The most valuable thing you can do before signing a sports medicine franchise agreement costs nothing: read the Franchise Disclosure Document from front to back, then ask pointed questions about the parts that will shape your next several years. Federal law is on your side here. Under the FTC's Franchise Rule, a franchisor must give you the FDD — a standardized document with 23 disclosure items — at least 14 calendar days before you sign anything or pay any money.
That waiting period isn't a formality. The FDD runs long and reads dry, and it's easy to skim the sections that turn out to matter most a year into ownership. The nine questions below each point to a specific FDD item, so you can go straight to the source and get answers in writing rather than in a sales conversation.
One ground rule before the list. If a salesperson, broker, or franchise "coach" tells you what you can expect to earn, stop and check Item 19. Financial performance representations are legal only when they appear in that item of the FDD, and the same rule prohibits anyone from making spoken or written earnings claims outside it. An income figure floated over the phone isn't enthusiasm — it's a compliance problem, and it tells you something about how a brand operates.
1. What does the total investment actually include?
Start with Items 5 and 7. Item 5 lists the initial fees you pay directly to the franchisor. Item 7 lays out the estimated initial investment — the full range of what it costs to open the doors, from buildout and equipment to signage, licenses, insurance, and initial working capital. For Alpha Sports Performance Medicine, the franchise fee is $50,000, and the total estimated initial investment is $405,950 to $605,320.
The spread between the low and high end usually comes down to real estate, local construction costs, and how much you build out on day one. Read the footnotes beneath the Item 7 table closely — they explain what each line assumes, whether a cost is a one-time payment or a deposit, and which factors push your number toward the top of the range. This is the section to walk through with an accountant so you know exactly how much capital you need on hand, not just the headline figure.
2. What ongoing fees will I pay — and what are they based on?
Item 6 is where the recurring costs live, and it deserves more attention than most prospects give it. Franchise systems commonly charge an ongoing royalty plus a contribution to a brand or advertising fund, and there may be technology, training, or renewal fees layered on top. Read each one carefully.
The detail that trips people up: royalties are typically calculated on gross revenue, not on profit. That's standard, but it changes how you think about the model, because the fee applies whether a given month is strong or lean. Item 6 should spell out the rate, the basis, when each fee is due, and whether any of them can change over the life of the agreement. If a fee is described as "then-current" or otherwise adjustable, ask what governs the increases.
3. What does the franchisor actually do to support me?
Fees only make sense next to what you get in return, and Item 11 is where the franchisor commits to it in writing. This item covers pre-opening assistance, initial and ongoing training, operational support, marketing programs, and any required computer or point-of-sale systems. Pay attention to the difference between what the franchisor must do and what it may do — the obligations are what you can hold them to.
Support matters most for owners who don't come from a clinical background, since the systems and training are what let a non-clinician run a healthcare business responsibly. If you're weighing an integrated model, it's worth understanding how a franchisor structures its training and ongoing owner support before you sign, not after.
4. How is my territory defined and protected?
Item 12 tells you whether you receive a protected territory and exactly how the boundaries are drawn — by radius, ZIP code, population, or another method. Just as important, it discloses what rights the franchisor keeps for itself, including whether it can open competing outlets or sell through other channels inside or near your area.
A well-defined, exclusive territory protects the investment you're about to make. Alpha Sports offers exclusive territories across Texas; which specific markets are open and how a given territory is drawn are details the franchise team walks through directly, because availability changes over time. If territory is central to your decision, raise it early and get the answer in the agreement — you can explore the ownership opportunity to understand how the model is structured before you get into specifics.
5. Is there litigation or bankruptcy in the franchisor's past?
Items 3 and 4 are the ones prospective owners skip and later wish they hadn't. Item 3 discloses the franchisor's litigation history, including whether the company or its executive officers have been the subject of certain lawsuits or have been found liable. Item 4 covers bankruptcy filings by the franchisor, its affiliates, or its leadership.
A single lawsuit isn't automatically a warning sign — established brands attract disputes in the ordinary course of business. What you're looking for is a pattern: multiple franchisees suing over the same issue, repeated claims about misrepresentation, or a history of financial distress. Those patterns say more about what ownership will actually feel like than any brochure.
6. Can I speak with current and former franchisees?
Item 20 may be the most useful section in the entire document. It provides charts showing how the system has grown and how much owner turnover it has seen, along with contact information for current franchisees and — this is the part to use — those who left the system in the past year.
Call both groups. Ask the same questions of each: Was the training real? Does the support live up to Item 11? Did the actual cost to open land inside the Item 7 range? Would you do it again? People who have exited a system are often the most candid, and a franchisor confident in its model won't flinch when you say you plan to reach out. If a high number of outlets closed in your region, Item 20 is where you'll spot it — and it's worth asking why.
7. Is the franchisor on solid financial footing?
Item 21 contains the franchisor's audited financial statements for its three most recent years. This is easy to overlook, but you're not simply buying a license — you're betting that the parent company will still be there to support you in year five. A thinly capitalized franchisor can struggle to deliver the marketing, training, and system improvements it promised.
If you don't read financial statements fluently, this is the item to hand to an accountant. An hour of their time reviewing the balance sheet and the notes can tell you whether the company behind the brand is built to last.
8. What am I required to buy, and from whom?
Item 8 governs sourcing: what you must purchase, from which approved suppliers, and to what standards. In a healthcare setting, some of these controls are entirely reasonable — consistent clinical equipment and supplies protect both patients and the brand. The point isn't to resist restrictions; it's to understand them.
Look specifically for whether the franchisor or its affiliates receive rebates, commissions, or other payments from the suppliers you're required to use. That's disclosable, and it affects your real cost of goods. Understanding your sourcing obligations up front keeps the day-to-day economics of the clinic from surprising you later.
9. What happens at renewal, transfer, or if it doesn't work out?
Item 17 is the exit map, and it's the one people most regret not reading. It covers how long your agreement runs, what renewal requires, whether and how you can sell the business, what could trigger termination, any post-term non-compete, and how disputes get resolved — arbitration or court, the governing law, and the venue.
Read the transfer terms and the non-compete with particular care. Nobody signs a franchise agreement planning to leave, but the terms that govern your exit are far easier to accept before you sign than to renegotiate afterward. If you intend to build something you can eventually sell or pass on, the transfer provisions decide whether that's realistic.
The bottom line: take your time
Treat the 14-day disclosure window as a floor, not a target. There's no rule against taking longer, and the strongest franchisors expect serious candidates to bring a franchise attorney and an accountant into the review. A brand that welcomes that scrutiny is telling you something; so is one that rushes you. Work these nine questions against the actual document, and you'll walk into signing day understanding what you're agreeing to — which is the whole point of the disclosure process.
Reviewing an FDD with a specific opportunity in front of you makes every one of these questions concrete. If you're evaluating Alpha Sports Performance Medicine and want to talk through what integrated sports medicine ownership involves, contact the Alpha Sports franchise team at franchise@ASPMFranchise.com or call (402) 852-5742. You can also start with our frequently asked questions to cover the basics first.
Photo by Scott Graham on Unsplash
