Sec. 2. The following definitions apply throughout this article:

(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.

Terms Used In Indiana Code 25-5.2-1-2

  • Attorney: includes a counselor or other person authorized to appear and represent a party in an action or special proceeding. See Indiana Code 1-1-4-5
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • minor: means a person less than eighteen (18) years of age. See Indiana Code 1-1-4-5
  • Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
  • United States: includes the District of Columbia and the commonwealths, possessions, states in free association with the United States, and the territories. See Indiana Code 1-1-4-5
(2) “Applicant” means an individual who applies for a certificate of registration as an athlete agent under this article.

(3) “Athlete agent” means an individual, whether registered under this article or not, who:

(A) directly or indirectly, recruits or solicits a student athlete to enter into an agency contract for compensation, procures employment, or offers, promises, attempts, or negotiates to obtain employment for a student athlete as a professional athlete or member of a professional sports team or organization;

(B) for compensation or in anticipation of compensation related to a student athlete’s participation in athletics:

(i) serves the athlete in an advisory capacity on a matter related to finances, business pursuits, or career management decisions, unless the individual is an employee of an educational institution acting exclusively as an employee of the institution for the benefit of the institution; or

(ii) manages the business affairs of the athlete by providing assistance with bills, payments, contracts, or taxes; or

(C) in anticipation of representing a student athlete for a purpose related to the athlete’s participation in athletics:

(i) gives consideration to the student athlete or another person;

(ii) serves the athlete in an advisory capacity on a matter related to finances, business pursuits, or career management decisions; or

(iii) manages the business affairs of the athlete by providing assistance with bills, payments, contracts, or taxes.

The term does not include an individual who acts solely on behalf of a professional sports team or organization, or is a licensed, registered, or certified professional and offers or provides services to a student athlete customarily provided by members of the profession unless the individual also recruits or solicits the athlete to enter into an agency contract, procures employment, or offers, promises, attempts, or negotiates to obtain employment for the athlete, for compensation, as a professional athlete or member of a professional sports team or organization, or receives consideration for providing the services calculated using a different method than for an individual who is not a student athlete.

(4) “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.

(5) “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.

(6) “Educational institution” includes a public or private elementary school, secondary school, technical or vocational school, community college, college, and university.

(7) “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.

(8) “Enrolled” means registered for courses and attending athletic practice or class.

(9) “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.

(10) “Interscholastic sport” means a sport played between educational institutions that are not community colleges, colleges, or universities.

(11) “Licensed, registered, or certified professional” means an individual licensed, registered, or certified as:

(A) an attorney;

(B) a dealer in securities;

(C) a financial planner;

(D) an insurance agent;

(E) a real estate broker or sales agent;

(F) a tax consultant or accountant; or

(G) a member of a profession other than that of athlete agent who is licensed, registered, or certified by the state or a nationally recognized organization that licenses, registers, or certifies members of the professional on the basis of experience, education, or testing.

(12) “Person” means an individual, a corporation, a business trust, an estate, a trust, a partnership, a limited liability company, an association, a joint venture, a government, a governmental subdivision, an agency, or an instrumentality, a public corporation, or any other legal or commercial entity.

(13) “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.

(14) “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.

(15) “Recruit or solicit” means to attempt to influence the choice of an athlete agent by a student athlete or, if the athlete is a minor, a parent or guardian of the athlete. The term does not include giving advice about the selection of a particular agent in a family, coaching, or social situation unless the individual giving the advice does so because of the receipt or anticipated receipt of an economic benefit, directly or indirectly, from the agent.

(16) “Registration” means registration as an athlete agent under this article.

(17) “Sign” means, with present intent to authenticate or adopt a record:

(A) to execute or adopt a tangible symbol; or

(B) to attach to or logically associate with the record an electronic symbol, sound, or process.

(18) “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.

(19) “Student athlete” means an individual who engages in, is eligible to engage in, or may be eligible in the future to engage in any interscholastic sport or intercollegiate sport. If an individual is permanently ineligible to participate in a particular interscholastic sport or intercollegiate sport, the individual is not a student athlete for purposes of that sport.

As added by P.L.54-2001, SEC.5. Amended by P.L.1-2003, SEC.74; P.L.95-2019, SEC.2.