Our Services

In an increasingly competitive era in which an athlete’s on-field revenues are limited by a collectively bargained salary cap, it has become even more important for athletes to maximize all other revenue opportunities. The Sports & Entertainment Group prides itself on counseling its athlete clients at every stage of structuring and executing business and charitable endeavors throughout their athletic and post-athletic careers. To that end, we work diligently to secure rewarding endorsement, licensing and other revenue generating opportunities.  As the athlete’s success grows, so does his or her market appeal. Very early in the athlete’s career, we work to create and preserve their brand. Our athlete clients are counseled on the importance of protecting their brand to ensure that their success translates to revenue opportunities beyond their professional sport.

Our clients benefit from the significant media, licensing, transactional and intellectual property experience of attorneys across The Sports & Entertainment Group network. These attorneys have worked on a myriad of related content, trademark, sponsorship, publicity and technology development, licensing and procurement agreements. We have significant experience handling projects involving online, new media, mobile and other emerging digital distribution platforms. Such projects include negotiating sponsored content syndication agreements for retailer and travel brands, mobile apps integration and compliance review, and managing use of user-generated content and promotional campaigns in social media.

The Sports & Entertainment Group draws on the strength and expertise of wealth preservation experts within its network of attorneys. These attorneys have significant experience in preparing wills, trusts, private foundation documents and other documents designed to assist in wealth preservation and inter-generational wealth transfer for our professional athlete clients. We also provide advice in the area of personal tax planning services, including the transfer of wealth through gift and estate planning, asset protection and the restructuring of business interests. Our lawyers also assist with the formation of partnerships, limited liability companies, and other business entities, including deferred compensation vehicles that are increasingly a key element of a well-designed wealth preservation plan.

The tax lawyers and other tax specialists working with The Sports & Entertainment Group have a comprehensive, diverse national practice in federal, state and local tax matters. These professionals have expertise in tax and financial accounting issues, especially as they relate to tax planning, audits, appeals and state and local taxes. Our tax practitioners assist our athlete clients in minimizing their exposure to various tax liabilities through the use of highly sophisticated and sound tax planning.

Community service and charitable giving are central issues to many of our athlete clients. We counsel our clients regarding a wide variety of charitable, social welfare and other community-centered endeavors. Several of our athlete clients maintain and support charitable organizations operating in the areas of community development, educational enhancement, and the arts. We specialize in structuring and obtaining federal and state tax-exempt status for nonprofit entities, and advising clients on a day-to-day basis about a wide range of nonprofit tax and other issues.

The Sports & Entertainment Group also counsels our athlete clients on various real estate matters. Whether they are purchasing their principal residence, vacation home, or an investment property, our athlete clients have seasoned real estate counsel at their disposal. Because an athlete’s sports career is sometimes extremely brief, we welcome the opportunity to work with our athlete clients in using real estate as a wealth-building mechanism.

Litigation services are also available to our clients. Known for effectively resolving challenging cases, our network of litigators have long been highly-regarded by professionals around the world. While litigation is generally the last resort, our athlete clients receive the protection of renowned litigators who are prepared to protect their interests in a court of law.

Purchasing an existing business, investing in a franchise, or beginning a new business venture requires careful evaluation. The Sports & Entertainment Group has significant experience in evaluating all types of business investment opportunities on behalf of our clients. We provide our clients with an objective, unbiased review of potential business opportunities to ensure that they make wise, informed business decisions, thereby avoiding bad business deals and unethical business people.