North Dakota Code 9-15.2-01 – Definitions
In this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:
Terms Used In North Dakota Code 9-15.2-01
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Female: means a girl, woman, or an individual whose biological reproductive system is developed to produce ova. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- following: when used by way of reference to a chapter or other part of a statute means the next preceding or next following chapter or other part. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
- Individual: means a human being. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Male: means a boy, man, or an individual whose biological reproductive system is developed to produce sperm. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- Organization: includes a foreign or domestic association, business trust, corporation, enterprise, estate, joint venture, limited liability company, limited liability partnership, limited partnership, partnership, trust, or any legal or commercial entity. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- Person: means an individual, organization, government, political subdivision, or government agency or instrumentality. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- Process: means a writ or summons issued in the course of judicial proceedings. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- United States: includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
1. “Agency contract” means an agreement in which a student-athlete authorizes a person to negotiate or solicit on behalf of the athlete a professional sports services contract or endorsement contract.
2. “Athlete agent”:
a. Means an individual, whether or not registered under this chapter, who:
(1) Directly or indirectly recruits or solicits a student-athlete to enter 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; (2) For compensation or in anticipation of compensation related to a student-athlete’s participation in athletics:
(a) Serves the 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 athlete by providing assistance with bills, payments, contracts, or taxes; or
(3) In anticipation of representing a student-athlete for a purpose related to the athlete’s participation in athletics:
(a) Gives consideration to the student-athlete or another person; (b) Serves the 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 athlete by providing assistance with bills, payments, contracts, or taxes; but b. Does not include an individual who:
(1) Acts solely on behalf of a professional sports team or organization; or
(2) 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:
(a) Also recruits or solicits the athlete to enter into an agency contract; (b) Also, for compensation, procures employment or offers, promises, attempts, or negotiates to obtain employment for the athlete as a professional athlete or member of a professional sports team or organization; or
(c) Receives consideration for providing the services calculated using a different method than for an individual who is not a student-athlete.
3. “Athletic director” 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.
4. “Educational institution” includes a public or private elementary school, secondary school, technical or vocational school, community college, college, and university.
5. “Endorsement contract” 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 athlete may have because of publicity, reputation, following, or fame obtained because of athletic ability or performance.
6. “Enrolled or enrolls” means registered for courses and attending athletic practice or class.
7. “Intercollegiate sport” 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.
8. “Interscholastic sport” means a sport played between educational institutions that are not community colleges, colleges, or universities.
9. “Licensed, registered, or certified professional” means an individual 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, other than that of athlete agent, who is licensed, registered, or certified by the state or a nationally recognized organization that licenses, registers, or certifies members of the profession on the basis of experience, education, or testing.
10. “Person” means an individual, estate, business or nonprofit entity, public corporation, government or governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality, or other legal entity.
11. “Professional sports services contract” 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.
12. “Record” 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.
13. “Recruit or solicit” means an attempt to influence the choice of an athlete agent by a student-athlete or, if the athlete is a minor, a parent or guardian of the athlete. The term 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.
14. “Registration” means registration as an athlete agent under this chapter.
15. “Sign” means, with present intent to authenticate or adopt a record:
a. To execute or adopt a tangible symbol; or
b. To attach to or logically associate with the record an electronic symbol, sound, or process.
16. “State” 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.
17. “Student-athlete” 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, an interscholastic or intercollegiate sport. The term does not include an individual permanently ineligible to participate in a particular interscholastic or intercollegiate sport for that sport.