, Government Records Access and Management Act. The application must be
in the name of an individual and, except as otherwise provided in Subsection (2), signed or otherwise
authenticated by the applicant under penalty of perjury and state or contain:
(a) the name of the applicant and the address of the applicant's principal place of business;
(b) the name of the applicant's business or employer, if applicable;
(c) any business or occupation engaged in by the applicant for the five years immediately
preceding the date of submission of the application;
(d) a description of the applicant's:
(i) formal training as an athlete agent;
(ii) practical experience as an athlete agent; and
(iii) educational background relating to the applicant's activities as an athlete agent;
(e) the names and addresses of three individuals not related to the applicant who are willing
to serve as references;
(f) the name, sport, and last-known team for each individual for whom the applicant acted
as an athlete agent during the five years next preceding the date of submission of the application;
(g) the names and addresses of all persons who are:
(i) with respect to the athlete agent's business if it is not a corporation, the partners,
members, officers, managers, associates, or profit-sharers of the business; and
(ii) with respect to a corporation employing the athlete agent, the officers, directors, and any
shareholder of the corporation having an interest of 5% or greater;
(h) whether the applicant or any person named pursuant to Subsection (1)(g) 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;
(i) whether there has been any administrative or judicial determination that the applicant or
any person named pursuant to Subsection (1)(g) has made a false, misleading, deceptive, or
fraudulent representation;
(j) any instance in which the conduct of the applicant or any person named pursuant to
Subsection (1)(g) 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 educational
institution;
(k) any sanction, suspension, or disciplinary action taken against the applicant or any person
named pursuant to Subsection (1)(g) arising out of occupational or professional conduct; and
(l) 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 (1)(g) as an athlete agent in any state.
(2) An individual who has submitted an application for, and holds a certificate of,
registration or licensure as an athlete agent in another state, may submit a copy of the application and
certificate in lieu of submitting an application in the form prescribed pursuant to Subsection (1). The
division shall accept the application and the certificate from the other state as an application for
registration in this state if the application to the other state:
(a) was submitted in the other state within six months immediately preceding the submission
of the application 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 submitted in this state; and
(c) was signed by the applicant under penalty of perjury.
Section 6. Section 15-9-106 is enacted to read:
15-9-106. Certificate of registration -- Issuance or denial -- Renewal.
(1) Except as otherwise provided in Subsection (2), the division shall issue a certificate of
registration to an individual who complies with Subsection 15-9-105 (1) or whose application has
been accepted under Subsection 15-9-105 (2).
(2) The division may refuse to issue a certificate of registration if the division determines
that the applicant has engaged in conduct that has a significant adverse effect on the applicant's
fitness to act as an athlete agent. In making the determination, the division 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 the
application or as an athlete agent;
(c) engaged in conduct that would disqualify the applicant from serving in a fiduciary
capacity;
(d) engaged in conduct prohibited by Section 15-9-114 ;
(e) had a registration or licensure as an athlete agent suspended, revoked, or denied or been
refused renewal of registration or licensure as an athlete agent in any state;
(f) engaged in conduct the consequence of which 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 educational institution; or
(g) engaged in conduct that significantly, adversely reflects on the applicant's credibility,
honesty, or integrity.
(3) In making a determination under Subsection (2), the division 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.
(4) An athlete agent may apply to renew a registration by submitting an application for
renewal in a form prescribed by the division. An application filed under this section is a public
record under Title 63, Chapter 2, Government Records Access and Management Act. The
application for renewal must be signed by the applicant under penalty of perjury and must contain
current information on all matters required in an original registration.
(5) An individual who has submitted an application for renewal of registration or licensure
in another state, in lieu of submitting an application for renewal in the form prescribed pursuant to
Subsection (4), may file a copy of the application for renewal and a valid certificate of registration
or licensure from the other state. The division shall accept the application for renewal 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 six months immediately preceding the filing in
this state and the applicant certifies the information contained in the application for renewal 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.
(6) A certificate of registration or a renewal of a registration is valid for two years.
Section 7. Section 15-9-107 is enacted to read:
15-9-107. Suspension, revocation, or refusal to renew registration.
(1) The division may suspend, revoke, or refuse to renew a registration for conduct that
would have justified denial of registration under Subsection 15-9-106 (2).
(2) The division may suspend, revoke, or refuse to renew a certificate of registration or
licensure only after proper notice and an opportunity for a hearing. Title 63, Chapter 46b,
Administrative Procedures Act, applies to this chapter.
Section 8. Section 15-9-108 is enacted to read:
15-9-108. Temporary registration.
The division may issue a temporary certificate of registration while an application for
registration or renewal of registration is pending.
Section 9. Section 15-9-109 is enacted to read:
15-9-109. Registration and renewal fees.
(1) An application for registration or renewal of registration must be accompanied by a fee
in an amount determined by the division in accordance with Section 63-38-3.2 .
(2) The division shall establish 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.
Section 10. Section 15-9-110 is enacted to read:
15-9-110. Required form of contract.
(1) An agency contract must be in a record, signed or otherwise authenticated by the parties.
(2) An agency contract must state or contain:
(a) the amount and method of calculating the consideration to be paid by the student-athlete
for services to be provided by the athlete agent under the contract and any other consideration the
athlete agent has received or will receive from any other source for entering into the contract or for
providing the services;
(b) the name of any person not listed in the application for registration or renewal of
registration who will be compensated because the student-athlete signed the agency 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) An agency contract must contain, in close proximity to the signature of the
student-athlete, a conspicuous notice in boldface type in capital letters stating:
WARNING TO STUDENT-ATHLETE
IF YOU SIGN THIS CONTRACT:
(1) YOU MAY 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 AGENT MUST
NOTIFY YOUR ATHLETIC DIRECTOR; AND
(3) YOU MAY CANCEL THIS CONTRACT WITHIN 14 DAYS AFTER SIGNING IT.
