Our sports practice has been servicing the legal needs of individuals and businesses involved in the sports sector for over 20 years.
We have advised on some of the biggest deals and disputes, involving many of the key operators and stakeholders in the sector relating to some of the world’s leading sports events, personalities and properties. We have worked on high profile matters involving every major American sports league, as well as the Premier League, the Olympic Games, WWE, FIFA World Cup, Formula 1, and various eSports properties.
We have a market-leading international team of sport and entertainment lawyers throughout the United States, Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle East. We offer the benefits of a global business law firm, with a network of experience extending throughout the United States and across the world. Leveraging our global platform, our sports law practice is equipped to provide assistance to clients swiftly and on an informed basis from our offices around the world, utilizing not only our legal skills and local market knowledge, but also our extensive networks and lobbying capabilities.
Our team has deep collective experience representing clients in the sports industry, particularly around:
Media rights (ownership, protection, exploitation, strategic joint ventures, and traditional and over-the-top methods of distribution)
Stadium related real estate finance and tax incentives in connection therewith
League expansion
Acquisition and disposition matters
Strategic value-add partnerships between various stakeholders in the sports sector
General corporate and financing matters
Government relations
Sponsorship, naming rights and endorsement deals
Event bidding, staging, hosting, participation arrangements, and venue and stadium hire agreements
Intellectual property protection
Ticketing and hospitality
Merchandising
Concessionaire agreements
Antitrust law
Domestic and international regulation
Sports integrity (anti-doping, corruption, and investigations)
On 13 March 2023, Governor J.B. Pritzker signed the “Paid Leave for All Workers Act” (the Act), which guarantees that Illinois workers can earn or accrue up to 40 hours of paid leave per year that may be used for any reason.
Late last year, Congress enacted a sweeping set of new retirement savings rules. The SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (SECURE 2.0), included as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, builds on the significant retirement savings changes previously enacted by the original SECURE Act of 2019.
On 10 March 2023, the financial world was rocked by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, a choice institution for tech startups and venture capitalists.
We welcome your email, but please understand that if you are not already a client of K&L Gates LLP, we cannot represent you until we confirm that doing so would not create a conflict of interest and is otherwise consistent with the policies of our firm. Accordingly, please do not include any confidential information until we verify that the firm is in a position to represent you and our engagement is confirmed in a letter. Prior to that time, there is no assurance that information you send us will be maintained as confidential. Thank you for your consideration.
Emerging Teams and Leagues
Sports IP
Sports Labor and Employment
