On the heels of South Carolina lawmakers speaking out against the Panthers halting the construction of the Panthers’ headquarters in South Carolina, GT Real Estate Holdings, LLC (“GTRE”)—Panthers owner David Tepper’s real estate holding company—has terminated its agreements with the City of Rock Hill. Specifically, the termination is due to City’s failure to issue bonds “or provide the funding for the public infrastructure for the project.” On March 18, GTRE sent the City a default notice. Article XI of the “Amended and Restated Finance and Construction Administration Agreement” between the City and GTRE gave the City 30-days to cure any default. To date, the City has not provided the bonds nor any other public infrastructure funding (although the City maintains the position that the City was ready to issue the bonds). Instead, on March 21, York County passed an alternative fee arrangement, which, if GTRE agreed to it, would have allowed the County to reimburse GTRE through property tax credits over a 30-year period. The City passed a resolution supporting York County’s proposed arrangement. Apparently, GTRE was not satisfied with the alternative arrangement, likely because it would require GTRE to pay the $225 million upfront. On top of the City and County’s failure to adhere to the original deal, South Carolina lawmakers began expressing their frustrations with the Panthers’ pausing construction, to which the Panthers responded by stating, “[i]t is unfortunate that some recently decided to conduct a misguided, destructive public relations campaign to obscure their failures.” All of this added up to the Panthers terminating their agreements with the City. Importantly, the agreement does contain an arbitration provision (Section 11.4) for disputes over bond-funded infrastructure, which allows for an expedited resolution and avoids a public lawsuit. However, the City has an uphill battle to climb due to the City admitting to failing to supply the infrastructure bonds. For now, the Panthers are open to coming to the table to reach a resolution on termination and avoid a drawn-out dispute. On the other hand, lawsuits against NFL teams are not uncommon. Although different circumstances, just last year, the NFL and the Los Angeles Rams settled their lawsuit with the city of St. Louis, shelling out $790 million in the process. Even though the City failed to supply the bonds, the City could try a similar lawsuit. One thing is for sure, this chapter in the Carolina Panthers’ history will not be over soon. Landis Barber is an attorney at Safran Law Offices in Raleigh, North Carolina. You can connect with him via LinkedIn or via his blog offthecourtdocket.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Landisbarber.

A lawsuit was filed on Tuesday, April 19th against Seattle Mariners’ 2021 2nd round pick, Edwin Arroyo. The lawsuit was filed by Los Angeles-based management agency Amuse Sports USA (“Amuse”) in LA Superior Court. Arroyo, an 18-year-old Puerto Rican shortstop, was the 48th overall pick in 2021, coming out of Central Point Christian Academy in Florida. Arroyo was one of the youngest players selected in the draft at just 17 years old. Amuse claims that in 2020, they noticed Arroyo’s talents and later “made his dreams [of playing professional baseball] a reality.” On May 15, 2020, Edwin Arroyo and Amuse entered into an advisor agreement, which provided that Arroyo would pay Amuse 5% of his signing bonus of any contract signed with a professional baseball team participating in the Major League Baseball draft. Arroyo was a minor at the time of signing. In return, Amuse was to hold showcases and give Arroyo a chance to demonstrate his talent to prospective teams. Amuse claims it incurred costs associated with those showcases, including staff fees, staff transportation, staff lodging, meals for staff and Arroyo, as well as Arroyo’s reimbursable expenses. According to the complaint, around April 30, 2021, Arroyo notified Amuse of his intent to “unilaterally” terminate the advisor agreement. Arroyo confirmed this in a telephone call to Amuse on May 8, 2021. This was all prior to the 2021 MLB draft, which took place from July 11 to July 13, 2021. The only monetary value to the contract for Amuse was 5% of Arroyo’s signing bonus upon getting drafted. With that, Amuse tried to settle with Arroyo as it was clear to them he was not going to honor the agreement. On May 10, 20201 Amuse offered Arroyo a waiver of the 5% advisor fee in exchange for one lump sum payment of $70,000 or two payments of $40,000, due two months apart. Arroyo declined the plaintiff’s offer. Then, the MLB draft commences. Arroyo doesn’t hear his name get called in the first round, but he soon after lands with the Seattle Mariners at pick 48 overall. The Mariners, led by General Manager Jerry Dipoto, awarded the shortstop with a $1,650,000 signing bonus. Therefore, on July 26, 2021, Amuse sent Arroyo an invoice for $82,500.00 (i.e., five percent of Arroyo’s signing bonus) pursuant to the Advisor Agreement, which, according to Amuse, was not subject to unilateral termination and was still in effect. Since then, Arroyo has not paid the invoice and Amuse filed this lawsuit in response. Amuse also names Does 1-20 as defendants, alleging that one or more “does,” with intent to cause harm, undertook conduct that caused Arroyo to terminate the parties’ contract. Amuse claims that one or more does offered Arroyo a contract at a different sports talent agency while he was signed with Amuse. Amuse claims inducement to breach contract and intentional interference of contractual relations against the unnamed defendants. Relevant portions of the contract between Amuse and Arroyo may be seen below: Jason Morrin is a third-year law student at Hofstra Law School in New York. He is the President of Hofstra’s Sports and Entertainment Law Society. Additionally, he is a Law Clerk at Zumpano, Patricios, and Popok. He can be followed on Twitter @Jason_Morrin and reached by email at [email protected]. Image via MLB.com

