245.4 sec. 001 - Drafting and Negotiating Sports Law Contracts (Fall 2026)
Instructor: Richard L Brand (view instructor's teaching evaluations - degree students only)
View all teaching evaluations for this course - degree students only
Units: 3
Grading Designation: Graded
Mode of Instruction: In-Person
Meeting:
Tu 6:25 PM - 9:05 PM
Location: Law 170
From August 18, 2026
To November 17, 2026
Course End: November 17, 2026
Class Number: 32520
Enrollment info:
Enrolled: 12
Waitlisted: 9
Enroll Limit: 16
As of: 05/23 01:57 PM
This seminar focuses on the drafting and negotiation of certain sports law transaction documents. Examples of documents to be discussed in the seminar are suite license agreements, sponsorship agreements, naming rights agreements, and sports team acquisition agreements. This seminar is intended to be "hands-on" with all students having the opportunity to experience being a "sports law attorney." The classroom environment is intended to simulate the experiences that a junior attorney would encounter in a law firm or corporate legal setting. The major emphasis of this seminar will be on how sports transaction documents are drafted, negotiated, revised, and finalized. The seminar will also feature sports law practitioners (e.g., general counsels for professional sports teams or organizations) as guest speakers to discuss their sports law experiences and their perspectives on some of the documentation covered by this seminar. There will be no exam; instead, there will be a number of independent drafting assignments that will require the students to draft transaction documents based on forms from actual sports transactions. The final assignment will be a group assignment consisting of drafting, negotiating, and finalizing a sports transaction document. There will also be numerous negotiation sessions. Attendance at the first class and all subsequent classes is mandatory for all currently enrolled and waitlisted students; any currently enrolled or waitlisted students who are not present on the first day of class (without prior permission of the instructor) will be dropped. The instructor will continue to take attendance throughout the add/drop period and anyone who moves off the waitlist into the class must continue to attend or have prior permission of the instructor in order not to be dropped. Class participation (quality not quantity), attendance, written drafting assignments, and the final negotiation/drafting assignment are the elements considered in determining the grade.
Richard Brand, the co-head of ArentFox Schiff’s Firmwide Sports practice group, as well as San Francisco Managing Partner and lead West Coast Real Estate partner, is recognized as an industry leader and a go-to authority for the following types of transactions: naming rights agreements; sponsorship agreements; advertising and promotional agreements (including name, image, and likeness (NIL) agreements); suite, club, and premium hospitality agreements; media rights agreements; multi-media rights (MMR) agreements; procurement agreements; facility management agreements; facility leases and licenses; team and event leases and licenses; concessionaire and food and beverage agreements; pouring rights agreements; ticketing agreements; franchise acquisition and disposition agreements; player, coach, and executive contacts; financings for professional sports teams and owners of sports and entertainment facilities; and league formation and related agreements.
Rich counsels many professional sports leagues (such as the NFL, NBA, LIV Golf, and Major League Pickleball) and professional sports teams across the NFL, NBA, MLB, MLS, and NWSL, including the Atlanta Hawks, Brooklyn Nets, Carolina Panthers, Charlotte Hornets, Cleveland Cavaliers, DC United, Los Angeles Galaxy, Los Angeles Kings, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Rams, Madison Square Garden Company (the owner of the New York Knicks and New York Rangers), Miami Dolphins, Miami Heat, Minnesota Timberwolves, New York City Football Club, New York Jets, New York Red Bulls, Oklahoma Thunder, Phoenix Suns, Portland Trail Blazers, San Antonio Spurs, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, Tampa Bay Rays, Tampa Bay Lightning, Utah Jazz, Washington Capitals, and Washington Wizards. In addition to Rich’s representation of leagues, teams, and venues, he regularly counsels sponsors and brands, including Mercedes-Benz, Credit Karma, Q2, Wyndham Hotels, Dickies, TQL, Inova, Zenni, GAME 7, Petco, and countless others.
Rich received two-time recognition as a Sports Business Journal “Power Player” and this year Rich was named one of the Daily Journal’s “Top 100 Lawyers” in California for a fourth year in a row and fifth time overall. Best Lawyers also recognized Rich as a “Lawyer of the Year” for his high-profile sports work.
Rich serves on the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles Sports Council, a private, non-profit corporation composed of a group of influential and prominent individuals and businesses in the sports industry that serves to promote regional economic development through sports, foster development of the region’s amateur and professional sports teams and facilities, and assist in attracting and staging major sporting events in the region.
Rich Brand earned his law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and his undergraduate degree in finance from Georgetown University.
Attendance at the first class is mandatory for all currently enrolled and waitlisted students; any currently enrolled or waitlisted students who are not present on the first day of class (without prior permission of the instructor) will be dropped. The instructor will continue to take attendance throughout the add/drop period and anyone who moves off the waitlist into the class must continue to attend or have prior permission of the instructor in order not to be dropped.
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Requirements Satisfaction:
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Exam Notes: (None) Series of papers or assignments throughout the semester
(Subject to change by faculty member only through the first two weeks of instruction)
Course Category: Simulation Courses
This course is listed in the following sub-categories:
Business Law
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