Author: Ken Jacobsen

Why Top Global Law Firms Are Racing to Build Sports Law Practices

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The legal industry is undergoing a noticeable shift, and the latest battleground isn’t technology, private equity, or corporate restructurings—it’s sports. Over the past year, six of the world’s leading law firms have launched or significantly expanded dedicated sports law practices, signaling that sports law has evolved as one of the most attractive practice sectors. This isn’t a series of isolated hiring decisions. It’s a strategic move to secure expertise in a market where demand is accelerating faster than the supply of experienced legal talent. The most recent entrant is Paul Hastings, which has officially launched a global sports practice by hiring two highly regarded lawyers with deep experience across the industry. The firm recruited Brandon Etheridge, formerly the general counsel of the Baltimore Ravens, alongside sports mergers and acquisitions specialist Mark Zerdin. Zerdin is well known for advising on complex business transactions, including General Motors’ high-profile entry into Formula 1 with the Cadillac Formula 1 team. However, Paul Hastings is not alone. Several of the world’s most prestigious law firms—including Latham & Watkins, Kirkland & …

A Seismic Shift with an Unstable Foundation: The NCAA House Settlement Under Scrutiny

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The NCAA’s $2.8 billion settlement in House v. NCAA marks a seismic shift in college athletics. For decades, the NCAA denied college athletes the right to earn any money from their participation in sports, arguing that doing so would undermine the “amateurism” model of college athletics even as it raked in massive revenue—$1 billion annually from “March Madness” alone. Accepting a slice of pizza or a ride to the airport from a coach could be deemed an impermissible “extra benefit” that landed the athlete in hot water with NCAA enforcement staff. Even when their images were used to sell video games, the NCAA made money, their school made money, and the producer of the video game made money—but the athlete could not be paid a dime. The House settlement, reached because of massive damages that the association faced from lawsuits under the antitrust laws that threatened its very existence, changed the landscape completely. Schools can now share up to $20.5 million of their annual athletic revenue from media rights deals, ticket sales, and sponsorships directly …

Judge’s Order For More Changes Puts NCAA Deal In Jeopardy

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The $2.78 billion settlement between the NCAA and college athletes seeking compensation has hit another roadblock – which the judge overseeing the case lays squarely at the feet of NCAA member schools. Prof. Ken Jacobsen agrees. “There was an easy fix – grandfather in existing players on current rosters for a year or two. They refused,” he said. Noting that even Judge Wilken suggested grandfathering as a solution at the approval hearing and in Wednesday’s order, Jacobsen called the lawyers defending the roster limits “incredibly arrogant.”

The potential settlement in a major class action against the NCAA over NIL compensation may bring more questions than answers. Prof. Ken Jacobsen, who leads Temple’s Sports Law Program, breaks it down for Law360

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Even with a deal of such size and consequence — approximately $2.8 billion, more than 184,000 athletes in the class, all the Power Five conferences named and with decades of court rulings leading up to it — the settlement over name, image and likeness compensation in the Grant House-led class action against the NCAA is best seen as a beginning, rather than an end. Read More