On May 23, 2024, the NCAA reached a historic $2.8 billion settlement with former college athletes who had filed an antitrust class action demanding billions in potential compensation allegedly denied to them for decades. This represents a major turning point in college athletics. Read the full Alert on the Duane Morris website.
The NBA’s New Collective Bargaining Agreement Provides Key Changes in Cannabis-Related Matters
On April 26, 2023, the National Basketball Association (NBA) announced the ratification of its new, seven-year Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA). The CBA will take effect on July 1, 2023, and will run through the 2029-30 season. The CBA provides, among other things, certain key changes to cannabis-related matters, particularly in connection with the NBA’s Anti-Drug Program and NBA players’ business opportunities.
To read the full text of this post by Duane Morris attorney Robert Davydov, please visit the Duane Morris Cannabis Law Blog.
CBD Beverage Company Partner with Chicago Cubs Under New MLB Sponsorship Rules
On April 7, 2023, the Chicago Cubs announced a partnership with MYND DRINKS, a Chicago-based cannabis beverage company. This historic partnership recognizes the Cubs as the first Major League Baseball (MLB) team to collaborate on a business venture with a cannabis company.
To read the full text of this post by Duane Morris attorney Robert Davydov, please visit the Duane Morris Cannabis Law Blog.
NBA to Permit Sovereign Wealth Fund Investors in Franchises as Valuations Soar
The National Basketball Association (“NBA”) Board of Governors has voted to permit sovereign wealth funds, pension funds and university endowments to invest in NBA teams. Major U.S. sports leagues have traditionally limited who they permit as owners of their franchises, not just for controlling general partners, but for limited partners as well, even though limited partners are traditionally passive owners with no governing rights. However, two years ago the NBA became the first major U.S. sports league to permit private equity investors, and now the league is broadening the scope of potential investors as franchise valuations continue to skyrocket. There are only so many Americans with pockets deep enough to afford franchises that are being sold for several billion dollars, and so the NBA has realized that it needs to expand the pool of possible buyers. Continue reading “NBA to Permit Sovereign Wealth Fund Investors in Franchises as Valuations Soar”
FTX’s Collapse Should Remind Sports Teams to Be Careful When Choosing Their Sponsorship Partners
The dramatic collapse last week of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX will also affect those teams, arenas and other sports companies that have naming rights and sponsorship agreements with FTX.
When a sponsorship partner undergoes a dramatic collapse like that suffered by FTX last week, sports teams that have partnered with the company for naming rights and other sponsorship agreements suffer losses on multiple fronts. First, of course, is the loss of the contractually guaranteed income that the team has taken for granted when budgeting for years to come. But beyond that is the reputational harm. Sports is about winning and losing, and no team wants to be associated with a loser. Continue reading “FTX’s Collapse Should Remind Sports Teams to Be Careful When Choosing Their Sponsorship Partners”
Duane Morris is Law360’s Sports & Betting Group Of The Year
Duane Morris LLP helped sportsbooks, teams and media giants like NBCUniversal and ESPN navigate a complex licensing and regulatory landscape to ink lucrative sports gambling deals, earning it a spot among Law360’s 2021 Sports & Betting Groups of the Year.
To read the full text of this article, please visit the Law360 website (subscription required).
The Changing Landscape Between Sports, Media and Gambling: Webinar Replay
A webinar replay is available for “The Changing Landscape Between Sports, Media and Gambling,” the third in our Game Changers: Strategies for the Business of Sports and Gaming Webinar Series with SeventySix Capital Sports Advisory.
Fiscal Year 2022 New York State Budget Approves Mobile Sports Betting
New York Governor Cuomo and state legislative leaders have reached a tentative agreement on the Fiscal Year 2022 New York State budget paving a way for mobile sports betting in the Empire State. here is a link to the Senate Bill 2509 . The General Assembly must now vote to accept the budget and additional changes may be forthcoming.
To read the full post by Duane Morris partner Frank DiGiacomo, please visit the Duane Morris Gaming Law Blog.
Behind the Scenes of Betting and Professional Sports: Webinar Replay
A video replay is available of the Game Changers: Strategies for the Business of Sports and Gaming Webinar Series session, “Behind the Scenes of Betting and Professional Sports.”
Daily Fantasy Sports to Be Legal, DFS Loser’s Gambling Loss Recovery Act Claim Rejected: Illinois Supreme Court
In Dew-Becker v. Wu, 2020 IL 124472 (April 16, 2020), the Illinois Supreme Court, finally and definitively, has put to rest the question of whether DFS (daily fantasy sports) is unlawful in Illinois. In addition, as a result of the decision, the DFS industry dodged the potential impact of tens of thousands of lawsuits that otherwise could have been lodged against winning DFS players in Illinois by DFS contest losers seeking to recoup their losses under the Illinois Loss Recovery Act (LRA)(720 ILCS 5/28-8).
To read the full text of this Duane Morris Alert, please visit the firm website.