Sports medicine practice marketing: team arrangements, sports physicals, concussion pages and youth athletes

A sports medicine practice markets in places other practices do not: on the sideline, in the school gym during physicals week, on a club’s sponsor banner and in the feed of an athlete who just got back on the field. Those places are where the trust comes from, and they are also where the legal questions sit. A free athletic trainer for the high school, a Saturday of free physicals, a page that promises a quick concussion clearance or a repost of a star player’s thank-you can each be fine or can each be a problem, depending on how it is set up and worded.

Two related topics have their own guides and are not repeated here. Condition pages, device and regenerative claims, in-house imaging and the basic rules for athlete stories, results that readers will expect for themselves and minors’ authorizations are in our orthopedic and sports medicine practice marketing guide. Paid creators, disclosure wording and clinicians who post as influencers are in our healthcare influencer marketing guide. This guide covers what is specific to a sports medicine program that works with schools, clubs and young athletes. If your program offers platelet-rich plasma, see our guide to PRP injection marketing.

Team physician, sideline and athletic trainer arrangements

The relationship with a school or club is the core of sports medicine marketing, and it is the part with the heaviest legal questions. The federal anti-kickback statute makes it a crime to knowingly and willfully offer or pay any remuneration, directly or indirectly, in cash or in kind, to induce a person to refer an individual for an item or service that a federal health care program may pay for (42 U.S.C. 1320a-7b(b)(2)). The words “in kind” matter here. Free sideline coverage, a free athletic trainer placed at a school, free equipment, or a sponsorship payment are all things of value. If any of them is given with the purpose of steering injured players to your clinic, and any of those players have Medicare, Medicaid or another federal program, the statute can apply. Federal health care programs include state health care programs such as Medicaid and state children’s health plans (42 U.S.C. 1320a-7b(f) and 1320a-7(h)), so young athletes on those plans count.

The safest structure is one where the value flows both ways at a fair price and nothing depends on referrals. The personal services and management contracts safe harbor at 42 CFR 1001.952(d)(1) shows what regulators look for in a services deal: a written agreement signed by the parties, that covers all of the services and specifies them, for a term of at least one year, with a compensation method set in advance, consistent with fair market value in arm’s-length transactions, and not determined in a manner that takes into account the volume or value of referrals or business generated between the parties. The services also cannot exceed what is reasonably necessary for a commercially reasonable business purpose. Whether a given school or club deal fits that safe harbor, or needs another analysis, is a question for counsel, but those elements are a good checklist to bring to the meeting.

If a hospital, imaging center or other entity that bills Medicare for designated health services pays for or staffs part of your sports program, and your physicians refer patients there, the physician self-referral law at 42 U.S.C. 1395nn can also apply. Under it, a physician with a financial relationship with an entity may not make a referral to that entity for designated health services payable by Medicare, unless an exception applies. Our patient and physician referrals guide explains both laws in more depth.

What this means for marketing: say what the arrangement is, and leave out anything that sounds like a referral promise. “Our athletic trainers cover home games at the high school under a services agreement” is a plain description. A sponsor banner or a flyer that says injured players will be “sent to” your clinic, or a coach handout that names your clinic as where injuries must go, describes exactly the steering you want to avoid. Families choose where their child is treated, and your materials should say so.

Illustration: a practice page titled “Our school partners” lists each school, what the practice provides there (game coverage, an athletic trainer during the season, preseason education night), and adds one line: “Families are free to choose any clinician for follow-up care.” It does not list patient counts or say that the school refers to the practice.

Free and discounted sports physicals

A physicals day for a team or a school is good outreach, and it is an event where a practice gives something of value directly to patients. The civil monetary penalties law makes it a violation to offer or transfer remuneration to a person eligible for Medicare or a state health care program that the giver knows or should know is likely to influence that person to order or receive items or services from a particular provider, where those items or services are payable by Medicare or a state health care program (42 U.S.C. 1320a-7a(a)(5)). State health care programs include Medicaid and state children’s health plans (42 U.S.C. 1320a-7(h)).

The OIG has a policy on small gifts: it interprets the prohibition to allow inexpensive gifts other than cash or cash equivalents of no more than $15 in retail value per item or $75 in the aggregate per patient on an annual basis. A free physical is a clinical service, not a token gift, so do not assume the nominal value policy covers it. Before you advertise free or discounted physicals, ask counsel how the event is structured: who pays, whether the physical is billed to anyone, and whether follow-up care is offered at the event.

