The last time EN’s legal correspondent, law student Kate Shearer, wrote for Eventing Nation, her post was met with a healthy amount of criticism by the comment army of EN. Kate wrote a piece about malpractice that came across as too friendly to lawyers, and that was my mistake for not seeing how the post would be received. The negative reaction was a welcome response to present the other side of the issue, which the article should have done in the first place. Since I think it is important for equine legal issues to be discussed, I asked Kate to write a ‘let’s discuss’ post raising the question of sports agents in eventing. Thanks for writing this Kate and thank you for reading.
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From Kate:
Sports Agent: n. A person who procures and negotiates employment and endorsement contracts for a player
While the majority of us might not like sports agents because of all the movies and news stories that we have watched where they are money hungry bullies, maybe a sports agent or an equivalent of one could help some riders overcome important hurdles like contracts, sponsorship, or just plain making a living. By no means am I trying to say that riders can’t do it successfully themselves, but perhaps there might be a niche out there for an “equine” sports agent.
The idea of sponsorship for riders is what provides the economic support to continue to compete at the upper most levels. Maybe a sports agent could help them get that extra inch, or maybe they would just slow the process down. I do not have any experience at the level or sponsorship, but my question is, could it hurt? The Henny and Sam situations have taught us the dangers of not having contracts properly sorted out in advance. Why not talk to someone, and see if they might have some ideas to better enhance your career. If nothing else, you are out an hour of your time.
And before anyone jumps on me saying that lawyers are greedy and just out to screw people over, while true for some, this is not the case in sports agencies–the majority of sports agents are NOT lawyers. There is a different regulation for each state, ranging from just a $20 fee in Arizona plus a little paperwork to a $200 fee in Alabama. I’m sure most people remember the time that “Master P” decided to become an agent, and still to this day is most notorious for signing Ricky Williams to the worst contract in NFL history.
I just thought that it would be a good idea to bring to the forefront of our discussions the idea of sports agency in the equestrian community. Maybe instead of floundering around unsure of how to approach a sponsor, there could be someone out there willing to do it for you. It could be worth looking into. What is your opinion EN?
