A coordinator moving from one Power Conference program to a peer in a different conference, a non-solicit on staff and recruits that read like a court fight, a signing bonus that would need to be repaid at the wrong reading, and a compressed transition window. We turned the non-solicit into a workable perimeter.
The peer program's offer arrived with a defined start date twelve days out. Two staff members he had personally recruited to the current program had expressed interest in following him. Three high school recruits he had been the primary point on had public transfer or commit decisions pending.
His current head coach had made it clear the non-solicit would be enforced.
We read the non-solicit against enforceability standards in the current program's state, identified the two provisions that would not survive challenge, and negotiated a written amendment before the move that narrowed the covered staff to two specifically named individuals, dropped the recruit provision entirely for high school seniors, kept it for underclassmen the coordinator had personally recruited, and cut the duration to nine months.
We restructured the signing-bonus repayment as a defined pro-rata schedule against months served, with a cap tied to the receiving program's willingness to hold the number. We coordinated with the receiving program on a compliant recruiting-file handoff, drafted a personal script for the coordinator to use with the two staff members and the three recruits, and closed the exit inside the twelve-day window.
"The offer was there. The paper was in the way. Brandon moved it."
— Coordinator
Programs write non-solicit provisions to sound as sweeping as possible, betting that most coaches will not challenge them under deadline pressure. A provision with no geographic limit and an eighteen-month tail on both staff and recruits is exactly the kind of overreach that does not survive a real enforceability analysis in most states, but someone has to run that analysis before the move, not after a dispute starts.
A signing-bonus repayment clause read literally can turn a career opportunity into a financial loss. Read correctly and restructured pro-rata, it becomes a manageable number both programs can live with.
We negotiate non-solicit and non-compete provisions for coaches moving between programs, and we move on the compressed timelines these transitions actually run on.
Most engagements are flat fee, quoted before the work begins — and most matters resolve without litigation. Start with a free consultation.