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Decades of Dominance: The NFL’s New Media Rights Deal Will Make Football More Popular Than Ever
Eight days after decreasing the salary cap for the first time since 2011, the NFL announced a massive new 11-year media deal worth $113 billion. Set to take effect in 2023, this agreement represents the largest deal in media history and nearly doubles the value of the NFL’s previous contracts. CBS, FOX, NBC, and ESPN will retain their rights to broadcast AFC games, NFC games, Sunday Night Football, and Monday Night Football, respectively, while Disney’s ESPN and ABC join the Super Bowl broadcast rotation. DirectTV will retain rights to Sunday Ticket—a complete package of every NFL game—through 2022, though its successor […]
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How are sports leagues clarifying player punishments for sports gambling controversies?
Brown and red leaves weren’t the only unusual sight during last year’s Masters Tournament. On top of an unprecedented November scene at Augusta National, one of the game’s most historic sites witnessed another peculiarity: one of the game’s most influential players donning a sports betting company’s logo on his hat. Bryson DeChambeau, the reigning U.S. Open champion and No. 6 golfer in the world at the time, signed a multi-year endorsement contract with DraftKings in early November. DeChambeau became the first athlete to strike a deal with the well-known fantasy sports betting company, and, given the company’s growth, he likely won’t […]
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EA Sports Returns to College Football: What to Do About the Roster Share Feature?
The wait is over. Earlier this month, EA Sports announced that it would revive its popular college football video game franchise NCAA Football. This time around, however, the game will be called EA Sports College Football. The name is not the only thing that will be different about the game, which marks the first college football title from EA Sports since 2013. Perhaps the biggest questions ahead of College Football’s release are whether and how EA Sports will allow players to edit and share rosters in the game, and what the base rosters will look like to begin with. The story […]
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What If the NCAA Litigated State NIL Legislation?
When the NCAA promised to explore rule changes related to name, image, and likeness (“NIL”) and subsequently released a working group report proposing an outline for legislation on the issue, many praised the passage of California’s Fair Pay to Play Act (“FPP”) as forcing the NCAA’s hand. Backed into a corner by the possibility of member institutions being regulated by mismatched state laws, the NCAA developed new rules that would apply equally to athletic programs across the country. While modifications to NIL had been a long time coming, the NCAA’s expansion of compensation to athletes should be seen as a strategic […]
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Win at All Costs: At the Intersection of Sports and Compliance
by Christine Abely[1] Matt Hart’s recent book, Win at All Costs: Inside Nike Running and its Culture of Deception, explores the story of Nike’s Oregon Project and the events ultimately leading to its shutdown. The training program for elite runners was headed by Alberto Salazar, who received a four-year ban from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) in October 2019 for administering an infusion in excess of the applicable limit; tampering and/or attempted tampering with the doping control process; and trafficking of testosterone through involvement in a testosterone testing program.[2] Salazar’s appeal before the Court of Arbitration for Sport is currently scheduled […]
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On Stranger Tides: What effect will Depp’s loss in the UK courts have on his claim against Heard in the States?
On November 2nd, 2020, Justice Andrew Nicol of the High Court of England and Wales handed down judgement in Depp II v News Group Newspapers Ltd & Anor [2020] EWHC 2911 (QB) with the world watching. In what is arguably the largest and most high profile case since the introduction of the Defamation Act 2013 (“2013 Act”) in the UK, the High Court dismissed the former Pirates of the Caribbean star Johnny Depp’s libel claim against the Sun newspaper. Depp brought the libel action under Section 1(1) of the 2013 Act. The claim followed the publication of an article on April 27th, […]
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Forging the Future: The questions that must be answered before the NBA’s 2020-21 season.
For the third time this year, the NBA and NBPA have extended the deadline for either side to opt-out and give 45-day notice to terminate the CBA. This time, the deadline has been pushed to October 30. The current CBA was established in 2016 and was set to run seven years, with the opportunity to terminate coming after the sixth year. But with the COVID-19 pandemic sweeping the world, the NBA is now working in a completely different financial arena. As Commissioner Adam Silver has said: “Everything that we’re doing exists outside the current collective bargaining agreement. We need to negotiate […]
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Cancel the Wedding
If you love it, put a ring on it. Like engagements, the closing of a deal is often cause for celebration and joy. Last November, LVMH cinched a deal to acquire Tiffany & Co. for an eye-watering $16.6 billion. Quite an expensive engagement indeed, the largest ever in the luxury sector. But, like a groom getting second thoughts before the ceremony, LVMH now squirms for a way out. Coronavirus, and the global pandemic it entailed, has shaken up the luxury goods industry. And the dalliance between Tiffany and LVMH is yet another high-profile casualty in the ongoing situation. What was once […]
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“Money”Ball is Back
A new player has entered the sports acquisition industry, and a familiar face is involved Billy Beane’s new project seems to be the antithesis to his infamous “Moneyball” scheme. Private-equity firm RedBird Capital Partners, with whom Beane is now partnering, has not shied away from making splashy, lucrative acquisitions in the sports industry. RedBird, through its new special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), RedBall Acquisition Corp., may be adding one more title to its belt: Fenway Sports Group LLC. For a valuation of $8 billion. RedBall, which would receive less than 25 percent of Fenway Sports, may receive quite the bang for […]
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NFL Catches COVID
The NFL caught its first COVID outbreak of the young season after the Tennessee Titans confirmed eight positive test results among players and other personnel. The Titans immediately halted in-person activities, as did the Minnesota Vikings, the Titans’ previous opponent. As of Thursday morning, the Titans had one additional player test positive, putting their Week 5 game against the Buffalo Bills in jeopardy, following the postponement of their Week 4 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers . Following the initial positive tests, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell sent a memo to team Chief Executives and Club Presidents outlining the steps the league had […]
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The State of College Sports, Part 2: NIL and Alston
College sports are in a state of upheaval. Recent legal outcomes and legislative maneuvers have continued to upset the control of the NCAA as pandemic-induced turmoil has thrown competition schedules completely out of whack. The state of college sports is in flux, and this is the perfect time to check in on the industry as another season is set to warily begin. In Part 1 of this two-part series, we’ll explore how “post”-pandemic return-to-play plans have facilitated an unprecedented moment in student-athlete organizing and collective action. In Part 2, we’ll examine how the NCAA has continued to move forward on amending […]
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The State of College Sports, Part 1: Return-to-Play
College sports are in a state of upheaval. Recent legal outcomes and legislative maneuvers have continued to upset the control of the NCAA as pandemic-induced turmoil has thrown competition schedules completely out of whack. The state of college sports is in flux, and this is the perfect time to check in on the industry as another season is set to warily begin. In Part 1 of this two-part series, we’ll explore how “post”-pandemic return-to-play plans have facilitated an unprecedented moment in student-athlete organizing and collective action. In Part 2, we’ll examine how the NCAA has continued to move forward on amending […]