In the aftermath of the Brooklyn Nets’ Game 2 loss in their first-round series against the Boston Celtics, it was only natural for fans to play the finger-pointing game. The one question that loomed was: where is Ben Simmons? Well, Nets' fans finally got their answer Friday afternoon, when ESPN Senior NBA Insider Adrian “Woj” Wojnarowski announced that Simmons plans to play in Game 4 of the series barring any setbacks. Simmons has not played a game for the Nets this season after being traded from the Philadelphia 76ers right before February’s trade deadline. Prior to being traded, Simmons refused to play in the 76ers’ pre-season and regular season games, and also sparingly participating in their training camp activities. Simmons cited his mental health as the reason for his limited participation and refusal to play in games. [1] In the offseason, Simmons received a $16.5 million advance of his $33 million salary. Philadelphia insists that Simmons breached his contract under the CBA and had the right to recoup the money advanced to Simmons before the season. Starting with Simmons’ first paycheck, the 76ers deducted the $360,000 per-game salary for each game he missed this season. Now, Philadelphia has been withholding almost $1.3 million of Simmons’ salary in each of his paychecks, minus the amount for escrow that the NBA withheld. This has continued since he became a Net. Since the last paycheck is scheduled for April 30, the same deductions are set to carry over after the end of the season. Simmons and his representatives attempted to resolve this matter without arbitration, but no agreement was reached, leading to Simmons filing a grievance to challenge the roughly $20 million that the 76ers are withholding from him. Simmons and the 76ers had disagreements over the amount of accessibility that the team and its medical staff were given to diagnose and affirm his mental health. The NBA’s CBA states that a grievance must be initiated within 30 days from the date of the occurrence, or within 30 days from the date when the facts of the matter became known to file the grievance. Shortly after Simmons began to comply with the team and meet with a team-recommended medical specialist to discuss his mental health, Simmons’ agent Rich Paul told The Athletic’s Shams Charania that the 76ers imposing fines and negative publicity were furthering the damage to his mental health.[2] Philadelphia never questioned Simmons’ mental health claims, they just wanted to receive more information about his progress. The 76ers told Shams that they believed Simmons should partake in all team activities until there is information revealed that would preclude Simmons from playing. There will be an arbitration hearing in the coming weeks to attempt to resolve this matter, but if Simmons succeeds on his claim, it can have a rippling effect on the rest of the NBA. Although mental health has been more of an open topic in the NBA in recent years, this arbitration could set a precedent on the handling of mental health and contract matters in the future. There are multiple factors to this case that make it even more interesting, such as Simmons citing back discomfort a week after Philadelphia suspended him for the regular-season opener for conduct detrimental to the team. According to Woj, Simmons underwent brief treatment before the medical staff cleared him to work out. Without participating in any basketball activity the next day, Simmons told the 76ers that he “wasn’t mentally ready to play to his expectations and needed time to step away,” per Wojnarowski. There have been rumblings throughout social media that Simmons is using a back injury as an extra layer of cover. If Simmons returned to play for the Nets shortly after he was traded, how would that be viewed in his arbitration? If an arbitrator rules in Simmons’ favor, would that open the door for other disgruntled star players to simply cite mental health as the reason why he cannot play for his current team any longer? A ruling in Simmons’ favor could give players a new method for getting out of their current team situation, so the NBA must take that with a grain of salt. Expect these talks to heat up as we approach Simmons’ season debut in Game 4 of the Nets’ first-round series. Zachary Koenig is a 2L at New York Law School and is the NYLS Sports Law Society's Co-Events Chair. You can follow Zachary on Twitter @koenigz18. [1] (Ramona Shelburne, 2022) [2] (Toporek, 2022)

