Ohio Code 4771.12 – Fees of agent
(A) Fees charged by an athlete agent for services provided to an athlete may be negotiated between the parties.
Terms Used In Ohio Code 4771.12
- Athlete: means either of the following:
(1) A student enrolled in any educational institution or institution of higher education in this state, who participates, or is or may become eligible to participate, in any athletic sporting event, contest, exhibition, or program at the educational institution or institution of higher education;
(2) A student who meets one of the following criteria:
(a) Resides in this state, is eligible to participate in an amateur athletic program, and has informed an educational institution or institution of higher education, in writing, of the student's intent to participate in that institution's amateur athletic program;
(b) Does not reside in this state but is eligible to participate in an amateur athletic program and has informed, in writing, an educational institution or institution of higher education in this state of the student's intent to participate in that institution's amateur athletic program. See Ohio Code 4771.01
- Athlete agent: means any person who directly or indirectly recruits or solicits any athlete to enter into an agent contract or professional sports services contract, or who for a fee procures, offers, promises, or attempts to obtain employment for an athlete with a professional sports team, or as a professional athlete, or otherwise attempts to market an athlete or an athlete's reputation. See Ohio Code 4771.01
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Person: includes an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, and association. See Ohio Code 1.59
- state: means the state of Ohio. See Ohio Code 1.59
- Trust account: A general term that covers all types of accounts in a trust department, such as estates, guardianships, and agencies. Source: OCC
(B)(1) Except as provided in division (B)(2) of this section, an athlete agent shall establish an interest-bearing trust fund or similar account in a depository approved by the Ohio athletic commission to be used for the deposit of all revenues received on behalf of an athlete. An athlete agent shall deposit any revenue received on behalf of an athlete in the interest-bearing trust fund or account. The athlete agent shall notify the commission of the address and location of the trust fund or account and the depository in which it is located.
(2) An athlete agent who is an attorney licensed to practice law in this state may deposit any revenue received on behalf of an athlete in a trust account already maintained by the agent attorney in a financial institution in this state for the deposit of revenue received on behalf of clients.
(C) No athlete agent shall share fees with any person other than an employee of the athlete agent. If an athlete agent shares a fee with an employee, the athlete agent shall obtain written consent from the athlete prior to entering a fee agreement with the athlete. No athlete agent shall enter fee agreements that are prohibited under this chapter.
(D) If an athlete agent collects a fee or expense from an athlete as consideration for obtaining employment for the athlete, and the athlete agent fails to procure such employment, the agent shall retain only the following portion of the fee or expense:
(1) The cost of reasonable expenses incurred by the athlete agent during the course of representing the athlete in efforts to obtain employment for the athlete;
(2) A negotiated fee in connection with instances where the athlete receives a bonus or some compensation for signing a professional sports services contract.
(E) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the authority of the Ohio supreme court to establish or regulate fees for activities considered to be the practice of law.