Sports Law

This course provides an analysis of the sports industries and the laws which attempt to regulate their function and behavior.

The sports market in North America was worth $60.5 billion in 2014, and is expected to reach $73.5 billion by 2019. Projected increases in media rights deals represent the biggest growth factor, and are expected to surpass gate revenues as the sports industry's largest segment. The private rules of the national and international sports world as established by organizations such as the NFL, NBA, NHL, UFC and the IOC form the main governing body of the sports industry, along with labor law, contract law, competition or antitrust law, and tort law. Issues like defamation and privacy rights also represent fundamental aspects of the business.

Following the completion of this course, the student should be able to demonstrate a foundational understanding of the principles of how professional and college sports are regulated in the United States, including policy issues and theories underlying professional and college sports law, the various basic agreements, the landscape associated with representing the professional athlete, players' unions, management perspectives, and exposure to many of the different areas of law that impact the nation's sports industry on a daily basis.