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“It’s better to be last to be good than first to be bad.”

-David Herrmann, social media expert

While non-fungible tokens (“NFTs”) in the form of collectible digital artwork are a hot commodity, my advice is not to rush to ink the first deal put in front of your athlete client. Here’s why in what is admittedly not a legal treatise but rather a dealmaker’s tip sheet.

While I applaud Major League Baseball’s willingness to stand against the racist segregationists in Georgia’s state legislature, ultimately the decision to pull the 2021 MLB All-Star Game from Georgia is a missed opportunity if MLB does not do more than simply take its ball and go away.

Now that all of the NFL broadcast deals have been reported finalized, other than further filling the coffers of the NFL, what are the takeaways?

Since New Jersey’s landmark Supreme Court victory in 2018, states across the country have passed legislation to legalize sports betting. Recently, this wave of legislation has made its way to Buckeye country. Ohio now stands poised to be the next state to allow fans to not only risk their sanity while watching their favorite team but their money too. 

As we see more and more stories about the incumbent networks renewing NFL deals, I think we might ask some questions about what is or could be new in those deals.  Admittedly, for the first time since 1998, I am not in the room on negotiating one of those deals, but as I have read a variety of reports there is one word that has truly piqued my interest: Peacock.
 

“Lately it occurs to me
What a long strange trip it's been”

I grew up in a golf family, my dad, my grandpa, my uncles, and cousins are all amateur golfers, later on, golf gave me golfer friends and so I am now a degenerate golf lover, not saying I am a good one, but for me, those 18 holes, among family, friends and even complete strangers, are the best time of the week. (Please don’t tell my wife).

If you’re reading this blog post sports law matters to you in some way. Perhaps you’re a student thinking about a future career and considering law school. Perhaps you’re in law school taking classes that you’ve been told will help you embark on such a career. Perhaps you’re a young lawyer thinking about shifting from commercial transactions to working for a team. Perhaps you’re a seasoned academic who has taught sports law for decades and it’s early on a quiet Saturday morning with snow falling outside with your wife still asleep and you had an idea—but I digress.