Terminating an agent agreement after a transfer: commission and tail

A transfer has been completed, but the agent agreement is to end. The immediate question is often whether a commission remains payable or whether a post-termination clause applies. The answer does not follow from the identity of the party giving notice alone. The agreement, the services actually performed, the timing of the transfer and the applicable FIFA rules must be read together.

A completed employment contract, ongoing negotiations and a first contact are different situations. This article explains how to organise the position after termination and why a broad commission tail should not be treated as an automatic right to payment for every later transaction.

The word termination can hide several different events. An agent agreement may end under an ordinary notice clause, for just cause or by mutual agreement. Separately, the employment contract negotiated through the agent may already be concluded or negotiations may still be open.

Under article 12 paragraph 14 of the FIFA Football Agent Regulations, either party may terminate a Representation Agreement at any time for just cause. A party terminating without just cause must compensate the other party for resulting damage. Just cause exists where, in good faith, the relationship can no longer reasonably be expected to continue for the agreed term. The regulation lists, among other examples, withdrawal or suspension of the licence, a ban on football-related activity and a registration ban lasting at least one full registration period.

The review should therefore put three dates next to one another: the beginning and end of the Representation Agreement, the time when the relevant agent service was performed, and the conclusion and duration of the negotiated employment contract. Termination after a transfer does not answer the commission question by itself.

Article 14 paragraph 5 of the FIFA rules links the service fee to services agreed in advance in the Representation Agreement. The agreement must be in force when the relevant Football Agent Services are performed. This prevents unrelated later activity from being assigned to an old mandate after the fact.

A narrow post-termination effect is addressed in article 14 paragraph 5(a). If the negotiated employment contract lasts longer than the Representation Agreement, the agent may receive a service fee after the Representation Agreement expires. The individual’s employment contract must still be in force and the possibility must have been expressly agreed with the client in the Representation Agreement.

This is not a general share in every later career decision. The provision is tied to the negotiated employment contract and the remuneration arising under it. A later club change, extension or new mandate requires a separate review. The actual service must also fit the agreed service description.

Article 14 paragraph 6 provides for payment after closure of the relevant registration period in instalments every three months for the duration of the negotiated employment contract. The contract, registration, remuneration actually received and invoices are therefore important for the accounting.

For an open transfer, it is not enough that the agent once contacted a club. The review must show what service was agreed, when it was performed and whether it relates to the later transaction. This may include arranging an introduction, conveying a specific offer, preparing negotiations or transmitting a draft agreement.

Build a chronology. Start with the Representation Agreement and amendments, followed by powers of attorney, offers, emails, messages, notes, drafts, the termination notice and the later employment or transfer agreement. The chronology shows whether the decisive services were performed before the agreement ended.

Under article 16 paragraph 4(b), an agent must, on request, provide relevant agreements, the employment contract and a schedule of payments of any kind made in relation to a transaction in which the agent was involved. A blanket invoice is not a substitute for that documentation.

The FIFA rules also prohibit approaching or negotiating with a view to inducing an individual to prematurely terminate an employment contract without just cause. Ending an agent agreement must therefore be kept separate from an unlawful intervention in the player contract.

Section 1002 ABGB defines the mandate and power-of-attorney agreement as an agreement by which a person undertakes to manage an entrusted matter in another person’s name. Section 1009 ABGB requires the agent to perform the matter diligently and honestly within the instruction and authority and to account for the benefit arising from the business. These principles help classify the mandate, service scope and accounting duties.

Section 1020 ABGB permits the principal to revoke the authority. Costs, damage and a reasonable part of the remuneration may then be relevant. Whether the provision applies directly or as a supplementary civil-law rule depends on the agreement, its legal classification and the FIFA rules that govern the service.

A civil-law remuneration claim after revocation is therefore not the same as an automatic FIFA service fee. The questions must be kept separate: what service was agreed and performed, and what remuneration is due under the applicable regulations for this transaction?

Using a blanket tail clause: A clause should identify the negotiated transaction, period and calculation basis. “All future transfers” does not describe a sufficiently clear service scope.

Confusing termination with the transfer date: The end date, service date, registration, and conclusion of the employment contract belong separately in the chronology.

Looking only at a club payment: The FIFA rules generally link calculation to remuneration actually received by the individual or to the relevant transfer compensation.

Leaving open transactions unnamed: Negotiations, offers and introduced contacts should be recorded expressly when the relationship ends.

Treating an invoice as proof of performance: An invoice does not replace the Representation Agreement or evidence of the agreed service actually performed.

Can a player terminate the agent agreement after a transfer?
The answer depends on the agreement, the reason and the applicable rules. Just cause may permit immediate termination. Termination without just cause may create a compensation claim.

Is a commission automatically payable after the agent agreement ends?
No. Article 14 paragraph 5(a) may permit payment after expiry where the negotiated employment contract remains in force and the Representation Agreement expressly provides for it. It does not create a general right to payment for later transactions.

What if negotiations were still open when the agreement ended?
Secure the service description, timing, contacts and further course of the negotiations. Payment can only be assessed from that record.

Which documents should be collected?
Keep the complete agent agreement and amendments, authorisations, offers, messages, drafts, termination, employment or transfer agreement, registration, invoices and payment records.

Secure the complete agent agreement and amendments first. Then create a chronology of contacts, offers, negotiations, termination, registration and payments. Mark open transactions and distinguish the concluded employment contract from later new projects.

You can receive further legal updates from the firm through BRANDaktuelle Legal News. For the broader contractual framework, see the topic page on agents and intermediaries. The pages on termination and dispute resolution and the club change checklist provide further structure.

Contact the firm
If termination, an unpaid commission or an open transaction is disputed after a mediated transfer, we review the agreement, communications, employment contract and accounting together. Mag. Bernhard Brandauer, Rechtsanwalt, will clarify the next practical steps with you.