Athletes Agents Reform Act; enact.

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To: Judiciary, Division A
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Senator(s) Blackmon

SENATE BILL NO. 2682

AN ACT TO ENACT THE ATHLETES AGENTS REFORM ACT; TO REQUIRE 1
ATHLETE AGENTS TO MAKE CERTAIN DISCLOSURES TO STUDENT-ATHLETES 2
BEFORE EXECUTING AN AGENCY CONTRACT OR ENDORSEMENT CONTRACT; TO 3
CREATE THE STUDENT-ATHLETE PROTECTION FUND AS A SPECIAL FUND 4
WITHIN THE TREASURY; TO AUTHORIZE THE SECRETARY OF STATE TO 5
COMPENSATE CERTAIN STUDENT-ATHLETES; TO PROVIDE THAT A STUDENT- 6
ATHLETE HAS A RIGHT OF ACTION AGAINST AN ATHLETE AGENT FOR DAMAGES 7
CAUSED BY A VIOLATION OF THIS ACT; TO AUTHORIZE A COURT TO DIRECT 8
COMPENSATION FROM THE STUDENT-ATHLETE PROTECTION FUND; TO AMEND 9
SECTION 73-42-3, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REVISE THE 10
DEFINITION OF THE TERM "ATHLETE AGENT" TO INCLUDE ATTORNEYS, 11
MARKETERS, OR PROFESSIONAL ADVISORS OF STUDENT-ATHLETES; TO AMEND 12
SECTION 73-42-17, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO INCREASE THE FEES 13
FOR REGISTRATION AND RENEWAL OF LICENSES UNDER THIS CHAPTER; TO 14
PROVIDE THAT 33% OF THE FUNDS COLLECTED FOR LICENSE REGISTRATION 15
AND RENEWAL BE DEPOSITED INTO THE STUDENT-ATHLETE PROTECTION FUND; 16
TO AMEND SECTION 73-42-27, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROHIBIT 17
ATHLETE AGENTS FROM ENTERING INTO AGREEMENTS THAT WOULD CREATE 18
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST WITHOUT WRITTEN CONSENT OF THE 19
STUDENT-ATHLETE; TO PROHIBIT ATHLETE AGENTS FROM ENTERING INTO 20
AGREEMENTS THAT RESULT IN DUAL REPRESENTATION WITHOUT WRITTEN 21
CONSENT OF THE STUDENT-ATHLETE; TO AMEND SECTION 73-42-29, 22
MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT ACTING AS AN ATHLETE 23
AGENT IN THIS STATE BEFORE BEING ISSUED A CERTIFICATE OF 24
REGISTRATION IS A FELONY; TO AMEND SECTION 73-42-33, MISSISSIPPI 25
CODE OF 1972, TO AUTHORIZE THE SECRETARY OF STATE TO PENALIZE ANY 26
INDIVIDUAL ACTING AS AN ATHLETE AGENT IN THIS STATE BEFORE BEING 27
ISSUED A CERTIFICATE OF REGISTRATION; TO AMEND SECTION 73–42–19, 28
MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM; TO DIRECT CODIFICATION OF 29
CERTAIN SECTIONS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 30
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 31
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SECTION 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the 32
"Athletes Agents Reform Act." 33
SECTION 2. At least twenty-four (24) hours before entering 34
into an agency contract or endorsement contract with a 35
student-athlete, an athlete agent shall disclose to the 36
student-athlete: 37
(a) Any known conflict of interest between the 38
student-athlete and the athlete agent, including the athlete 39
agent's business or employer. 40
(b) Any dual representation of the student-athlete and 41
a third-party sponsor of the student-athlete. 42
(c) Any dual representation of the student-athlete and 43
a member of the athletic department of the educational institution 44
of the student-athlete. 45
(d) All fees, commissions and compensation structure of 46
the representation. 47
SECTION 3. (1) There is created in the State Treasury a 48
special fund to be designated as the "Student-Athlete Protection 49
Fund." The fund shall be maintained by the State Treasurer as a 50
separate and special fund, separate and apart from the General 51
Fund of the state. Unexpended amounts remaining in the fund at 52
the end of a fiscal year shall not lapse into the State General 53
Fund, and any interest earned or investment earnings on amounts in 54
the fund shall be deposited into such fund. The fund shall 55
consist of: 56
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(a) Monies deposited into the fund by the State 57
Treasurer; 58
(b) The interest accruing to the fund; 59
(c) Monies received under the provisions of Section 60
73-42-17; 61
(d) Monies received from the federal government; 62
(e) Donations; and 63
(f) Monies received from such other sources as may be 64
provided by or allowable under law. 65
(2) Subject to appropriation by the Legislature, monies in 66
the fund shall be disbursed by the Secretary of State, as 67
authorized by any final judgments issued under the authority of 68
subsection (6) of Section 4 of this act, to compensate any 69
student-athlete harmed by athlete agent misconduct or misconduct 70
of individuals who acted as an athlete agent in this state towards 71
the harmed student-athlete before being issued a certificate of 72
