[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4701 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4701

 To designate certain conduct by sports agents relating to the signing 
  of contracts with student athletes as unfair and deceptive acts or 
       practices to be regulated by the Federal Trade Commission.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 9, 2002

   Mr. Gordon (for himself, Mr. Osborne, Mr. Dingell, Mr. Towns, Mr. 
  Stearns, Mr. John, and Mr. Clement) introduced the following bill; 
       which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To designate certain conduct by sports agents relating to the signing 
  of contracts with student athletes as unfair and deceptive acts or 
       practices to be regulated by the Federal Trade Commission.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Sports Agent Responsibility and 
Trust Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    As used in this Act--
            (1) the term ``Commission'' means the Federal Trade 
        Commission;
            (2) the term ``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 
        a contract, and does not include a spouse, parent, sibling, 
        grandparent, or guardian of such student athlete, or an 
        individual acting solely on behalf of a professional sports 
        team or professional sports organization;
            (3) the term ``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;
            (4) the term ``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 college 
        athletics;
            (5) the term ``athletic director'' means an individual 
        responsible for administering the athletic program of an 
        educational institution or, in the case that such program is 
        administered separately, the athletic program for male students 
        or the athletic program for female students, as appropriate;
            (6) the term ``agency contract'' means an agreement in 
        which a student athlete authorizes an agent to negotiate or 
        solicit on behalf of the student athlete a professional sports 
        contract or an endorsement contract;
            (7) the term ``endorsement contract'' means an agreement 
        under which an individual is employed or receives consideration 
        for the use by the other party of that individual's person, 
        name, image, or likeness in the promotion of any product, 
        service, or event;
            (8) the term ``professional sports 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; and
            (9) the term ``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.

SEC. 3. REGULATION OF UNFAIR AND DECEPTIVE ACTS AND PRACTICES IN 
              CONNECTION WITH THE CONTACT BETWEEN A SPORTS AGENT AND A 
              STUDENT ATHLETE.

    (a) Conduct Prohibited.--It is unlawful for an agent to--
            (1) directly or indirectly recruit or solicit a student 
        athlete to enter into an agency contract, by--
                    (A) giving any false or misleading information or 
                making a false promise or representation; or
                    (B) providing anything of value to a student 
                athlete before the student athlete enters into an 
                agency contract;
            (2) enter into an agency contract with a student athlete 
        without providing the student athlete with the disclosure 
        document described in subsection (b); or
            (3) predate or postdate an agency contract.
    (b) Required Disclosure by Agents to Student Athletes.--
            (1) In general.-- In conjunction with the signing of an 
        agency contract, an agent shall provide to the student athlete 
        a disclosure document that meets the requirements of this 
        subsection. Such disclosure document is separate from and in 
        addition to any disclosure which may be required under State 
        law.
            (2) Signature of student athlete.--The disclosure document 
        must be signed by the student athlete prior to the signing of 
        the agency contract.
            (3) Required language.--The disclosure document 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 YOU MAY LOSE YOUR ELIGIBILITY TO COMPETE AS A STUDENT 
        ATHLETE IN YOUR SPORT.''.

SEC. 4. ENFORCEMENT.

    (a) Unfair or Deceptive Act or Practice.--A violation of this Act 
shall be treated as a violation of a rule defining an unfair or 
deceptive act or practice prescribed under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the 
Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)).
    (b) Actions by the Commission.--The Commission shall enforce this 
Act in the same manner, by the same means, and with the same 
jurisdiction, powers, and duties as though all applicable terms and 
provisions of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.) 
were incorporated into and made a part of this Act.

SEC. 5. ACTIONS BY STATES.

