How do you become a registered athlete agent in Texas?

Register with the Texas Secretary of State before contacting any athlete — one-year terms, and Texas is the only state verified that requires surety bonds: $50,000 before contacting or contracting with an athlete, plus another $100,000 before any financial-services contract. Texas kept the ORIGINAL 2000-model UAAA (last amended 2011): its act covers COLLEGE athletes only and stops at employment/financial-services representation — pure NIL-marketing work sits in a definitional gap between the agent act and the separate NIL statute (Educ. Code § 51.9246, amended by HB 126 in 2025). Cancellation is 16 days (not the usual 14). Violations are Class A misdemeanors; the inducement provisions are THIRD-DEGREE FELONIES, with administrative penalties to $50,000.

Texas Athlete Agent Registration & Law

Registration at a glance

Registration required

Yes

Registering body

Texas Secretary of State

Fee

Set by SoS rule to cover administration (Occ. Code § 2051.051) — exact current figure lives in 1 Tex. Admin. Code ch. 78, not verified

Term

1 year

Surety bond

Yes

Covers high school athletes

No

Reaches NIL / marketing-only reps

No

Prescribed contract warning

Yes

How to register

Register with the Texas Secretary of State as a professional or limited athlete agent (§ 2051.101)
BEFORE contacting any athlete: deposit a $50,000 surety bond with the SoS (§ 2051.151(a))
Before any financial-services contract: deposit an additional $100,000 bond (§ 2051.151(a-1))
Use the prescribed ≥10-point boldface/capitalized/underlined warning notice (§ 2051.204)
After signing: notify the athletic director within 72 hours; FILE a copy of the signed contract with the SoS and the athletic director within 10 days (§ 2051.205(a))
Renew annually

Official registration page: Texas Secretary of State

Renewal: Annual renewal listing current/former represented athletes (§ 2051.108); SoS may stagger expirations

Contract & notification requirements

Prescribed registration-disclaimer + cancellation warning, boldfaced/capitalized/underlined, at least 10-point type (§ 2051.204(b))
16-day non-waivable cancellation (§ 2051.204(a)(3))
72-hour athletic-director notification (§ 2051.204(a)(5))
Contract copy filed with the Secretary of State AND the athletic director within 10 days (§ 2051.205(a))

School notification required

Yes

Athlete cancellation right

16 days, non-waivable (§ 2051.204(a)(3)) — longer than the 14-day norm

What the statute is silent on

Silence is not permission and not prohibition — the statute simply does not address these.

high school athletes ('athlete' is defined by intercollegiate participation only)
NIL/marketing-only representation (definitional gap - see notes)

Penalties

§ 2051.501 (verbatim): "(a) An athlete agent commits an offense if the agent intentionally or knowingly violates this chapter or a rule under this chapter. (b) Except as provided by Subsection (c), an offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor. (c) An offense under this section committed by an athlete agent who intentionally or knowingly violates Section 2051.351(a)(7) or (14) is a third degree felony."

(§ 2051.351(a)(7)/(14) = furnishing a thing of value pre-contract, and inducing NCAA-rule violations.)

Administrative penalty (§ 2051.451(b)): up to $50,000 for a (a)(7)/(14) violation; up to $25,000 otherwise. Civil suit (§ 2051.553): actual damages, exemplary damages, court costs, attorney's fees.

Stated as the statute states it. Read the cited section before relying on this.

Statute

Tex. Occ. Code ch. 2051 (enacted 1999, orig.-UAAA model; last amended 2011 HB 1123). NIL: Tex. Educ. Code § 51.9246 (amended by HB 126, eff. June 5, 2025)

'Athlete' (§ 2051.001(2)) is defined by intercollegiate participation — HIGH SCHOOL NOT COVERED. 'Athlete agent' (§ 2051.001(3)) is employment/financial-services focused — NIL-only marketing reps arguably sit OUTSIDE the registration trigger, a real definitional gap with no case law resolving it. Do not present either reading as settled.

NIL interaction

Educ. Code § 51.9246 cross-references ch. 2051's agent definition without broadening it. HB 126 (2025, eff. June 5, 2025, verified from the enrolled bill) added § 51.9246(k-1), verbatim: 'Unless a prospective student athlete younger than 17 years of age is enrolled at an institution of higher education, an individual, corporate entity, or other organization, including an institution to which this section applies, may not enter into an arrangement relating to the athlete's name, image, or likeness with the athlete or with an individual related to the athlete by consanguinity or affinity.' Note: the codified text on the statutes site lagged the enrolled Act as of the last verifiable capture — cite the enrolled bill.

Sources

Tex. Occ. Code § 2051.151 (surety bonds) (September 1, 2011)
An athlete agent shall, before contacting an athlete or entering into an agent contract with an athlete in this state, deposit with the secretary of state a surety bond, in the amount of $50,000
Texas SoS — Athlete Agents registration (July 19, 2026)
Texas HB 126 (enrolled, eff. June 5, 2025) (June 5, 2025)

Change history

July 19, 2026 — Initial publication from primary-source research pass (statute text read directly; penalties quoted verbatim).

Not legal advice. This page documents publicly available rules and is not legal advice. Rules change, and associations do not always announce changes. Confirm anything you rely on with the governing association, your school compliance office, or your own counsel before acting.

Spot an error? Tell us and cite the statute.