registration under Section 73-42-11 or 73-42-15. 73
SECTION 4. (1) A student-athlete has a right of action 74
against an athlete agent for damages caused by a violation of this 75
act. In an action under this section, the court may award to the 76
prevailing party costs and reasonable attorney's fees. 77
(2) Damages of a student-athlete under subsection (1) 78
include losses and expenses incurred because, as a result of the 79
activities of an athlete agent, the student-athlete was injured by 80
a violation of this chapter or was penalized, disqualified or 81
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suspended from participation in athletics by a national 82
association, a conference or any other group or organization with 83
authority over the sport, that promotes or regulates collegiate 84
athletics. 85
(3) A right of action under this section does not accrue 86
until the student-athlete discovers or by the exercise of 87
reasonable diligence would have discovered the violation by the 88
athlete agent. 89
(4) The student-athlete also has a right of action as 90
provided in this section against any individual who acted as an 91
athlete agent in this state before being issued a certificate of 92
registration under Section 73-42-11 or 73-42-15 and caused the 93
damages described in this section. 94
(5) This chapter does not restrict rights, remedies or 95
defenses of any person under law or equity. 96
(6) In a final judgment of an action brought under the 97
authority of this section, a court may award a student-athlete who 98
has demonstrated damages under this section an amount of recovery, 99
not to exceed Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00), from the 100
Student-Athlete Protection Fund. 101
SECTION 5. Section 73-42-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 102
amended as follows: 103
73-42-3. In this chapter: 104
(a) "Agency contract" means an agreement in which a 105
student-athlete authorizes a person to negotiate or solicit on 106
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behalf of the student-athlete a professional-sports-services 107
contract, an endorsement contract, or compensation for the use of 108
the student-athlete's publicity rights; provided, however, that an 109
agency contract shall not provide for athlete agent compensation 110
that exceeds twenty percent (20%) of the agency contract. 111
(b) "Athlete agent" means an individual who enters into 112
an agency contract with a student-athlete or, directly or 113
indirectly, recruits, induces or solicits a student-athlete to 114
enter into an agency contract. The term does not include a 115
spouse, parent, sibling, grandparent or guardian of the 116
student-athlete or an individual acting solely on behalf of a 117
professional sports team or professional sports organization. The 118
term includes an individual who represents to the public that the 119
individual is an athlete agent. The term also includes, but is 120
not limited to, attorneys, marketers, or professional advisors of 121
student-athletes. 122
(c) "Athletic director" means an individual responsible 123
for administering the overall athletic program of an educational 124
institution or, if an educational institution has separately 125
administered athletic programs for male students and female 126
students, the athletic program for males or the athletic program 127
for females, as appropriate. 128
(d) "Contact" means a communication, direct or 129
indirect, written or oral, between an athlete agent and a 130
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student-athlete, to recruit, induce or solicit the student-athlete 131
to enter into an agency contract. 132
(e) "Endorsement contract" means an agreement under 133
which a student-athlete receives compensation or anything of value 134
for the student-athlete's publicity rights. 135
(f) "Intercollegiate athletics program" means an 136
intercollegiate athletics sport played at the collegiate level for 137
which eligibility requirements for participation by a 138
student-athlete are established by a national association, 139
conference or any other group or organization with authority over 140
the sport, that promotes or regulates collegiate athletics. 141
(g) "Person" means an individual, corporation, business 142
trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company, 143
association, joint venture, government; governmental subdivision, 144
agency or instrumentality; public corporation, or any other legal 145
or commercial entity. 146
