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Sports Law

2011 Is Not That Far Away

The 2010 UF Sports Law Symposium is roughly only 5 months away, and there already is a lot of buzz about the future event amongst sports business and sports law professionals.  We have already secured a plethora of amazing panelists, moderators, and our keynote speaker;  names will be announced within the next few weeks.  As you may know, the overall theme is: Bargaining Collectively.  The focus will be on the expiration of the collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) in the NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL, and discussion about the negotiating points on a new collective bargaining agreement in each sport.  Join the Facebook Fan Page to stay up-to-date on symposium news and clippings about CBA related material.

The symposium is 5 months away, but union leaders and league executives have already begun to speak publicly about the pending expiration of their collective bargaining agreements.  Just yesterday, SportsBusiness Journal ran a few lengthy pieces with the overall title being, 2011: Deal or No Deal.  Below, find a link to each piece with a short breakdown.

  1. Deal or no deal? The NFL and NBA have begun formal negotiating, and a major sticking point for team owners and execs want big changes in the salary cap structure.  In the MLB, the union is concerned about possible collusion under the current CBA.  Teams and leagues want to see if sponsors will renew their agreements in this rough economy instead of negotiating a new deal based on old figures.  The main issue in the NFL and NBA is players’ share of league revenue.  Owners are tired of a salary cap that is determined by a percentage of league revenue.
  2. Proskauer Rose has a seat at every table.  The MLB, NFL, NBA, and NHL are all represented by Proskauer Rose.  David Stern and Gary Bettman started their careers at the firm.  Proskauer Rose is a major player in labor negotiations.
  3. Four veterans look at the state of labor relations.  Arn Tellem of Wasserman Media Group believes that the NBPA has a lot of power if they can muster up the courage to use it.  Mark Murphy, CEO of the Green Bay Packers, wants to see veterans paid more and rookies paid less, suspended players suspended from paychecks, a strict substance abuse and steroid program, and more.  Doug Allen, former NFLPA assistant executive director, says players should prepare for decertification (renouncement of collective bargaining altogether).  Clark Griffith, former owner of the Minnesota Twins, believes that balancing revenue is important so that going into every game, fans have no idea who is going to win.  He believes that drug testing has a lot to do with making game outcomes unknown.

By Darren Heitner

Darren Heitner created Sports Agent Blog as a New Year's Resolution on December 31, 2005. Originally titled, "I Want To Be A Sports Agent," the website was founded with the intention of causing Heitner to learn more about the profession that he wanted to join, meet reputable individuals in the space and force himself to stay on top of the latest news and trends.

Heitner now runs Heitner Legal, P.L.L.C., which is a law firm with many practice areas, including sports law and contract law. Heitner has represented numerous athletes and sports agents as legal counsel. He has also served as an Adjunct Professor at Indiana University Bloomington from 2011-2014, where he created and taught a course titled, Sport Agency Management, which included subjects ranging from NCAA regulations to athlete agent certification and the rules governing the profession. Heitner serves as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Florida Levin College of Law, where he teaches a Sports Law class that includes case law surrounding athlete agents and the NCAA rules.