Categories
Book Reviews Contract Negotiation Headline

Book Review: Negotiating and Drafting Sports Venue Agreements

It is possible to include the profession of sports agent within a broader category of Sports Law professions, but Sports Law has the potential to incorporate a multitude of legal disciplines, including Contract Law, Intellectual Property Law, and the art of negotiation (which certainly plays a key role in every lawyer’s practice).  Those three areas interact nicely in the Negotiating and Drafting of Sports Venue Agreements, which is the title of a recent book written by Harvard Law Professor Peter Carfagna.

While the book might be one of the more expensive books you purchase, in my opinion, it is worth every penny.  Be warned, that Carfagna uses quite a bit of legal jargon, and while he does an excellent job of explaining a lot of the legal concepts in the beginning of the book, it is probably best suited for someone who has at least taken an introductory class on contracts and/or intellectual property.

The title may be a little misleading.   Negotiating and Drafting of Sports Venue Agreements is not only about drafting and negotiating of stadium lease agreements (although an entire chapter is dedicated to that specific topic), it also includes detailed discussions about naming rights agreements, presenting sponsorship agreements, media rights and concessions agreements, hospitality and health food agreements, and agreements with state-operated entities.  With each type of agreement, Carfagna gives his take of what the team values, what the other negotiating party wants, and what each party is likely to concede in order to reach a reasonable agreement.  Further, Carfagna includes exhibits at the end of the book, which give the reader a good idea of what a reasonable agreement may look like (while including that these are only templates and should certainly be altered on a case-by-case basis).

For Sports Law nerds like me, this book is a must in a series of books created by Carfagna.  Even if you are never involved in the negotiation or drafting of a sports venue agreement, many of the provisions discussed at length in the book are applicable in other types of agreements.  Reviewing those concepts in the contexts of sports venue agreements makes is certainly more preferable than most alternatives.

Carfagna’s last book, which is an absolute must read for Sports Law enthusiasts with an interest in the sports agent profession, is Representing the Professional Athlete.  I will likely be making that book required reading for a brand new class in Sport Agency Management that I will be teaching at Indiana University Bloomington in the Fall.  If I teach a more general Sports Law class in the future, I will be sure to incorporate Negotiating and Drafting of Sports Venue Agreements into the curriculum, as well.

By Darren Heitner

Darren Adam Heitner, Esq., is a preeminent sports attorney and the founder of Heitner Legal, P.L.L.C., a Fort Lauderdale-based law firm specializing in sports law, contract negotiations, intellectual property, and arbitration. He earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Florida Levin College of Law in 2010 and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, magna cum laude, from the University of Florida in 2007, where he was named Valedictorian of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Admitted to practice in the state bars of Florida, New York, and the District of Columbia, as well as multiple federal courts, Darren also serves as a certified arbitrator with the American Arbitration Association.

As an adjunct professor, Darren imparts his expertise through teaching Sports Law at the University of Florida Levin College of Law and Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) at the University of Miami School of Law in the Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law LL.M. program. His scholarly contributions include authoring several books published by the American Bar Association, such as How to Play the Game: What Every Sports Attorney Needs to Know, and numerous articles in prominent publications like Forbes, Inc. Magazine, and Above the Law. His thought leadership in NIL has earned him recognition as one of the foremost experts by The Wall Street Journal, USA TODAY, and On3, and he has been lauded as a “power player in NIL deals” by Action Network and a “top sports trademark attorney” by Sportico.

Darren’s passion for sports law led him to establish Sports Agent Blog on December 31, 2005, initially titled “I Want To Be A Sports Agent.” The platform, created as a New Year’s resolution, has grown into a cornerstone of the sports agency community, offering in-depth analysis of industry trends, legal disputes, and agent-player dynamics. His commitment to the field is further evidenced by his representation of numerous athletes and sports agents, as well as his prior role as an Adjunct Professor at Indiana University Bloomington, where he developed and taught a course on Sport Agency Management from 2011 to 2014.

Darren’s contributions have been recognized with prestigious honors, including the University of Florida’s 40 Under 40 Award, the University of Florida Levin College of Law’s Outstanding Young Alumnus Award, and designation as the best lawyer in Fort Lauderdale by Fort Lauderdale Magazine. He remains an active voice in the sports law community, sharing insights through his weekly NIL newsletter and his X posts, engaging a broad audience on legal developments in sports.