Book Review: An Athlete’s Guide to Agents (Fourth Edition)

In the past, I have recommended Kenneth Shropshire’s and Timonthy Davis’ The Business of Sports Agents as a must read for any aspiring or current sports agent.  In fact, I have referred to the book as The Sports Agent Bible in prior discussions.  I still recommend that it should be on any sports agent’s bookshelf; however, a requirement should be that right next to it lay Robert H. Ruxin’s An Athlete’s Guide to Agents (Fourth Edition).  The title may lead you to believe that it was written purely for an athlete to learn about the process of selecting an agent and what an agent’s job should entail.  It definitely touches on such issues, but is also an invaluable resource for agents to learn about their own profession.

An Athlete’s Guide to Agents (Fourth Edition) was published in 2003, but most of the type is still relevant in today’s sports landscape.  Important topics include what an agent and athlete can and cannot do according to the NCAA in terms of recruitment, what an athlete should look for when searching for an agent (and what questions an agent should be prepared to answer), the process of getting certified in each major professional players’ union, whether an athlete should hand over power of attorney to his/her agent, and much more.

The most useful part of the entire book may be contained in its appendices, starting with Appendix A: The Professional Drafts.  Appendix B’s salary information is a little out-of-date due to the book being published in 2003, but Appendix C: Sample Representation Contracts followed by Appendix D: Uniform Players’ Contracts are always nice to have nearby to use for reference.

An Athlete’s Guide to Agents (Fourth Edition) is a book that I can see myself re-reading in a year to refresh my memory on certain topics that we think we remember, but often times place in the back of our heads.  Robert Ruxin is a very knowledgable entity in the world of Sports Law and I cannot wait until he releases his Fifth Edition of this wonderful series of books.  Whether you are an athlete, an athletes parents, a coach, or an agent, An Athlete’s Guide to Agents (Fourth Edition) is a book that you should definitely read and then place on your bookshelf.