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 in May 2019 to create a comprehensive NFL sports agency with a 50-50 split of costs and revenues.
After Premier terminated the agreement in August 2022, claiming EnterSports owed $37,748.19 for player-related expenses and revenues, the parties disputed where their disagreement should be resolved.
While both parties agreed that arbitration was required, they disagreed on the venue. Premier argued for private arbitration in Charlotte per their contract, while EnterSports contended the NFLPA had jurisdiction over the fee-sharing dispute.
The Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s determination that the Alliance Agreement’s arbitration clause was valid and enforceable, covering “any dispute, controversy, or claim arising out of or relating to this Agreement,” and that Charlotte, North Carolina was the proper venue.
The court emphasized that NFLPA Regulations govern individual Contract Advisors, not business entities. Certification is granted “only to individuals and not any firm, corporation, partnership or other business entity.”
Since the dispute involved two LLCs and Premier was co-owned by Matthew Flatow, who isn’t NFLPA-certified, the court ruled the NFLPA Regulations didn’t govern this particular business dispute.
EnterSports argued that Premier waived its arbitration rights by previously filing an NFLPA grievance, but the court rejected this claim, noting the Agreement’s waiver provision required any waiver to be “explicitly set forth in writing and signed by the Party”.
The court distinguished between prior grievances filed as disputes between two Contract Advisors and the current dispute between two limited liability corporations.
While NFLPA regulations govern certified agents in their individual capacities, contractual disputes between sports management companies remain subject to private arbitration agreements unless the parties voluntarily agree to have the dispute adjudicated through the NFLPA grievance process and the NFLPA accepts jurisdiction.
For agencies structuring partnership agreements, this decision underscores the importance of clear arbitration clauses and reinforces that well-drafted business contracts will be enforced according to their terms, even in the specialized world of NFL representation.