(h) "Professional-sports-services contract" means an 147
agreement under which an individual is employed or agrees to 148
render services as a player on a professional sports team, with a 149
professional sports organization, or as a professional athlete. 150
(i) "Record" means information that is inscribed on a 151
tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium 152
and is retrievable in perceivable form. 153
(j) "Registration" means registration as an athlete 154
agent pursuant to this chapter. 155
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(k) "State" means a state of the United States, the 156
District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin 157
Islands, or any territory or insular possession subject to the 158
jurisdiction of the United States. 159
(l) "Student-athlete" means an individual who is 160
enrolled in or has signed a National Letter of Intent or other 161
written agreement to enroll in a postsecondary educational 162
institution or is being recruited by a postsecondary educational 163
institution to participate in an intercollegiate athletics 164
program. If an individual is permanently ineligible to 165
participate in a particular intercollegiate sport, the individual 166
is not a student-athlete for purposes of that sport. 167
SECTION 6. Section 73-42-17, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 168
amended as follows: 169
73-42-17. (1) An application for registration or renewal of 170
registration must be accompanied by a fee in the following amount: 171
(a) * * * Three Hundred Dollars ($300.00) for an 172
initial application for registration. 173
(b) * * * Three Hundred Dollars ($300.00) for an 174
application for registration based upon a certificate of 175
registration or licensure issued by another state. 176
(c) * * * Three Hundred Dollars ($300.00) for an 177
application for renewal of registration. 178
(d) * * * Three Hundred Dollars ($300.00) for an 179
application for renewal of registration based upon an application 180
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for renewal of registration or licensure submitted in another 181
state. 182
(2) In addition, the Secretary of State may impose a fee for 183
the actual costs incurred by the Secretary of State's office for 184
processing and administering one or more criminal history 185
background checks. 186
(3) Thirty-three Percent (33%) of the funds collected under 187
the authority of subsection (1) of this section shall be deposited 188
into the Student-Athlete Protection Fund created in Section 3 of 189
this act. 190
SECTION 7. Section 73-42-27, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 191
amended as follows: 192
73-42-27. (1) An athlete agent may not engage in any of the 193
following activities, within this state or otherwise, with the 194
intent to induce a student-athlete to enter into an agency 195
contract: 196
(a) Give any materially false or misleading information 197
or make a materially false promise or representation; 198
(b) Furnish anything of value to a student-athlete 199
before the student-athlete enters into the agency contract; or 200
(c) Furnish anything of value to any individual other 201
than the student-athlete or another registered athlete agent. 202
(2) An athlete agent may not intentionally: 203
(a) Initiate contact with a student-athlete unless 204
registered under this chapter; 205
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(b) Refuse or willfully fail to retain or permit 206
inspection of the records required by Section 73-42-25 or fail to 207
provide the Secretary of State with any statements, documents, 208
records or testimony required by the secretary under Section 209
73-42-5(3) and (4); 210
(c) Violate Section 73-42-7 by failing to register; 211
(d) Provide materially false or misleading information 212
in an application for registration or renewal of registration; 213
(e) Predate or postdate an agency contract; or 214
(f) Fail to notify a student-athlete prior to the 215
student-athlete's signing an agency contract for a particular 216
sport that the signing by the student-athlete may make the 217
student-athlete ineligible to participate as a student-athlete in 218
that sport. 219
(3) An athlete agent may not enter into a representation 220
agreement which is not regulated by this chapter, an agency 221
contract, or an endorsement contract that results in dual 222
representation of any current student-athlete of the athlete agent 223
or any student-athlete to whom the athlete agent is required to 224
make disclosures to under Section 2 of this act and a third-party 225
