Inside the NBA with Suzanne Spellacy, General Counsel of the Minnesota Timberwolves, Minnesota Lynx and T-Wolves Gaming
The Briefing by the IP Law Blog: NBA Star Luka Doncic Goes Hard in the Paint and Seeks to Cancel Mom’s Trademark (Part 2)
The Pitch newsletter is a monthly update of legal issues and news affecting or related to the music, film and television, fine arts, media, professional athletics, eSports, and gaming industries. The Pitch features a diverse...more
Floyd Mayweather finds himself deep into a lawsuit, as fraud and theft claims have been put against his name. The American boxer and rapper Tyga are now part of a suit by Leonard Sulaymanov, who has alleged the non-payment of...more
The breach of contract trial against a woman claiming to be Jerry Jones’ daughter is scheduled to start next Monday, and the Cowboys owner is expected to testify on the witness stand....more
Game equipment company Sport Squad Inc. deceptively marketed some of its pickleball paddles as approved by the sport’s national governing body even though the approval had been rescinded, a consumer class action alleges....more
The NCAA and the Power 5 conferences have told a CA federal judge that the “highly varied and diverse ways” schools compensated athletes after the 2021 Alston Supreme Court decision make it implausible to certify the class...more
Florida State University is pushing for the dismissal of the Atlantic Coast Conference’s NC lawsuit, saying it was prematurely filed to preempt the university’s own suit against the conference, in an attempt to win a “race to...more
Vince McMahon, co-founder of World Wrestling Entertainment Inc., has resigned, a WWE representative confirmed Friday, a day after a former employee claimed McMahon forced her to have sex, trafficked her to other executives...more
A third attorney team representing World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. stockholders has signaled a tag-in for a widening Delaware Court of Chancery rumble with founder Vincent McMahon and top company officials and directors...more
With three games on Thanksgiving Day and another on Black Friday, the NFL was likely a predominant discussion point in many households this past holiday weekend. However, these discussions were probably focused on the actual...more
1. Cannabis Entering the Metaverse - As we discuss in greater detail here, the Metaverse provides expansive marketing and sales opportunities for cannabis companies due to its decentralized nature and the varied regulatory...more
Private equity firms, financial sponsors, and sovereign wealth funds continue to invest in global sports organizations. Financial sponsor–led investments were more prevalent at the beginning of the century in Europe and...more
That's a good thing. On April 1, the National Basketball Association and National Basketball Players Association announced that they had reached an agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement. The new deal, which...more
Welcome back to the Spotlight and oh-me, oh-my, do we have a full slate of developments in the National Football League (NFL) – and that’s to say nothing of what happened on the field, with the Cincinnati Bengals and Los...more
In early September 2021, the United States Justice Department announced that three retired NFL players had pleaded guilty for their roles in a nationwide scheme to defraud the Gene Upshaw NFL Player Health Reimbursement...more
The esports ecosystem experienced transcendental growth in 2020 due at least in part to the Covid-19 pandemic, and is poised to act as a spring board for even further growth this year. With traditional sports largely...more
We began developing this report before COVID-19. Then, esports was a burgeoning sector with exponential year-over-year growth. The commercial landscape was ripe with opportunities for all stakeholders in the esports...more
We’ve all been there—that incredible moment when our favorite team is driving down the field for the go-ahead touchdown, has runners in scoring position in the bottom of the ninth inning, or has a penalty kick in the 89th...more
On May 13, the Los Angeles Rams unveiled their new uniforms for the 2020 NFL season. The club’s official Twitter account tweeted a 41-second video accompanied by the caption “A new era in Los Angeles.” While NFL fans and...more
The NFL playoffs are underway and teams and their fans are riding high: eight teams still have a chance of making the Super Bowl. Now could be the perfect time to protect the team slogan or motto that fans will love for years...more
More than ever before, biometric data, a term often used broadly to refer to metrics related to human characteristics, is being collected at a faster pace. Devices of all kinds are now able to able to track and store data...more
Could sports become the killer app for virtual reality (VR)? At least one prominent venture capitalist believes that will be case. Todd Klein, partner of Revolution Growth, a Washington, D.C.-based investment firm founded by...more
With the 2017-18 National Football League (NFL) regular season and National Basketball Association (NBA) pre-season underway, many spectators are excited to don their favorite players’ jerseys and cheer on their teams. Yet in...more
We could not let the dust settle on 2015 without recapping the monumental upheaval the sports industry has experienced this year. Not since Rupert Murdoch unearthed sport as a commercial “battering ram” for distribution...more
“Politics is tricky; it cuts both ways. Every time you make a choice, it has unintended consequences.” — Stone Gossard A recent opinion from the Tennessee Attorney General’s office, No. 15-63, July 29, 2015, illustrates...more
It’s official—professional cheerleaders are now recognized as employees under California law. On July 15, 2015, California Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill that requires all California-based professional sports teams to pay...more