                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

DEFINITIONS (§ 54.1-526)

As used in this chapter, unless the context requires a different meaning:
		&#8220;Agency contract&#8221; means an agreement in which a student-athlete
authorizes a person to negotiate or solicit on behalf of the student-athlete a
professional sports services contract or endorsement contract.
		&#8220;Athlete agent&#8221; means an individual, whether or not registered
under this chapter, who (i) directly or indirectly recruits or solicits a
student-athlete to enter into an agency contract or, for compensation, procures
employment or offers, promises, attempts, or negotiates to obtain employment for
a student-athlete as a professional athlete or member of a professional sports
team or organization; (ii) for compensation or in anticipation of compensation
related to a student-athlete&#8217;s participation in athletics (a) serves the
student-athlete in an advisory capacity on a matter related to finances,
business pursuits, or career management decisions, unless the individual is an
employee of an educational institution acting exclusively as an employee of the
institution for the benefit of the institution, or (b) manages the business
affairs of the student-athlete by providing assistance with bills, payments,
contracts, or taxes; (iii) in anticipation of representing a student-athlete for
a purpose related to the student-athlete&#8217;s participation in athletics (a)
gives consideration to the student-athlete or another person, (b) serves the
student-athlete in an advisory capacity on a matter related to finances,
business pursuits, or career management decisions, or (c) manages the business
affairs of the student-athlete by providing assistance with bills, payments,
contracts, or taxes; or (iv) represents a student-athlete in connection with
issues related to name, image, or likeness, including negotiating, securing,
obtaining, arranging, and managing name, image, or likeness opportunities.
&#8220;Athlete agent&#8221; does not include an individual who (a) acts solely
on behalf of a professional sports team or organization or (b) is a licensed,
registered, or certified professional and offers or provides services to a
student-athlete customarily provided by members of the profession, unless the
individual (1) also recruits or solicits the student-athlete to enter into an
agency contract, (2) also, for compensation, procures employment or offers,
promises, attempts, or negotiates to obtain employment for the student-athlete
as a professional athlete or member of a professional sports team or
organization, or (3) receives consideration for providing the services
calculated using a different method than for an individual who is not a
student-athlete.
		&#8220;Athletic director&#8221; means the individual responsible for
administering the overall athletic program of an educational institution or, if
an educational institution has separately administered athletic programs for
male students and female students, the athletic program for males or the
athletic program for females, as appropriate.
		&#8220;Director&#8221; means the Director of the Department of Professional
and Occupational Regulation.
		&#8220;Educational institution&#8221; means a public or private (i) elementary
school, (ii) secondary school, (iii) technical or vocational school, (iv)
community college, or (v) institution of higher education.
		&#8220;Endorsement contract&#8221; means an agreement under which a
student-athlete is employed or receives consideration to use on behalf of the
other party any value that the student-athlete may have because of publicity,
reputation, following, or fame obtained because of athletic ability or
performance.
		&#8220;Enrolled&#8221; or &#8220;enrolls&#8221; means registered for courses
and attending athletic practice or class.
		&#8220;Intercollegiate sport&#8221; means a sport played at the collegiate
level for which eligibility requirements for participation by a student-athlete
are established by a national association that promotes or regulates collegiate
athletics.
		&#8220;Interscholastic sport&#8221; means a sport played between educational
institutions that are not community colleges or institutions of higher
education.
		&#8220;Licensed, registered, or certified professional&#8221; means an
individual, other than an athlete agent, who is licensed, registered, or
certified as an attorney, dealer in securities, financial planner, insurance
agent, real estate broker or sales agent, tax consultant, accountant, or member
of a profession by the Commonwealth or a nationally recognized organization that
licenses, registers, or certifies members of the profession on the basis of
experience, education, or testing.
		&#8220;Person&#8221; means an individual, estate, business or nonprofit
entity, public corporation, government or governmental subdivision, agency, or
instrumentality or other legal entity.
		&#8220;Professional sports services contract&#8221; means an agreement under
which an individual is employed as a professional athlete or agrees to render
services as a player on a professional sports team or with a professional sports
organization.
		&#8220;Record&#8221; means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium
or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in
perceivable form.
		&#8220;Recruit or solicit&#8221; means an attempt to influence the choice of
an athlete agent by a student-athlete or, if the student-athlete is a minor, a
parent or guardian of the student-athlete. &#8220;Recruit or solicit&#8221; does
not include giving advice on the selection of a particular agent in a family,
coaching, or social situation unless the individual giving the advice does so
because of the receipt or anticipated receipt of an economic benefit, directly
or indirectly, from the agent.
		&#8220;Registration&#8221; means registration as an athlete agent.
		&#8220;Sign&#8221; means, with present intent to authenticate or adopt a
record, (i) to execute or adopt a tangible symbol or (ii) to attach to or
logically associate with the record an electronic symbol, sound, or process.
		&#8220;State&#8221; 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.
		&#8220;Student-athlete&#8221; means an individual who is eligible to attend an
educational institution and engages in, is eligible to engage in, or may be
eligible in the future to engage in any interscholastic or intercollegiate
sport. &#8220;Student-athlete&#8221; does not include, for a particular
interscholastic or intercollegiate sport, an individual permanently ineligible
to participate in that sport.

HISTORY: 2020, c. 481; 2022, cc. 510, 638.