Then describe the event accurately. Say what the physical includes and what it does not include, who performs it, and what happens if something is found. If the form a school requires is the only paperwork the visit produces, say that. Do not describe a sports physical as a full checkup unless your clinicians perform one. Our health fair and screening event marketing guide covers sign-up forms, consent and follow-up for free events.

Illustration: an event flyer reads “Sports physicals for registered athletes, Saturday 9 to 1, performed by our physicians and physician assistants. Bring the school’s form signed by a parent. If we find something that needs a closer look, we will tell you and your parent, and you can follow up with any clinician you choose.” It does not mention a prize, a gift card or a discount on later care.

Concussion and return-to-play pages

Concussion pages draw parents in a hurry, and they are where wording needs special care. The CDC HEADS UP page on returning to sports, dated September 15, 2025, says that after a concussion an athlete should only return to sports practices with the approval and under the supervision of their healthcare provider. It lays out a six-step progression, from regular activities to light aerobic activity, moderate activity, heavy non-contact activity, practice and full contact, and then competition. It puts each step at a minimum of 24 hours in the expected case, and says an athlete should only move to the next step when there are no new symptoms at the current step. If symptoms come back, the athlete stops and the medical provider is contacted.

That framework is a good guide for your copy. A page that promises same-day clearance, a set return date, or a test that tells you when a child is safe to play is making a claim that runs against the public health guidance a parent may already have read. Under the FTC Act, it is unlawful to disseminate a false advertisement for services that is likely to induce their purchase (15 U.S.C. 52), and a representation is deceptive if it is likely to mislead a consumer acting reasonably in the circumstances, as set out in the FTC Policy Statement on Deception. The FTC Policy Statement Regarding Advertising Substantiation says that objective claims need a reasonable basis before they are made. Describe what your team does: evaluation, a written plan, supervised progression and a clearance decision by a clinician when the athlete is ready.

Baseline or preseason testing deserves the same care. Describe it as a record taken before the season that your clinicians may compare against later. Do not say it diagnoses or rules out a concussion unless you have substantiation for that specific claim, and do not name or describe a test as authorized by a federal agency unless you have checked that authorization for that exact use. Rules on who may clear a young athlete to return, and what form that clearance takes, are set state by state, so check your state’s rules before you describe your role.

Illustration: a concussion page reads “If your athlete may have a concussion, we can see them this week for an evaluation. If the diagnosis is a concussion, we will give you a written plan for school and a step-by-step return to sport, supervised by our team, with each step lasting at least a day. Our clinician decides when they are ready for full contact, based on how they do at each step.” A line at the top tells families to call 911 in an emergency.

A clinic or program built around concussion evaluation, baseline testing claims, device wording, school letters and FERPA versus HIPAA for student records is covered in our guide to concussion clinic marketing.

Return to sport and performance claims

Return-to-sport claims are the sports medicine version of an outcome claim. “Back on the field in half the time” or “get your season back” asks the reader to expect a result. If the claim is stated by an athlete in a post, it is still yours: the FTC Endorsement Guides say advertisers are subject to liability for misleading or unsubstantiated statements made through endorsements, and that an advertiser may be liable for a deceptive endorsement even when the endorser is not (16 CFR 255.1(d)). The rules on results an athlete story implies for everyone else are in our orthopedic guide and are not repeated here.

Performance services such as speed training, movement screens or strength programs are marketed with the same law in mind. A claim that a program prevents injuries, raises a vertical jump by a set amount or earns a scholarship is an objective claim that needs a reasonable basis. If you do not have it, describe the program instead: who leads it, the number of sessions, what each one covers and who it is for.

Athlete posts, reposts and team pages

Section 255.5 of the Endorsement Guides includes an example about a professional athlete who praises surgery at a named clinic. It does not stop at the athlete’s own post. When the clinic reposts the athlete’s social media post, the example says the clinic should clearly and conspicuously disclose its relationship to the athlete in its repost, because the clinic’s followers would likely not expect the athlete to be compensated. The same section says the relationship should be disclosed even if the athlete got the treatment free or at a significantly reduced cost.

The guides also tell advertisers what to do about endorsers: give them guidance on not making misleading statements and on disclosing material connections, monitor their compliance, and act to remedy non-compliance (16 CFR 255.1(d)). For a sports program that means a one-page note for any athlete, coach or team account you work with, and a person on your staff who checks the posts. The FTC says this is not a safe harbor, but that good faith and effective guidance, monitoring and remedial action should reduce deceptive claims and the odds of an enforcement action.

