Sports Lawyers | Esports Lawyers

From direct-to-consumer media strategies and NIL deals to league governance and complex team acquisitions, the business of sports is evolving fast. As traditional models give way to new revenue streams and shifting regulations, stakeholders across the industry face complex challenges and opportunities that demand a sharp playbook and a deep bench of experience.

Whether you’re an athlete, team or league; an owner or investor; a media or tech company or other content developer or publisher; or a brand operating in the space, Loeb & Loeb is committed to helping you play competitively, on and off the field.

Drawn from practices across the firm, our sports and esports lawyers are dealmakers, problem-solvers, litigators, and trusted legal and business partners for individuals and organizations of every kind, in matters touching every corner of today’s sports universe. Our work spans every major professional sport and collegiate athletics, as well as the dynamic and rapidly growing worlds of esports and sports gambling. Our core areas of capability include the following:

We provide counsel to individual investors and ownership groups in bids for professional sports franchises and esports teams. Our lawyers also advise private equity investors, high-net-worth individuals and corporate entities in acquisitions, dispositions, joint ventures, equity and debt financings, recapitalizations, and other commercial transactions involving sports organizations and assets.

Loeb lawyers assist franchise and team owners, investors, and management companies with the full spectrum of legal and business issues involved in the development and operation of stadiums and arenas — from facility financing to entitlement, construction, leasing and operating agreements. We also negotiate sponsorship and naming rights agreements for sports facilities and entertainment venues, as well as event licenses, facility management agreements, and food and beverage and concession agreements.

Our team has extensive experience documenting and negotiating credit facilities and syndicated financings on behalf of financial institutions that lend to or invest in leagues, teams, and other sports and esports assets. We’ve been involved in loan facilities for a variety of sports-related investment projects in addition to sophisticated project finance transactions for the construction of new stadiums and arenas.

Loeb’s vast experience in all aspects of media and entertainment translates to unmatched knowledge and the ability to assist global media companies and nontraditional sports and esports content providers—as well as leagues and teams—with the challenges and opportunities of today’s dynamic sports media market. We negotiate and implement media rights agreements for local and national television and radio sports broadcasts, and innovative licensing deals for content distribution on internet, mobile and other digital platforms.

Technology continues to disrupt and dominate the business of sports and esports, changing the way fans engage and the way athletes and organizations compete. Loeb provides cutting-edge counsel on legal, regulatory and business issues related to esports and fantasy sports platforms; apps; digital products and experiences; wearable technology; over-the-top streaming services; new stadium technology; and many other transformative innovations in sports.

Widely known for innovative work in marketing and advertising law, Loeb guides major advertisers and sports and esports leagues, teams, and players in sophisticated sponsorship and endorsement agreements, naming rights transactions, promotions, and brand marketing activations. We advise on the use of new technologies and developing media channels in marketing and advertising efforts, including cutting-edge mobile marketing, social media, and behavioral and interactive advertising initiatives. Our team also helps brands combat ambush marketing tactics and enforce their marketing rights.

In the business of sports, names, logos, images and likenesses can be a client’s most valuable assets. The stakes are just as high in esports, where the intellectual property that forms the basis of play—the games, the content and even the on-screen avatars—are just beginning to reveal their potential for monetization. We handle the full spectrum of issues related to trademarks, copyrights, rights of publicity and patents, helping our sports and esports clients protect their IP against unauthorized use and exploit their brand assets through lucrative licensing and endorsement deals.

Our courtroom-tested trial and appellate attorneys handle all types of commercial disputes in courts and alternative dispute resolution forums across the country. We advocate for our sports and esports clients in contract and licensing disputes, intellectual property infringement actions, domain name disputes, real estate and entitlement challenges, employment disputes, regulatory investigations, and white collar criminal enforcement proceedings.

Loeb’s nationally recognized tax, estate planning and charitable-giving practitioners advise professional athletes and their families on a full range of private wealth management issues while minimizing exposure to tax liabilities and ensuring compliance in an evolving tax landscape. From traditional tax and estate planning needs to more complex wealth transfer strategies, including the organization and administration of charitable foundations, we help our clients preserve and protect their wealth for the future.