Legal Lunch - Sports Style

By Athletic Communications on March 4, 2010 2:53 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

This afternoon the Sports & Entertainment Law Association (SELA) hosted members of the Seattle Seahawks, a sports agent, and a sports attorney. Some members of our marketing team dropped in on the event to see what the panel had to say.

The panel offered law students an opportunity to learn about:

1) What it takes to be a sports agent,

2) Professional Athlete's expectations and experiences working with agents, and

3) The types of legal work sports attorneys perform.

The group provided insight from different perspectives within the professional sports industry. Q13 Fox Sports Anchor Aaron Levine was host for the event. The general consensus among all panel members was that communication is key in navigating the athlete-agent relationship.

As panelist Justin Forsett, Seattle Seahawks RB, remarked, "Choosing an agent is like choosing a mate. I look for many of the same qualities. I expect to communicate on a regular, almost daily basis with my agent and for him to be there no matter what time of day it is if I need him."

It seems that many athletes are looking for a "one stop shopping" boutique agency that provides agency, marketing and legal in-house. They are also looking for a more intimate relationship, so agents who represent hundreds of individuals couldn't possibly provide the one on one that most athletes are looking for.

Not that these mega-agencies don't exist. Panelist Brandon Mebane, Seattle Seahawks DT, added this, " I think when you are first coming out of college, you look toward the bigger agencies because of the superstars they may represent. For me, I wanted to know that I was one of a few. The relationship was more important to me."

Panelist Noah E. Croom, Legal Counsel and Agent for Goodwin Sports Management (GSM), weighed in on the wide array of counsel an agent provides his clients. "I am not only dealing with the actual contract negotiation but also financial management, personal issues and beyond." That puts it into perspective on why it is a difficult industry to break into - you have to build trust among your clients and that takes a lot of time and networking.

Panelist Jeff Miller, attorney at Foster Pepper, describes sports law as dealing with all areas of law, including hot topics such as land use, sponsorships, intellectual property, and copyright infringement among the more commonly known areas of drafting of contracts, licensing and defending players in litigation.

All in all, the panel discussion was an interesting way to spend an hour in the classroom.