If a post shows that someone is your patient, it is also a privacy question. A written HIPAA authorization is required for any use or disclosure of protected health information for marketing, with narrow exceptions (45 CFR 164.508(a)(3)). For a minor, who signs depends on the personal representative rules; the details are in our orthopedic guide and our patient testimonials and photos guide. A team photo at a game you cover does not have to say anyone is a patient, and should not.

Youth athletes and online forms

Camps, clinics and screening days for young athletes are marketed online, and the sign-up form is where a children’s privacy law can apply. Under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule, a child is an individual under the age of 13 (16 CFR 312.2). An operator of a website or online service directed to children, or one that has actual knowledge that it is collecting personal information from a child, must follow the rule (16 CFR 312.3). That includes notice of what is collected and how it is used, verifiable parental consent before collection, a way for parents to review and refuse further use, not asking for more information than is reasonably necessary for an activity, and reasonable security.

The simplest way to stay clear of that problem is to build youth sign-ups for the parent. Address the page to parents, ask the parent to fill in the form, and collect the parent’s contact details plus only what the event needs, such as the athlete’s first name, age group and sport. Leave out injury history and medical questions; take those at the visit. Our pediatric practice marketing guide covers parent-facing pages and minors’ records in more detail.

Illustration: a summer camp page says “Parents and guardians: register your athlete below.” The form asks for the parent’s name, email and phone, the athlete’s first name, birth year and sport, and has a box for the parent to confirm they are the parent or guardian. It does not ask the athlete to create an account or upload a photo.

Illustration: two ways to announce a school partnership

Illustration: Version one says “Proud official sports medicine partner of the high school! All injured players come straight to our clinic for same-day clearance.” It implies a referral arrangement, promises a clearance the CDC framework does not support, and gives no detail about what the practice provides.

Illustration: Version two says “This season our athletic trainers cover home football and soccer games at the high school under a services agreement, and we host a free concussion education night for parents in August. If your athlete is hurt, you choose where they are seen. If you choose us, we offer evaluation appointments within the week.” It describes the services, keeps choice with the family and makes no outcome promise. Before publishing the last sentence, check that your scheduling data supports it, or remove it.

Checklist

• Every school, club or team arrangement is in writing, priced at fair market value, set in advance and reviewed by counsel.
• No flyer, banner or handout says injured players will be sent to your clinic.
• Free or discounted physicals and events were reviewed for beneficiary inducement rules before they were advertised.
• Concussion pages describe evaluation, a written plan and a supervised progression, with no set return dates or same-day clearance promises.
• Baseline testing is described as a comparison record, not a diagnosis.
• Return-to-sport and performance claims have substantiation on file, or are removed.
• Reposts of athlete content carry the clinic’s own disclosure of the relationship.
• Athletes and team accounts you work with have written guidance, and someone checks their posts.
• Patient stories have a signed HIPAA authorization, from a parent or guardian for a minor, before posting.
• Youth sign-up forms are addressed to parents and ask only for what the event needs.

How we help

We build websites, local search, Google Ads and AI front desk tools for independent practices and health businesses. For a sports medicine practice, that means a website with clear concussion, physicals and school partner pages, local search that reaches parents after a game, and booking flows that collect contact details from a parent without asking for injury history. Our tools are built with HIPAA in mind. We confirm in writing what a BAA covers before any patient information flows through a tool, and if it is not covered, we do not route patient information through it. We are not a healthcare provider and we do not give legal or medical advice. We do not sell lead lists and we do not pay for referrals. For the wider rules, see our healthcare marketing rules hub.

Sources

• 42 U.S.C. 1320a-7b: Criminal penalties for acts involving Federal health care programs
• 42 CFR 1001.952: Exceptions (safe harbors), paragraph (d)
• 42 U.S.C. 1395nn: Limitation on certain physician referrals
• 42 U.S.C. 1320a-7a: Civil monetary penalties
• 42 U.S.C. 1320a-7: Exclusion of certain individuals and entities, subsection (h)
• OIG Policy Statement Regarding Gifts of Nominal Value to Medicare and Medicaid Beneficiaries
• CDC HEADS UP: Returning to Sports
• 16 CFR 255.1: General considerations
• 16 CFR 255.5: Disclosure of material connections
• 15 U.S.C. 45: Unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices
• 15 U.S.C. 52: Dissemination of false advertisements
• FTC Policy Statement on Deception
• FTC Policy Statement Regarding Advertising Substantiation
• 16 CFR 312.2: Definitions (Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule)
• 16 CFR 312.3: Regulation of unfair or deceptive acts or practices
• 45 CFR 164.508: Uses and disclosures for which an authorization is required

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