    (a) In General.--
            (1) Civil actions.--In any case in which the attorney 
        general of a State has reason to believe that an interest of 
        the residents of that State has been or is threatened or 
        adversely affected by the engagement of any person in a 
        practice that violates section 3 of this Act, the State may 
        bring a civil action on behalf of the residents of the State in 
        a district court of the United States of appropriate 
        jurisdiction to--
                    (A) enjoin that practice;
                    (B) enforce compliance with this Act;
                    (C) obtain damage, restitution, or other 
                compensation on behalf of residents of the State; or
                    (D) obtain such other relief as the court may 
                consider to be appropriate.
            (2) Notice.--
                    (A) In general.--Before filing an action under 
                paragraph (1), the attorney general of the State 
                involved shall provide to the Commission--
                            (i) written notice of that action; and
                            (ii) a copy of the complaint for that 
                        action.
                    (B) Exemption.--Subparagraph (A) shall not apply 
                with respect to the filing of an action by an attorney 
                general of a State under this subsection, if the 
                attorney general determines that it is not feasible to 
                provide the notice described in that subparagraph 
                before filing of the action. In such case, the attorney 
                general of a State shall provide notice and a copy of 
                the complaint to the Commission at the same time as the 
                attorney general files the action.
    (b) Intervention.--
            (1) In general.--On receiving notice under subsection 
        (a)(2), the Commission shall have the right to intervene in the 
        action that is the subject of the notice.
            (2) Effect of intervention.--If the Commission intervenes 
        in an action under subsection (a), it shall have the right--
                    (A) to be heard with respect to any matter that 
                arises in that action; and
                    (B) to file a petition for appeal.
    (c) Construction.--For purposes of bringing any civil action under 
subsection (a), nothing in this title shall be construed to prevent an 
attorney general of a State from exercising the powers conferred on the 
attorney general by the laws of that State to--
            (1) conduct investigations;
            (2) administer oaths or affirmations; or
            (3) compel the attendance of witnesses or the production of 
        documentary and other evidence.
    (d) Actions by the Commission.--In any case in which an action is 
instituted by or on behalf of the Commission for a violation of section 
3, no State may, during the pendency of that action, institute an 
action under subsection (a) against any defendant named in the 
complaint in that action--
    (e) Venue.--Any action brought under subsection (a) may be brought 
in the district court of the United States that meets applicable 
requirements relating to venue under section 1391 of title 28, United 
States Code.
    (f) Service of Process.--In an action brought under subsection (a), 
process may be served in any district in which the defendant--
            (1) is an inhabitant; or
            (2) may be found.

SEC. 6. NOTICE TO EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION.

    (a) Notice Required.--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 agent and the student 
athlete shall each inform the athletic director of the educational 
institution at which the student athlete is enrolled, or other 
individual responsible for athletic programs at such educational 
institution, that the student athlete has entered into an agency 
contract, and the agent shall provide the athletic director with notice 
in writing of such a contract.
    (b) Civil Remedy.--
            (1) In general.--An educational institution has a right of 
        action against an agent for damages caused by such agent's 
        failure to provide notice as required in subsection (a).
            (2) Damages.--Damages of an educational institution may 
        include losses and expenses incurred because, as a result of 
        the conduct of the agent, the educational institution was 
        injured by being 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 actions likely to be imposed by such an 
        association or conference.
            (3) Costs and attorneys fees.--In an action taken under 
        this section, the court may award to the prevailing party costs 
        and reasonable attorneys fees.
            (4) Liability.--Any liability of the agent or the former 
        student athlete under this section is several and not joint.
            (5) Effect on other rights, remedies and defenses.--This 
        section does not restrict the rights, remedies, or defenses of 
        any person under law or equity.

SEC. 7. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that States should enact the Uniform 
Athlete Agents Act of 2000 drafted by the National Conference of 
Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, to protect student athletes and 
the integrity of amateur sports from unscrupulous sports agents. In 
particular, it is the sense of Congress that States should enact the 
provisions relating to the registration of sports agents, the required 
form of contract, the right of the student athlete to cancel an agency 
contract, the disclosure requirements relating to record maintenance, 
reporting, renewal, notice, warning, and security, and the provisions 
for reciprocity among the States.
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