Mississippi and Tennessee have each amended their name, image, and likeness (“NIL”) laws to allow schools to facilitate NIL deals. Mississippi’s NIL Amendment Mississippi amended its NIL law to give institutions and their athletic departments more involvement in NIL. Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves signed Senate Bill 2690 on April 18, 2022. The amendment provides for the following changes: Revising the definition of “student-athlete” to include a “prospective student-athlete,” meaning student-athletes do not need to be enrolled at a school prior to entering into a NIL deal. Allowing institutions to facilitate NIL opportunities for student-athletes with third parties, and permitting communication with third parties interested in providing NIL opportunities to student-athletes. Modifying the warning language that is required to be included in NIL contracts. Tennessee’s NIL Amendment Similar to Mississippi, Tennessee’s state legislature adopted an amendment to the state’s NIL law to allow more involvement by institutions in facilitating NIL deals. The amendment was signed by Tennessee Governor Bill Lee on April 20, 2022. The Tennessee state legislature posted a summary of the bill which provides the following changes: Removing the reference that a student-athlete must be “at an institution” to earn compensation for the use of their NIL and removing the provision that NIL compensation may only be provided by a third party. Eliminating the prohibition against an institution and its athletic department officials from being involved in the development, operation, or promotion of a student-athlete’s NIL, and instead allowing the school to be involved in the support of NIL activities, provided that the school does not coerce, compel, or interfere with the athlete’s decision to earn compensation from or obtain representation in connection with a specific NIL opportunity. Removing the provision that prohibited an entity whose purpose includes supporting or benefitting the institution or its athletic program from compensating or causing compensation to be provided to a current or prospective student-athlete for the athlete’s NIL if the arrangement is contingent on the athlete’s enrollment or continued participation at an institution. Adding that parents, siblings, grandparents, spouses, and legal guardians of a student-athlete who represent the athlete for the purpose of NIL deals are not considered to be athlete agents, and are not subject to the requirements for an athlete agent. Adding that an athletic association’s (e.g., NCAA) governing actions, sanctions, bylaws, and rules must not interfere with a student-athlete’s ability to earn NIL compensation and must not otherwise impact a student-athlete’s eligibility or full participation in athletic events, unless the athlete has violated the rules of the school or the athletic association or the law is invalidated or rendered unenforceable by operation of law. Key Takeaways Collectives operating in Mississippi and Tennessee now have the ability to communicate and interact directly with the school’s athletic department officials and coaches in order to facilitate NIL deals. Previously, collectives were not permitted to contact the school’s athletic department officials and coaches in order to facilitate NIL deals. Prospective student-athletes in Mississippi and Tennessee are now permitted to enter into NIL deals without being enrolled at an institution. Previously, athletes could not sign a NIL deal until they were enrolled in the school. Tennessee now allows NIL deals that are contingent on the athlete’s enrollment or continued participation at a particular school. However, according to the NCAA’s Q&As for its interim NIL policy, NIL compensation contingent upon enrollment at a particular school is prohibited. What’s Next? Schools located in Mississippi and Tennessee should update their NIL policies and internal procedures in light of these changes. For example, Ole Miss’s FAQs on NIL provide that “[Ole Miss] may not be involved in any form of brokering NIL-related contracts.” Tennessee’s general rule on NIL tracks the language of the NCAA’s interim NIL policy, which prohibits NIL compensation contingent upon enrollment at a particular school. To maintain a competitive edge in recruiting, other states will adopt similar NIL laws or amend existing NIL laws. For example, the Louisiana State Senate passed Senate Bill 250 to help schools and their boosters facilitate NIL deals and the bill will now move to the House of Representatives. Illinois State Senate and House of Representatives have also passed an amendment to House Bill 1175 to, among other things, (i) permit institutions to facilitate and negotiate NIL deals on behalf of their student-athletes with third parties, (ii) provide a definition of “booster,” which is defined as a person or entity who within the last five years has donated more than $1,000 to the school’s athletic department or booster organization, (iii) allow NIL deals to be conditioned on attendance at a school (but NIL deals conditioned on athletic performance are still prohibited), and (iv) encourage educational programming for student-athletes. Schools in states with more restrictive NIL laws will continue to have a recruiting disadvantage against those with more permissive NIL laws. States will likely continue to pass NIL laws that permit institutional involvement, allow prospective athletes to benefit from NIL, and authorize schools to condition NIL deals on attendance at a school. If that trend continues, the NCAA may be forced to revise its NIL interim policy until federal legislation or new NCAA rules are adopted. Ryan Whelpley is an Associate at Morse in Waltham, Massachusetts, where he is a member of the firm’s Corporate Practice Group and focuses on venture capital financings, M&A transactions, and general corporate work for startup and emerging growth companies. He is a graduate of Albany Law School (2019) and Union College (2016). At Union, Ryan was a member and three-year captain of the Men’s Basketball Team. You can connect with him via Twitter (@Whelpley_Law) and LinkedIn.

