Players will have to cover agency fees in latest FIBA agency rules change / News - Basketnews.com

Credit BasketNews/D.Repečka

FIBA Central Board has approved the new FIBA Licensed Agents Regulations. Basketball players agents' activity is now regulated in a clearer manner; points of conflict of interest have been renewed that describe the mutual relations of players, underage players, clubs, and the agents.

"The FIBA Central Board approved numerous important regulation changes, the vast part of which is oriented towards saving the interests of players, and especially young players under the age of 18," Justas Kalinauskas, member of the Global FIBA Law Commission, said in the following announcement.

The new changes took effect on January 1st, 2022.

The main FIBA licensed agents regulations changes

A player having more than one FIBA-licensed agent is no longer a punishable offense.

The change is influenced by a long-running FIBA practice when licensed agents communicate internally between themselves and sometimes split the fee during international player transfers. The change provides additional flexibility for the players to communicate with different agents at the same time, providing the best possible conditions for the players.

The contract between an agent and a player can be terminated by either party, notifying the other party about it 30 days in advance.

The change provides more flexibility for mutual commitments between players and agents and the quality of the agent's services. Both the player and the agent will have an easier path to canceling the contract. The change is only valid for new or updated contracts signed starting January 1st, 2022.

Stricter regulation of interest conflicts.

A FIBA-licensed agent cannot work for a club if he/she is already a representative of a player and/or a coach on that club.

Agency service fees are paid by the recipient of the services.

From now on, the player himself/herself will pay the agency fee when signing a contract. Contrary to the previously applied practice, the clubs will no longer have to pay for the player's agency services. The agency service fee remains unchanged, i.e. it cannot be higher than 10% from the total monetary value of the contract.

National federations and clubs are obligated to provide the correct FIBA player name and agent name during an international transfer. Any discrepancies will be sanctioned.

FIBA has brought to attention the fact that most Letters of Release had not included the player's agent name until the change. The national federations are now obligated to enter the correct information in the FIBA International Player Transfer system.

"The updated regulations change the principles on which the entire agency practice stands. The changes are oriented to protect players' interests even more than before, with transparency between the clubs, players, coaches, and agents themselves being in the center of attention," Kalinauskas said.

Like what we are doing? Support us by becoming BN+ member.