The Basketball Arbitral Tribunal (BAT) has issued a significant ruling in Sigma Srl v. Maksym Shulga (BAT 2249/24), awarding an Italian sports agency $180,000 in damages after college basketball player Maksym Shulga breached the exclusivity clause in their representation agreement by negotiating a NIL deal without his agent’s involvement.
The Facts
Ukrainian college player Maksym…
In a stunning reversal of the typical labor-management dispute, a senior attorney for the NFL Players Association has filed a lawsuit against her own union, alleging obstruction of justice, sex discrimination, retaliation, and breach of contract.
Heather McPhee, who has served as the NFLPA’s associate general counsel since 2009, filed the complaint on December…
The North Carolina Court of Appeals has affirmed that disputes between sports agency businesses must be resolved through private arbitration when contractually agreed upon, rather than through NFLPA grievance procedures.
The underlying dispute arose from an “Alliance Agreement” between Premier Athlete Advisors LLC and EnterSports MGT LLC, two agencies that combined their football management operations…
The recent decision by the Major League Baseball Players Association to ban Jim Murray, a baseball agent with more than 25 years of industry experience, marks a significant development in the realm of player representation and labor relations. Murray’s extensive history includes notable stints at prominent agencies such as Excel Sports Management, where he contributed…
Welcome to another year of providing the player/agent pairings for those selected in the first round of the NBA Draft. This compilation is based on information gathered from industry sources and public reports. As always, there may be inaccuracies due to the fluid nature of agent-player relationships. Below is the list of the 2025 NBA…
The landscape of sports representation underwent a significant shift in May 2025 when Patrick Whitesell, the former executive chairman of Endeavor, announced the launch of WIN Sports Group. This new football-focused agency emerged from the dissolution of WME Sports’ football division, highlighting the complex web of conflicts that can arise when private equity meets professional…
On May 30, 2025, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania handed down a significant decision in the case of Todd France v. Jason Bernstein, a dispute that has captured the attention of the sports agent community.
The saga began in late 2016 when NFL wide receiver Kenny Golladay signed a…
Once again, it’s time for the annual tradition of identifying the agents selected by the players chosen in the first round of the NFL Draft. This compilation is based on information gathered from industry sources and public reports. As always, there may be inaccuracies due to the fluid nature of agent-player relationships. Below is the…
A new player-agent dispute has emerged in the basketball world, with Hazan Sports Management Group Inc. (HSM) filing a complaint against Detroit Pistons shooting guard Malik Beasley in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The lawsuit alleges breach of contract related to an exclusive marketing agreement and seeks damages in…
On August 22, I wrote about Excel Sports Management’s lawsuit against media talent agents Gideon Cohen, William Petok, and Katherine Cutler, who were formerly employed by Excel but left to work with Athletes First. Excel complained that the former employees breached their employment contracts’ restrictive covenants and that they sought to solicit Excel clients.
Sometimes,…
