Sports
Navigating complexity in the professional sports world.
From the NFL and MLB to the NBA, WNBA, and MLS, professional sports teams turn to Perkins Coie to counsel and advise them in a wide range of sports-related matters. Our lawyers work with leading professional sports teams across the United States.
With 17 domestic offices and legal bench strength measuring more than 1,200 lawyers deep, the Perkins Coie Sports industry group is proud to serve as trusted advisors to the world’s most competitive and admired teams. We have helped our clients on some of their most urgent issues, ranging from critical contract negotiations to stadium concerns and insurance.
From handling transactions for the design and construction of major public sports facilities to counseling sports industry owners and teams, the Sports group and Perkins Coie’s national platform are well-equipped to help professional sports clients resolve their transactional, litigation, and intellectual property issues and reach their goals.
How we help clients
- Contracts.
- Intellectual property.
- League relations.
- Stadium issues.
- Sweepstakes and promotional contests.
- Privacy and data security.
- Insurance coverage.
Our Team
With a wealth of experience and strong connections throughout the industry, we help professional sports teams navigate complex legal challenges and protect and enhance their business interests.
Contracts
Contractual relationships are the center of any professional franchise—league contracts, licensing agreements, player contracts, stadium agreements, naming rights, insurance contracts, vendor agreements, real estate covenants and dozens of similar contractual relationships. Our lawyers work with many of the leading professional sports teams across the country and have deep experience in drafting, negotiating and litigating those agreements.
Intellectual Property
Other than the players themselves, the intellectual property (IP) associated with any professional sports team can be and often is the most important asset held by the team. Protecting that IP, exploiting it for maximum return and ensuring fair, consistent and appropriate licensing arrangements can be overwhelming. Our lawyers have handled IP matters for leading teams—both defensively and offensively. And when things go wrong, our litigators stand ready to take up the fight.
League Relations
Maintaining appropriate relationships with national professional sports leagues while protecting a team’s own interests is a critical balancing act and not one for the faint hearted. Our Sports group lawyers have years of experience in dealing with the national sports leagues, have close working relationships with key decision makers and can bring that experience and those relationships to bear to assist in working through even the most difficult and fraught issues.
Stadium Issues
Our Real Estate & Land Use practice attorneys have extensive experience working with city officials to secure locations, and our Construction practice attorneys have experience negotiating the design, construction and supply components. When there are disagreements regarding the location, we also have experience representing teams in litigation.
Sweepstakes & Promotional Contests
Our Advertising, Marketing & Promotions practice team has significant experience advising sports teams on structuring contests, sweepstakes and related games and drafting contest and sweepstakes rules and promotion-related agreements.
Privacy & Data Security
Our Privacy & Security lawyers work closely with the world’s largest e-commerce industry leaders, social media platforms and search engines—as well as businesses large and small. We have helped audit, secure and address data breaches nationwide. No business, and certainly no professional sports franchise, can avoid confronting vulnerabilities. Our team can help.
Insurance Coverage
Our attorneys have extensive experience helping sports teams enforce their rights to insurance coverage. Notably, we have worked with sports teams in reviewing and enforcing their Athlete Disability Insurance and Event Cancellation Insurance due to natural or man-made disasters such as terrorist attacks.