Darren Heitner utilizes social media and blogging to stand out in the sports law industry
By Hayes Rule
As Rod Tidwell stands bare naked in the Arizona Cardinals locker room, he confronts his agent Jerry Maguire. Tidwell, a wide receiver, is up for a new contract.
And he wants the Kwan.
“It means love, respect, community and the dollars, too,” Tidwell tells Maguire.
“The whole package. It’s the,” he says before pausing for a second. “Kwan.”
Later in the season, after Tidwell scores the game-winning touchdown on Monday Night Football, the wide receiver is told during a television interview that he’s received a new four-year, $11.2 million contract.
Overwhelmed by emotions, Tidwell thanks his family and then the man who may not be blood relation but might as well be: Maguire.
“You are my ambassador of Kwan,” says Tidwell as he pumps his fist.
“Jerry Maguire,” led by a cast of Tom Cruise and Cuba Gooding, Jr., is the movie about the life of a sports agent. Throughout the two hours, viewers see both the ups and downs of an agent’s life.
It’s valuable insight into an industry Darren Heitner dove into before graduating law school from the University of Florida. But after experiencing the bumps and bruises of the agent life for several years, Heitner moved onto what he describes as greener pastures: a career as a full-time lawyer.
“I specialize in sports and entertainment law, intellectual property, and business law,” Heitner said. “What that entails is a lot of civil litigation and arbitration, so just handling disputes both on the plaintiff and defendant side. [I also work] on intellectual property applications and registrations in the realm of trademarks and copyrights and enforcing them, as well.”
Heitner founded Dynasty Dealings in April of 2007 as his own sports agency. It was originally named Dynasty Athlete Representation.
But in 2012, Heitner made the decision to not renew his license to practice as an agent. In a Medium post, Heitner listed the following reasons for leaving the sports agent scene: It’s expensive, there’s ruthless competition, low margins, too much travel, sleepless nights, lack of loyalty, little legal work and it’s a crowded space.
Before leaving the sports agent scene for good, Heitner was an associate at Koch Parafinczuk & Wolf, P.A., from August 2010-October 2011. In 2011, he also co-founded Collegiate Sports Advisors, a firm dealing with NCAA compliance. He then took a position as an associate at Wolfe Law Miami, P.A., where he later became a partner in 2013.
Heitner then started his own firm in 2014, Heitner Legal, P.L.L.C.
But throughout his climb to the top of the industry, Heitner has made a point to become a presence online. Since 2005, Heitner also has been involved with authoring two books, the creation of the Sports Agent Blog, The Sports Biz, contributing to Inc and contributing to FORBES.
Now with more than 36,000 Twitter followers, Heitner said he uses social media as a way to share his opinions and as a tool to brand himself so others understand his background and expertise.
“Social media is a platform that is open to everybody. Especially if you provide some commentary and information and it’s shared, it can reach the masses,” Heitner said. “It has absolutely helped me in building a brand from scratch and also in procuring various clientele. I know that there are many out there who discovered me from social media, whether it be Twitter or Facebook.”
Heitner started the Sports Agent Blog as a junior in college while attending the University of Florida. A New Year’s resolution, the blog focuses on a very niche concept: news about agents, sports marketing, branding and management.
Very few, if any, other websites exist of its kind.
“I had, that prior summer (in 2005), interned at a company called Career Sports Entertainment. Now it’s just known as CSC in Atlanta, Ga. I had an amazing experience working in the talent relations department working with a lot of their clients, really like an agent would do on a day-to-day basis,” Heitner said.
“So I went back to school at the University of Florida — I was going into my junior year — and I was wondering to myself, ‘How can I continue to remain in this sports agent industry and also learn more and make further connections?’ So the idea came about to start this particular website, and 14 years later it’s still alive and kicking,” Heitner said.
Kicking, it is. The website publishes articles several times a week. Heitner also founded The Sportz Biz in 2018 as a website that focuses more on the intersection of sports and money. The Sports Agent Blog still remains his more popular website, though.
On top of articles, it also features a list of current agencies, internship opportunities and interviews of different individuals in the industry.
“It has led to new professional relationships, numerous speaking opportunities, meeting the individual who would become my co-founder at Dynasty Athlete Representation (the agency I built), new sources of revenue, an opportunity to write for FORBES, an offer to teach at Indiana University Bloomington, a wealth of knowledge and the distinction of being one of the more knowledgeable individuals concerning sports agency,” Heitner wrote in an online interview with Zach Abramowitz on ReplyAll.
The Sports Agent Blog, writing opportunities, his own personal work and social media have certainly helped Heitner become one of the more recognizable names in the sports law world.
“I don’t know if I would have been able to do this 20 years ago,” Heitner said. “It’s become much easier to be visible and gain clients. A lot of my clients, I’m doing their work without meeting them in person. Many of my clients I haven’t even met in person. Development of online social media and technology has absolutely made it easier to go out on your own (and) start a business in the field of law and other fields.”
Heitner still recalls having to file paperwork in the courthouse by hand when he first started as a lawyer (and he’s still only 34). Now, it is easier to file and research case law because of the increase in technology.
He said even with technology, in order to succeed in the sports agent and sports law world, one must have good communication skills, be available at all times, be passionate and not be star-struck when dealing with celebrities.
Those characteristics will be necessary in order to tap into a field that is extremely competitive and sometimes unstable — as seen in Jerry Maguire.
“I would think that the barrier to entry remains very high, even as technology expands,” Heitner said.
