Overview
Skadden has one of the preeminent sports law practices in the country. We have represented a wide range of major sports leagues — including the National Basketball Association, the National Hockey League, the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the PGA TOUR, the National Football League, the United States Tennis Association, Major League Baseball and Major League Soccer — as well as individual professional teams and their owners, in general litigation, player disputes, mergers, acquisitions, stadium financings, venue leases, corporate financings and project finance work. These high-stakes matters also have included licensing transactions, sponsorship agreements, real estate, intellectual property, antitrust, corporate, labor, insurance, player health safety, anti-doping and league governance issues.
Our attorneys have a thorough understanding of the legal challenges that can arise in the sports world and the best approaches for addressing those issues. We serve as a principal outside counsel to both the NBA and NHL and have been involved in nearly every major legal decision affecting these leagues for more than two decades. Additionally, we have played a principal role in many of the most high-profile matters on behalf of professional and amateur sports organizations and teams.
Skadden’s hallmark across disciplines is our ability to handle the most challenging issues our clients face, including many first-of-their-kind matters. Our sports practice is no different. In the litigation area, we have represented the NHL in multidistrict litigation brought by a putative class of retired players for personal injuries arising from concussive and sub-concussive injuries sustained while playing in the league, as well as the NCAA in federal antitrust class actions by Division I football and basketball players challenging amateurism rules barring compensation for student athletes.
Much of our corporate work draws on the extensive and relevant experience of our attorneys across multiple practices firm-wide, including M&A (team sales and joint ventures across multiple sports), banking (team sales and financings for the NHL), capital markets (Williams Invest Holdings’ €250 million initial public offering — the first-ever IPO by a Formula One racing team), intellectual property and technology (MetLife’s 25-year agreement to name the Meadowlands Stadium in New Jersey — one of the largest stadium-rights deals in U.S. sports history), real estate (the lease for the NHL’s new headquarters and a new studio lease for the MLB Network), corporate restructuring (the Dallas Stars’ and Phoenix Coyotes’ bankruptcies) and project finance (particularly the construction of new stadiums and arenas), among other areas.
Skadden’s Sports practice was one of only three firms ranked in the top tier for Sports Law by Chambers USA, with sources describing our practice and lawyers as “super, big ticket, important business attorneys,” “really smart and very personable” and “thoughtful and strategic.” Our Sports Group also has repeatedly been named in Tier 1 by U.S. News — Best Lawyers’ Best Law Firms and as one of Law360’s Sports Groups of the Year. Additionally, the practice has been named as a Chairman’s Club law firm — part of the “dominant tier in sports law” — by the SportsBusiness Journal’s “Power Players: Outside Counsel” feature.
Additional representative experience includes:
The Sports Group frequently collaborates with Skadden’s litigation team, which is widely recognized for its ability to represent clients in large-scale, “bet-the-company” matters and their other most critical litigation issues. Our sports clients face myriad litigation issues, from M&A-related, antitrust, contract/employment or securities litigation, to disputes over trademark and other IP infringement. These representations include:
- Several major sports leagues and organizations with respect to league sponsorship agreements and the licensing of trademarks and data
- Several major sports leagues, organizations, and sports and entertainment companies on ticketing, event cancellation and return-to-play issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic
- PGA of America on COVID-19-related return-to-play issues and protocols for PGA tournaments and golf clubs across the country
- The dismissal with prejudice of a federal complaint against the PGA TOUR brought by 168 caddies at the TOUR’s golf tournaments alleging that by requiring caddies to wear bibs that often include the tournament sponsor’s corporate logo, the TOUR violated antitrust laws, the Lanham Act and the caddies’ rights of publicity
- the LPGA in connection with a litigation and related arbitration concerning an international broadcast rights agreement
- The NFL:
- in more than four dozen separate matters involving enforcement of the NFL’s portfolio of trademarks and copyrights
- in obtaining the dismissal, along with its 32 member clubs, of a copyright infringement suit involving the use of game-action photographs