sponsor of the student-athlete without the written consent of the 226
necessary student-athletes. 227
(4) An athlete agent may not enter into a representation 228
agreement which is not regulated by this chapter, an agency 229
contract, or an endorsement contract that results in a conflict of 230
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interest between any current student-athlete of the athlete agent 231
or any student-athlete to whom the athlete agent is required to 232
make disclosures to under Section 2 of this act and another person 233
or entity represented by the athlete agent without the written 234
consents of the necessary student-athletes. 235
(5) For current student-athletes of the athlete agent, prior 236
to entering any contract prohibited under subsection (3) or (4) of 237
this section, the athlete agent shall provide at least twenty-four 238
hours disclosure to the athlete agent's current student-athlete 239
prior to executing a contract addendum with the current 240
student-athlete. 241
SECTION 8. Section 73-42-29, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 242
amended as follows: 243
73-42-29. The commission of any act prohibited by Section 244
73-42-27 by an athlete agent or acting as an athlete agent in this 245
state before being issued a certificate of registration under 246
Section 73-42-11 or 73-42-15 is a felony punishable by a fine of 247
not more than Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) or by imprisonment 248
of not more than two (2) years, or both. 249
SECTION 9. Section 73-42-33, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 250
amended as follows: 251
73-42-33. The Secretary of State may assess a civil penalty 252
against an athlete agent or any individual who acts as an athlete 253
agent in this state before being issued a certificate of 254
registration under Section 73-42-11 or 73-42-15 not to exceed 255
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Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00) for a violation of this 256
chapter. 257
SECTION 10. Section 73-42-19, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 258
amended as follows: 259
73-42-19. (1) An agency contract must be in a record, 260
signed by the parties. 261
(2) An agency contract must state or contain: 262
(a) The amount and method of calculating the 263
consideration to be paid by the student-athlete for services to be 264
provided by the athlete agent under the contract and any other 265
consideration or anything of value that the athlete agent has 266
received or will receive from any other source for entering into 267
the contract or for providing the services; 268
(b) The name of any person not listed in the 269
application for registration or renewal who will be compensated 270
because the student-athlete signed the agency contract; 271
(c) A description of any expenses that the 272
student-athlete agrees to reimburse; 273
(d) A description of the services to be provided to the 274
student-athlete; 275
(e) The duration of the contract; * * * 276
(f) The date of execution; and 277
(g) The written consents required under Section 278
73-42-27(3) or (4) if required. 279
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ST: Athletes Agents Reform Act; enact.
(3) An agency contract, but not a contract addendum 280
authorized under Section 73-42-27(5), must contain, in close 281
proximity to the signature of the student-athlete, a conspicuous 282
notice in boldface type in capital letters stating: 283
WARNING TO STUDENT-ATHLETE 284
IF YOU SIGN THIS CONTRACT: 285
* * *{1} YOU MAY LOSE YOUR ELIGIBILITY TO COMPETE AS A 286
STUDENT-ATHLETE IN YOUR SPORT UNLESS THIS CONTRACT IS SERVING AS A 287
PUBLICITY RIGHTS AGREEMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 37-97-103; 288
* * *{2} BOTH YOU AND YOUR ATHLETE AGENT ARE REQUIRED TO 289
TELL YOUR ATHLETIC DIRECTOR, IF YOU HAVE AN ATHLETIC DIRECTOR, 290
WITHIN 72 HOURS AFTER ENTERING INTO AN AGENCY CONTRACT; AND 291
* * *{3} YOU MAY CANCEL THIS CONTRACT WITHIN 14 DAYS AFTER 292
SIGNING IT. CANCELLATION OF THE CONTRACT MAY NOT REINSTATE YOUR 293
ELIGIBILITY. 294
(4) An agency contract that does not conform to this section 295
is voidable by the student-athlete. 296
(5) The athlete agent shall give a copy of the signed agency 297
contract to the student-athlete at the time of signing. 298
SECTION 11. Sections 2 through 4 of this act shall be 299
codified within Chapter 42 of Title 73. 300
SECTION 12. This act shall take effect and be in force from 301
and after July 1, 2026. 302