CANCELLATION OF THIS CONTRACT MAY NOT REINSTATE YOUR ELIGIBILITY.
(4) An agency contract that does not conform to this section is voidable by the
student-athlete. If a student-athlete voids an agency contract, the student-athlete is not required to
pay any consideration under the contract or to return any consideration received from the athlete
agent to induce the student-athlete to enter into the contract.
(5) The athlete agent shall give a record of the signed or otherwise authenticated agency
contract to the student-athlete at the time of execution.
Section 11. Section 15-9-111 is enacted to read:
15-9-111. Notice to educational institution.
(1) Within 72 hours after entering into an agency contract or before the next scheduled
athletic event in which the student-athlete may participate, whichever occurs first, the athlete agent
shall give notice in a record of the existence of the contract to the athletic director of the educational
institution at which the student-athlete is enrolled or the athlete agent has reasonable grounds to
believe the student-athlete intends to enroll.
(2) Within 72 hours after entering into an agency contract or before the next athletic event
in which the student-athlete may participate, whichever occurs first, the student-athlete shall inform
the athletic director of the educational institution at which the student-athlete is enrolled that he or
she has entered into an agency contract.
Section 12. Section 15-9-112 is enacted to read:
15-9-112. Student-athlete's right to cancel.
(1) A student-athlete may cancel an agency contract by giving notice of the cancellation to
the athlete agent in a record within 14 days after the contract is signed.
(2) A student-athlete may not waive the right to cancel an agency contract.
(3) If a student-athlete cancels an agency contract, the student-athlete is not required to pay
any consideration under the contract or to return any consideration received from the athlete agent
to induce the student-athlete to enter into the contract.
Section 13. Section 15-9-113 is enacted to read:
15-9-113. Required records.
(1) An athlete agent shall retain the following records for a period of five years:
(a) the name and address of each individual represented by the athlete agent;
(b) any agency contract entered into by the athlete agent; and
(c) any direct costs incurred by the athlete agent in the recruitment or solicitation of a
student-athlete to enter into an agency contract.
(2) Records required by Subsection (1) to be retained are open to inspection by the division
during normal business hours.
Section 14. Section 15-9-114 is enacted to read:
15-9-114. Prohibited conduct.
(1) An athlete agent, with the intent to induce a student-athlete to enter into an agency
contract, may not:
(a) give any materially false or misleading information or make a materially false promise
or representation;
(b) furnish anything of value to a student-athlete before the student-athlete enters into the
agency contract; or
(c) furnish anything of value to any individual other than the student-athlete or another
registered athlete agent.
(2) An athlete agent may not intentionally:
(a) initiate contact with a student-athlete unless registered under this chapter;
(b) refuse or fail to retain or permit inspection of the records required to be retained by
Section 15-9-113 ;
(c) fail to register when required by Section 15-9-104 ;
(d) provide materially false or misleading information in an application for registration or
renewal of registration;
(e) predate or postdate an agency contract; or
(f) fail to notify a student-athlete before the student-athlete signs or otherwise authenticates
an agency contract for a particular sport that the signing or authentication may make the
student-athlete ineligible to participate as a student-athlete in that sport.
Section 15. Section 15-9-115 is enacted to read:
15-9-115. Criminal penalties.
An athlete agent who violates Section 15-9-114 is guilty of a class A misdemeanor.
Section 16. Section 15-9-116 is enacted to read:
15-9-116. Civil remedies.
(1) An educational institution has a right of action against an athlete agent or a former
student-athlete for damages caused by a violation of this chapter. In an action under this section, the
court may award to the prevailing party costs and reasonable attorney's fees.
(2) Damages of an educational institution under Subsection (1) include losses and expenses
incurred because, as a result of the conduct of an athlete agent or former student-athlete, the
educational institution was injured by a violation of this chapter 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 under this section does not accrue until the educational institution
discovers or by the exercise of reasonable diligence would have discovered the violation by the
athlete agent or former student-athlete.
(4) Any liability of the athlete agent or the former student-athlete under this section is several
and not joint.
(5) This chapter does not restrict rights, remedies, or defenses of any person under law or
equity.
Section 17. Section 15-9-117 is enacted to read:
15-9-117. Civil and administrative penalty.
(1) The division may assess a civil penalty against an athlete agent not to exceed $25,000
for a violation of this chapter.
(2) An administrative penalty collected under Subsection (1) shall be deposited into the
Commerce Service Fund created in Section 13-1-2 .
Section 18. Section 15-9-118 is enacted to read:
15-9-118. Uniformity of application and construction.
In applying and construing this uniform act, consideration must be given to the need to
promote uniformity of the law with respect to its subject matter among states that enact it.
Section 19. Section 15-9-119 is enacted to read:
15-9-119. Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act.
The provisions of this chapter governing the legal effect, validity, or enforceability of
electronic records or signatures, and of contracts formed or performed with the use of such records
or signatures conform to the requirements of Section 102 of the Electronic Signatures in Global and
National Commerce Act, Pub. L. No. 106-229, 114 Stat. 464 (2000), and supersede, modify, and
limit the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act.
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