- a putative federal personal injury class action against the league filed by 10 retired players who alleged that the league and its teams improperly provided prescription medications to players
- wrongful termination and ERISA claims against the league by independent drug examiners
- The National Basketball Association in defense of a wrongful death lawsuit brought on behalf of a former G-League player
- The NCAA in a federal antitrust lawsuit challenging the NCAA’s amateurism rules
- The National Hockey League in a federal Lanham Act lawsuit involving the rights to the Stanley Cup trademarks
- Filing Seventh, Ninth and D.C. Circuit amicus briefs for the NFL, MLB and the PGA TOUR in connection with cases involving whether over-the-air broadcasts can take advantage of the compulsory license available to cable systems under the Copyright Act
- The NHL in a federally consolidated class action brought by consumers of online fantasy sports-betting websites FanDuel and Draft Kings alleging purported federal RICO and state law violations
- Madison Square Garden in securing a denial of a preliminary injunction against MSG’s implementation of a ticket limit policy
- The Brooklyn Nets in two related lawsuits relating to the club’s termination of season ticket subscriptions
- Head USA, Inc. in its successful defense of claims by skier Bode Miller and Bomber, LLC seeking to invalidate Head’s sponsorship agreements with high-profile athletes. The court granted Head’s motion to dismiss all of plaintiffs’ claims
- The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in a class action brought by former student-athletes involving academic irregularities
- The NBA and Commissioner Adam Silver in securing the dismissal of an appeal of former Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling’s lawsuit challenging a fine and lifetime ban - Numerous arbitrations regarding alleged violations of league rules and collective bargaining agreements
- Filing Eighth Circuit amicus brief for the NHL and MLB on behalf of the NFL in a case involving former NFL players seeking to recover for the use of their likenesses in prior game footage or highlights. The Eighth Circuit adopted our position on copyright pre-emption
- Securing an arbitration ruling that upheld the NHL’s rejection of a 17-year, $102 million contract between Ilya Kovalchuk and the New Jersey Devils — the first time in 25 years that an arbitrator upheld a major sports league’s rejection of a contract as a circumvention of its collective bargaining agreement
- Defending against a purported class action challenging the NHL’s broadcast territories and blackout rules
- The NBA and NHL in separate litigations involving lockouts of their respective player unions
- A lawsuit relating to sanctions imposed by the PGA TOUR against golfer Vijay Singh under its anti-doping program
- Defeating a preliminary injunction application brought against the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) by the Elite Rodeo Association (ERA) and its athlete-owners, alleging that the PRCA board adopted bylaws denying membership to owners of competing rodeo associations
- The dismissal of a breach of settlement agreement suit against the NBA and four teams originally from the American Basketball Association and the settlement of a related federal action
- Golfer Rory McIlroy in Oakley’s lawsuit challenging his Nike endorsement agreement
- Numerous cases and counseling relating to team relocation matters, including the Seattle Sonics’ move to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- An independent review of Rutgers University’s men’s basketball program
- The NBA, the NFL, the NHL and MLB as amici in a Ninth Circuit appeal involving the unauthorized internet transmission of television broadcasts
- The dismissal of tort, contract and RICO claims against the NFL in connection with the New England Patriots’ alleged videotaping of New York Jets coaches and players during a game
- Numerous insurance coverage disputes involving NBA teams’ salary obligations to disabled players
- Breach of contract claims over marketing rights to the Copa America soccer tournament brought by Traffic Sports against the South American football confederation and football federations of 10 South American countries
- Litigation surrounding the operation of the New York Rangers’ website
- An MLB club in salary arbitration
M&A
Utilizing the firm’s unparalleled team of top-ranked transactional lawyers, the Sports Group has handled M&A transactions for sports, media and entertainment clients across a full range of transaction sizes, types and complexities, including negotiated acquisitions and dispositions, joint ventures, hostile transactions and contests for corporate control, and corporate restructurings. Such matters include:
- Bruce Sherman as lead investor of a consortium that includes Derek Jeter and Michael Jordan in the $1.2 billion acquisition of the Miami Marlins Major League Baseball franchise from Jeffrey Loria. Upon the closing, Mr. Sherman became chairman, principal owner and control person of the Marlins, and Mr. Jeter became CEO
