Operating at the intersection of finance, entertainment, and global competition, Cleary has established exceptional experience across a comprehensive range of legal practices in sports-related matters.

In sports, billion-dollar transactions unfold alongside the world’s most watched events, while regulatory complexity, disputes, and investigations meet unprecedented innovation. In this dynamic landscape, everyone involved, including legal counsel, must move quickly and perform at the top of their game.

That’s where Cleary Gottlieb excels. Our deep bench of legal professionals brings extensive experience across a wide array of matters arising in the sports industry. We have served as trusted counsel to leading industry investors, sports organizations, professional sports leagues and teams, as well as athletes, sports broadcasting, entertainment, and gaming companies. Our matters have included antitrust, mergers and acquisitions, joint venture arrangements, fund formation, intellectual property, capital markets offerings, employee benefits and executive compensation, as well as litigation, arbitration, enforcement, and investigations.

We regularly serve clients across all major jurisdictions, including the Americas, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Our multi-disciplinary sports practice handles cutting-edge matters that are shaping the future of sports. Notably, we are at the forefront of establishing a new era in college sports through our work advising on the formation of the College Sports Commission (CSC) and assisting it in its investigations and arbitrations. The settlement, agreed to by plaintiffs representing nearly 400,000 current and former student-athletes, lays the foundation for a comprehensive model built around direct revenue sharing with athletes, requirements that third-party NIL deals be reported with valid business purposes and reasonable compensation, and a robust compliance function to enforce revenue sharing caps and arbitrate disputes.

Notable Experience

Corporate / M&A

  • Sixth Street in various matters, including alongside a consortium of investors, in its investment in the $6.1 billion acquisition of the Boston Celtics, in connection with its qualification to make investments in National Football League teams, and its investment in the San Antonio Spurs National Basketball Association franchise.

  • Viking Global in its equity investment in Liberty Media Corporation and in connection with Liberty’s acquisition of Formula 1.

  • FIFA in connection with the evaluation of the United States’ bid to host the 2026 World Cup and in relation to the event generally.

  • Internazionale Holding in its exit from F.C. Internazionale Milano (Inter Milan) and negotiations with International Sports Capital; Inter Milan and its majority shareholder in an investment transaction as a result of which International Sports Capital HK Limited became the controlling shareholder of Inter with a 70 percent stake.

  • Canal+ in connection the sale of its interests in Eurosport and Eurosport France to Société Télévision Française 1 (TF1); and on its listing on the London Stock Exchange in connection with its spin-off from Vivendi.

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Antitrust

  • The College Sports Commission in connection with various antitrust matters.

  • Legends Global, a joint venture of Yankee Global Enterprises and Jerry Jones of the Dallas Cowboys, in its $2.4 billion acquisition of ASM Global, positioning Legends to meet the expanding needs of sports organizations, entertainment venues, and convention centers.

  • International Tennis Federation in securing removal as a defendant from class action litigation in the SDNY alleging that tennis’ governing bodies colluded to suppress player pay, as well as governance related matters.

  • Varsity Brands in class action litigation in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee alleging Varsity conspired to monopolize the sale of sports apparel and cheerleading competition events, including collusion with governing bodies.

  • Canal+ in connection with French antitrust litigation with respect to alleged anticompetitive practices deriving from the purchase of exclusive rights to broadcast recent French films on pay-per-view television.

  • Sky Italia in the Italian Competition Authority’s investigation into alleged collusion in the tender for Serie A football broadcasting rights for the 2015/2018 seasons, and in the successful appeal against the decision to fine Sky for alleged bid-rigging; and, Sky Italia before the Italian Competition Authority, administrative courts and in private antitrust litigation related to the adjudication to SKY by the Serie A Football League of live satellite broadcasting rights.

  • The NCAA and the Division I Transformation Committee in connection with various antitrust matters.

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Sports Disputes and Investigations

  • College Sports Commission in managing its investigations function.

  • Major League Baseball in various investigations into violations of rules and laws, including relating to gambling.

