A contract can be defined as an agreement that is private and voluntary in nature that binds at least two parties. For instance, a car buyer could enter in an agreement with the seller to pay him the agreed amount of money over a given period while the seller delivers the car to the buyer. It can be viewed as a way of ensuring a promise is kept with the use of law which is aimed at protecting the consumer. Stakeholders in sports have the need to work based on contracts which bind these parties. Sports contracts are formed in order to protect the players and the organizations for which these sports and athletes are serving under. This essay will discuss negotiation and research skills in contract. It will also discuss other processes involved in a contract which include; formation of a contact, scope of the contract, termination of the contract, performance of the contact, avoidance of obligations by the contract as well as the breach of the contract.
There are various processes which are involved in problem solving according to the contract law. In order to commence on solving, there is the need to find out all material facts relevant to the contact and upon which legal action can be taken. Legal issues brought up by the problem should then be identified. Application of these laws is then researched in order to come up with a solution for the problem .
Adamson V New South Wales Rugby League Ltd Case
Players from all the clubs playing under New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) contested the draft that placed an allocation between varied clubs the players whose contract expired and they failed to get a new contract with their clubs. The plaintiff players lost the case at the action trial and proceeded to obtain a verdict that was unanimous from the Federal Court of Australia’s Full Court stating that the draft as provided was not reasonable and that the restraint it placed on trade was not legally enforceable, hence was null and void .
This law took the Australian law on professional sports contracts in a totally new direction considering there ought to be a level of independence and freedom accorded to players in selecting their own employers. There are several facts surrounding this case, first of which is that 156 professional players were behind the appeal, with the respondents being the respective clubs (which are 16 in number) and the league. The rules stipulated that any player whose contract had expired and wanted to switch to a new club could only do that under an internal draft. Doing an application established an offer to a given club and that a contract was established when the given club drafted the specific player, accepting the laid out terms as stipulated in the offer. The players contested these rules saying that they went contrary to the already established s45 in the Trade Practices Act and were not valid as they were adding unfair restraint to trade .
In this case, there emerged two important questions: the first being whether there was a restraint of trade and the second being if the restraint was reasonable. The main issue here, however, was if the restraint was reasonable in the context of the two parties .
Sports contract are used by professional athletes and players in order to protect themselves when they decide to specialize in sports as a career. Most of these individuals rely on sports agents as well as lawyers to form, negotiating and in the implementation of these contracts. These professionals intend to protect themselves and making the most of their abilities by getting into certain contracts. These contracts are also referred to as personal service contracts and may not be reassigned to any other person. Organization on the other hand can assign the management of the contract to another party through a transfer of the obligations towards the player or athlete to another company which has similar abilities to manage the talent. Transfers often involve a change of money in which the team looking for services of an individual from another party, has to pay for the transfer of the services to them. Both parties have to agree and in some instances the player might also have a say in a transfer. This does not apply if the player is not willing to work for the other party since this might be ruled as slavery. Contracts are only applicable if they are signed voluntarily and without deception of either parties .
When an aggrieved party files a law suit following a breach of contract, the judge first establishes whether there existed a contract in the first place. The following are elements of contract law that indicate that a contract existed: offer, consideration, acceptance and mutuality. An offer can be defined as the promise made by one of the parties to do an action or refrain from doing a certain action. A consideration on the other hand is the valuable benefit that is to be received after adherence to the specified action or loss that a party incurs for not adhering to the set out actions. Acceptance meant that all parties agreed to the offer of the contract. Acceptance to an offer may be expressed in various ways such as words, deeds or through performance. The terms of an offer should not be changed by an acceptance, if so, the offer will be rejected. Mutuality means the parties to the contract understood and agreed to abide to the tenets of the contract .
