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Abstract
According to Black's Law Dictionary, an agent is "a person authorized by another to act for him, one intrusted with another's business." A sports agent provides services to an athlete, performing functions legally authorized, with the agent engaging in business transactions on the athlete's behalf. In about the mid-19th century it was not uncommon in the US and Europe for top theatrical actors and opera singers to employ agents. These agents obtained bookings for their clients and negotiated their pay for performing. It was not until the mid-1960s that agents began to emerge in professional team sports. Under the National Labor Relations Act unions in sports are the "exclusive representative" of the players. The sports agent business is becoming increasingly dominated by a handful of entertainment conglomerates, which have been buying out smaller firms. The world of the sports agent is a challenging one, with extensive certification and regulation requirements, and power consolidated in big firms.