Local Attorney ‘Coaches’ the NFL

Not one to stay put, local family law attorney Randy Kessler was off to Chicago to present to NFL agents and financial advisors on behalf of the National Football League Players Association.

For the past 25 years, he has appeared countrywide (Miami, Las Vegas, Indianapolis) to explain how family law affects athletes, so that when the athlete calls their agent or financial advisor “in trouble,” they will know the basics of family law and tricky areas like child support, DNA testing, and prenuptial agreements.

Kessler said, “There’s a lot to it. I’ve been lucky that they’ve sort of let me into their circle; and I help so many athletes behind the scenes that nobody knows about. I have agents and advisors call me from all over the country to talk to a client in Dallas or Minnesota and help them get situated with a local lawyer in their community.”

Consider the complexity of an 18-year-old being plunged into fame and fortune without much guidance in growing up with tools to deal with that. Kessler explained, “People always ask me why professional athletes seem to have so many children out of wedlock. My response is that we hear about this more because they’re athletes, but in truth, to put it simply, they have much more to be tempted by than the average guy. There are women who make it their mission to have a child with an NFL, NBA, or other major league player. And we must remember, these athletes are not wise old men, they’re kids, sometimes 18 years old, and often not older than 21 or 22.”

Kessler has one case where after three years of litigation and after child support and parenting time was resolved, the couple have spent another year still fighting over the Bentley.

Kessler continued, “While most players are ‘coachable’ and understand they will have to pay child support and co-parent, perhaps the biggest impediment to resolving these cases is the assumption by the recipient of child support that they should receive so much monthly support because ‘he makes so much’. There’s not a lot of law in Georgia or anywhere addressing what to do when the payor earns millions of dollars per year, or even millions per month. Certainly, any reasonable need of the child should be met, and the child of such an income-earner should receive more than average child support. But how much more? Child support should not be, and usually is not, a way for the custodial parent to get rich.

Kessler is sympathetic to young players who are thrown into fame and fortune with no tools to handle the pressures.

“So, we advise based on our experience. Georgia tends to award much lower child support than, for instance, Los Angeles or New York. But then again, those places have much higher costs of living and many more high earners so a big ‘ask’ is less offensive to a judge in Beverly Hills or Manhattan.”

Kessler recalls watching young men, who are tops in their chosen professions and admired by many, face various challenging situations with rules and obstacles that are new to them. He explained, “This is the essence of life. Creating a family, working through a difficult relationship and hopefully being able to reflect on it one day and feel good about the way he handled it, and the advice he received from us. And to see them years later, thriving, in a good relationship with their children (and hopefully with the children’s mother), is the best result and reward I ever receive.”

Based in downtown Atlanta and featured in the Atlanta Jewish Times Chai Style Art (July 2022), Kessler is known as the “celebrity divorce lawyer” whose high-profile cases include:

REPRESENTED:

Cardi B
Cam Newton (NFL League MVP)
Nene Leakes (Real Housewives of Atlanta)
Dominique Wilkins (NBA Hall of Fame)
Jeannie Mai (vs. Jeezy)
Neyo
T-Pain
Jerry Stackhouse (NBA)
Joe Johnson (NBA)
Porsha Williams (Real Housewives of Atlanta)