  • Kansas City Royals in potential investigation and litigation.

  • Crypto.com in litigation in Maryland and Nevada against state regulators asserting that the CFTC’s regulation of sports event contracts preempts state regulation.

  • Genting Americas and Genting Malaysia in multiple shareholder disputes involving acquisitions and operations of joint ventures, including a motion to dismiss granted in a case in the Southern District of Florida.

  • Empire Resorts, Inc. in a consolidated Section 220 books and records proceeding in Delaware Chancery Court and in obtaining the withdrawals of appraisal petitions filed by a groups of minority stockholders.

  • Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (the Toronto Raptors’ parent company) and other defendants in a high-stakes dispute involving alleged theft of confidential trade secret information brought by the Madison Square Garden Sports Corp.

  • A Major League Soccer player in an arbitration against his footwear sponsor.

  • An NFL team in conducting an internal investigation into allegations of financial irregularities and interpersonal misconduct.

  • Hole In One International Association in successfully defending a claim for prize money at a golf tournament held at Trump National Golf Club when tournament organizers improperly shortened distance from tee to hole.

  • The Chicago Bulls in defending federal copyright litigation in connection with the production of animated sequence for use at the beginning of home basketball games.

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Sports Arbitration

  • Mark Messier and the National Hockey League Players’ Association in connection with their successful grievance arbitration against the Vancouver Canucks relating to deferred compensation.

  • College Sports Commission in arbitrations relating to NIL payments.

  • Ras Al Khaimah, one of the United Arab Emirates, in litigation concerning the selection of the location for the 2010 America’s Cup.

  • Inter Milan in proceedings brought by Juventus before the sports justice bodies of CONI and FIGC to revoke Inter’s award of the 2005-2006 Serie A Championship.

  • The Court of Arbitration for Sport is the world’s top court of appeal for all sports issues concerning federations that have recognized its jurisdiction. Richard Kreindler, Jeffrey Rosenthal, and Romano Subiotto QC are members of the Court, and have arbitrated in over 150 cases related to doping, disciplinary, contractual, financial, commercial, labor law issues, and corrupt practices, such as vote buying, match fixing, and bribing.

  • Arbitrators in arbitrations concerning the Ladies Professional Golf Association and National Basketball Association.

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Intellectual Property

  • The Autonomy Five conferences in connection with complex data privacy and technology transaction issues involving the College Sports Commission.

  • National Football League Players Association Trust in connection with creating and drafting their privacy policies, terms of use and other issues.

  • A Mexican soccer club in its Media Rights License Agreement with Univision Communications Inc. for the licensing of Liga Mx soccer broadcasting rights.

  • FIFA Marketing in various matters, including:

    • In a number of football-related licensing issues, including television, sponsorship and supply rights, and in a joint venture with the United States Soccer Federation to exploit opportunities related to the 1994 World Cup.
    • On the successful litigation against Sprint for exceeding the scope of Sprint’s World Cup sponsorship category by producing a prepaid calling card bearing World Cup trademarks, which encroached upon the sponsorship category owned by MasterCard.
    • On the introduction of the FIFA Approved and Inspected marks on footballs and a number of soccer-related licensing issues, including television, sponsorship, and supply rights.

  • The International Olympic Committee (IOC) in various matters, including:

    • The licensing of broadcasting rights and the sale of tickets to the Athens 2004, Turin 2006, Beijing 2008, Vancouver 2010, and London 2012 Games, and on the listing of live rights for free-to-air television in numerous countries, including the UK.
    • In the negotiation for the sale of rights to the Olympic Games 2014-2016 and 2018-2020.

  • The awards of the Serie A’s TV rights for 2015-2018 by Lega Calcio, the governing body that runs the major professional football competitions in Italy, and the related contemplated disputes against TV company Mediaset.

  • The awards of the Serie A’s TV rights for 2018-2021 by Mediapro, an independent intermediary appointed by Lega Calcio (the governing body that runs the major professional football competitions in Italy), and the related litigation against Mediapro.

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Publications

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