Sports Agents

    Like other National Football League players who were hoping to cash in on the bonanza that accompanies free agency, veteran 49er wide receiver Terrell Owens eagerly awaited the dawn of March 3, 2004. That was the date on which the NFL's 2004 free agent market opened and the bidding for players began. When the bidding commenced, however, Owens was not among the select group of players eligible for free agency. Though Owens' contract with the 49ers ran through the 2006 season, an escape clause allowed him to void the last three years of the contract and become an unrestricted free agent after the 2003 season. To take advantage of the escape clause, however, Owens had to declare his intention to become a free agent, in writing, by Saturday, February 21. When February 21 came and Owens had not filed his paperwork, he lost his chance for free agency. The mistake hardly relegated Owens to the poorhouse. On March 15, the 49ers traded Owens to the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Eagles promptly reworked the contract to Owens' satisfaction. Nonetheless, the failure to take advantage of the February 21 deadline was an opportunity lost--and a matter to which Owens' agent should have been attentive.

     In the law of agency, Owens is called the "principal." The agent functions as a substitute or deputy who possesses the legal authority to act for Owens. When the agent acts, it is as if the principal is acting. When the agent fails to act, it is as if the principal has failed to act. When an agent misses a deadline, it is as if the principal has missed the deadline.