- The Walt Disney Company in establishing its partnership with Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League to form the streaming media company BAMTech, and its subsequent acquisition of a controlling interest in BAMTech
- Wes Edens, owner of the Milwaukee Bucks, in his joint investment in Aston Villa Football Club
- The current owners of the Minnesota Vikings in the purchase and financing of the team
- The PGA TOUR in:
- the merger of its affiliate with an affiliate of EZLinks Golf to create a joint venture, EZLinks Golf LLC, a leading online tee-time reservation business;
- its sale of EZLinks Golf LLC to NBC Sports Group;
- acquisitions by EZLinks of (a) Integrated Business Systems and (b) Distinct Software Solutions and related debt and equity financings, including a significant minority investment by Providence Equity Partners
- The NHL in its acquisition and subsequent sale of the Phoenix Coyotes
- Anheuser-Busch, Inc. in the sale of the St. Louis Cardinals, Busch Memorial Stadium and several parking facilities
- Fox in the purchase and later sale of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Dodger Stadium and related assets
- Goldman Sachs Group in its acquisition and later disposition of stakes in the Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network (YES)
- Various clients in bids to acquire professional sports teams, including the Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens
- Various clients in the purchase or sale of minority interests in teams and related assets, including in the NFL, the NBA, MLB, the NHL and MLS
- Ascent Entertainment Group, owner of the Denver Nuggets, the Colorado Avalanche and an arena, in its acquisition by Liberty Media
- Chelsea Limited and Roman Abramovich in their acquisition of Chelsea FC
- TEAM8 in its joint venture with the USTA and Tennis Australia, among others, to form the Laver Cup
- Morgan Stanley & Co. Inc. in connection with the acquisition and subsequent sale of the Seattle Mariners
- Williams Invest Holdings Ltd. in the acquisition of a minority stake in U.K. Formula One race car team Williams Grand Prix Engineering
- The joint venture by Group Lotus and Art GrandPrix to create GP2 and GP3 car racing teams
- Sport Service Deutschland’s acquisition of a 90 percent stake in Germany-based hockey team the Frankfurt Lions
- Churchill Downs in its acquisition of various race courses
League and Team Financing
Our attorneys advise clients on all types of financings, including integrated bank and bond offerings, private placements and bridge financings, including acquisition financings for major sports franchises, stadiums and arenas. Such matters include:
- The NHL in numerous team sales and/or financings: Phoenix Coyotes; New York Islanders; Florida Panthers; New Jersey Devils and Prudential Center; Atlanta Thrashers and its relocation to Winnipeg, Manitoba; Dallas Stars; St. Louis Blues; Minnesota Wild; Nashville Predators
- Various banks, including, among others, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Fleet National Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. and NationsBank, in connection with league, team and facility financings in the NFL, the NBA, MLB, the NHL and MLS
- League financings for the NHL
- The NHL in implementing a currency hedging program in connection with the league-wide financing facility, which will permit participating clubs to convert certain Canadian dollar revenue streams into U.S. dollars
- The Miami Marlins in various corporate matters, including a capital raise
- Project financings involving numerous stadiums and arenas, including the lenders, in the financing and/or refinancing of:
- Arrowhead Stadium (Kansas City Chiefs)
- FedEx Field (Washington Redskins)
- MCI Center (Washington Wizards and Washington Capitals)
- Comerica Park (Detroit Tigers)
- Invesco Field at Mile High (Denver Broncos)
- Chelsea FC plc in player contracts, media and entertainment agreements, stadium lease issues, financings and intellectual property matters as well as ownership issues and agreements with soccer leagues
- Major League Soccer in several separate enforcement matters involving the MLS’ portfolio of trademarks and copyrights
- Major League Baseball Properties, Inc. in connection with a 142,000 square foot lease of studio space in Secaucus, N.J., for MLB Network
- A professional golfer in a negotiated buyout of a long-term equipment and endorsement agreement
- An international talent agency and event promoter on ticketing, sports and intellectual property issues
- An investor in On Location Experiences, the official premium hospitality provider for the NFL
- CMGI, Inc. in connection with the naming rights for the New England Patriots’ stadium
- FirstEnergy’s and the Cleveland Browns’ naming rights deal
- The Los Angeles Clippers in an arena license agreement for their NBA G-League team
- The Arena Football League with advice concerning collective bargaining issues and other matters
- Disability insurance programs for the NBA and NHL