All sports contracts contain common clauses. During formulation of the contracts, it is necessary to provide provisions for unwanted occurrences that may come up. Policies and procedures should be formulated to address any undesired outcomes that may arise following the change of attitude from either party . Sports laws serve various purposes. Given the current nature of sports, they are more of a business whereas the sportsmen are the professionals. This, therefore, calls for establishment of laws that will be used to solve disputes that may arise between the various stakeholders that engage in the sport. Players will seek the intervention of the court to assist in settling disputes between them and their clubs or sponsors .
Sports agents and lawyers are a common face in contract law. Sports agents play the key role of seeking and negotiating contracts for their professional sports personalities. Lawyers on the other hand represent their clients in court and also advise them legal issues concerning the contracts they intend to sign. It’s the duty of the lawyer to conduct a market survey and establish the worth of their clients by comparing it to others of his or her level within the same sport. There are those who neither involve the services of a lawyer nor an agent. This can be partly due to the costs incurred in paying for their services. Critics of these agents argue that the sports men are well equipped to be able to negotiate the terms of the contracts without necessarily involving an agent. They further argue that a player knows his or her worth much better than an agent would .
There are a number of factors which are used to verify the validity of a contract. For a contract to be valid there is the need for proof of the contract. An offer can become invalid if it is terminated before the offer is accepted by the party being offered the contract. A contract can also cease to be valid if part of the information is concealed or unknown by either parties. An independent contractor is a person who is allowed to free-lance, and as a result they may not be controlled by the party which they are rendering their services to. There are various factors to consider when reviewing a contract which include the term or duration which the contract is going to be active, ways in which disputes, assignation, confidentiality and the laws applicable to the various clauses clearly stated. The stated terms and conditions in a contract clearly stipulate what amounts to breach of contract. Club owners and managers are very much concerned about guarding the reputation of their clubs. Any misconduct by players that is deemed to amount to breach of contract attracts penalties. This undesirable behavior by players ranges from small offences like using abusive language while in the field of play and using obscene gestures to bigger offences like match fixing (Sharp et al., 2010).
Breach of the contract can result in sudden termination of the contract even before the agreed upon time. This breach can be as a result of failure to adhere to the biding laws by either the sponsor or the sports personality. Use of prohibited substances that enhance performance, doping, violating the rules of the governing sports body or signing another contract before the one you are in expires are all grounds for termination . Some contracts specify when a contract will be terminated following an injury to the athlete or footballer. Usually the duration is specified and is usually between periods of 60-180 days during which the sportsperson is unable to perform as expected due to an injury .
Buckley v Tutty case
In this case, Tutty was the plaintiff. He was on contract to the NSW Balmain Rugby Football League (NSW RFL). At one point, he wished to quit Balmain and move to another club. The policies of NSW RFL allowed member clubs to pay transfer fees on their players. In adherence to this policy, Balmain placed a transfer fee on Tutty. However, the fee so high that no club approached Tutty. He was thus forced to stay at Balmain until the expiry of his contract which occurred two years later. The laws stated that once the contract of a player had expired with the club he had been signed for, the club could not receive the services of the player not until another contract had been signed.
In their defense, Balmain and NSW RFL argued that the transfer fee they had arrived at was reasonable. They further argued that it was the only way the smaller clubs could be shielded from poaching of their players by the richer clubs. The high court on its part maintained that rules of the league denied the players the opportunity to seek greener pastures. This case brought changes in the system of transfer in Europe just as the Bosnia case revolutionized the system of transfer of players in Europe . A transfer can only be made effective if all the parties involved agree to the terms of the transfer. By raisin the transfer fee, the club ensured that they were in a position to protect competition from acquiring the services of their player. The player’s option was to finish his term with the club after which he could choose to sign with any club.
In conclusion, there are various processes which are involved in contract law. These contracts vary depending on the parties involved in the contract. The players are the ones most bound by these contracts since they offer personal services based on talent which is unique and cannot be transferred to other individuals. It is important that contracts are reviewed accordingly in order to ensure all the information is clear and both parties understand their obligations according to the contract.
References
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