Last Monday, High Stakes Poker Player Alex Foxen publicly accused fellow High Stakes Player Ali Imsirovic of cheating. The allegations range from looking at an opponent’s hole cards to chip dumping and using RTA (Real-Time Assistance). There is also a push to gets these players put on a Poker Blacklist which would effectively ban them from playing poker around the world. I am a recreational player myself meaning I sometimes play in tournaments with pros. However, I am an amateur (I once won a ticket to the World Series of Poker Main Event). This article will cover the legal implications of those allegations. Alex Foxen alleged last Monday on Twitter to noticing Ali’s eyes were wondering. If you watch the video in the thread, it does appear Ali’s eyes wander towards his opponent’s hole cards. That being said, I cannot say for certain that was his intent nor am I alleging that. However, the allegations do not end there. Mr. Foxen goes on to show a video from the next day of play where Mr. Imsirovic is now wearing sunglasses (Foxen claims he has never seen Ali wear sunglasses when he plays). Wearing sunglasses allows a poker player to mask any potential tells the player may do with his or her eyes. Mr. Foxen also goes on to allege that Mr. Imsirovic is banned from GGPoker for chip dumping to horses and using RTA (Real-Time Assistance). Chip dumping to horses is intentionally losing chips to a player. Often times the player who is “chip-dumping” may have bought a piece of the player he is chip dumping chips to. Thus, Player A is losing chips like crazy and does not believe a rebound is likely. However, Player A bought 25% of Player B. If 1st prize is $1,000,000 and Player B wins, Player A gets 25% or $250,000 since he bought a piece. Player A chip dumps to Player B by betting high amounts of chips on hands where he suspects Player B is much stronger and thus more likely to win. Thus, if Player A knows he can’t win but thinks Player B might, Player A will find a way to ensure his chips end up in Player B’s stack. Also, Player B might have an agreement with Player A to do the same thing. It works both ways. RTA (Real-Time Assistance) is using software to basically guess the range of hands their opponent has and how their own hand would fair. Example: Player A has the 10 of spades and the J of spades as his hole cards. His opponent Player C just bet 3x the big blind of 1000 chips (Thus, betting 3,000 chips). Player A only has 10,000 chips in front of him. Player A cannot simply call the 3,000 and leave himself with under 7BBs (Big Blinds). He must either fold his hand or shove all his chips into the middle. Before Player A decides, he runs a simulation of hands that Player C probably has and realizes that if his opponent just 3-bet with an Ace of Hearts and a 7 of hearts, he has a roughly 43% chance of winning the hand based on 10,000 simulated hands. That is a strong likelihood of success for being behind with the starting hand and knowing that Player C likely figures himself to be ahead. Player A shoves his chips and Player C calls. Player A wins the hand because a Jack comes up on the flop and Player C’s hand never improves. Now that we understand what is being alleged, let’s discuss the legal ramifications. One potential cause of action would obviously be Defamation. There are two types: Libel and Slander. Libel is written. Slander is spoken. These allegations were made on Twitter and as such likely be found to be written. Thus, libel. To prove Defamation in Nevada, you must establish four elements: That the defendant made false statements of fact about you. (Ali cheating was found to be false) That the defendant made an unprivileged publication of the statement(s) to a third party. (Told his 12,000 followers on Twitter) That the defendant acted negligently, recklessly, or intentionally; and (Likely point of contention. If statements found to be true, highly unlikely this element is met). That as a result of the statements, your reputation was damaged. (Likely has been) Finally, a consideration is whether Ali is a public figure. Since he is a celebrity, a strong argument can be made that he is a public figure. If Ali were to sue Alex for defamation, Ali would have to prove these elements above. Alex’s defense would merely be truth. That means if Alex can prove Ali is in fact a cheater, Alex is immune from civil liability. Remember poker is a lot like golf in the sense that players made a good bit of money off endorsements. That is because poker is televised and what a player wears on his or her shirt/outwear is prime advertising space. Some players have Poker companies (GGPoker, PokerStars, 888Poker etc.) and others have everyday companies. Someone of Mr. Imsirovic’s talent and success would have the pick of any endorsement he would want. That is because potential companies are very confident that he will routinely have eyes on him because he seems to be always playing deep into tournaments. Since he plays in High Roller events around the world, Mr. Imsirovic has Worldwide appeal. These allegations put a real dent in his reputation. Before Monday, Mr. Imsirovic was widely considered one of the most talent poker players in the World. Now the poker community doesn’t know what to think about him. Are the allegations true? I honestly do not know. Do I think Mr. Imsirovic sues? Likely yes if he knows the allegations to be false. However, Mr. Foxen’s witness list would undoubtedly include executives from GGPoker where Mr. Imsirovic is allegedly banned from. The first question during a deposition would be, “Is Mr. Imsirovic banned from GGPoker?” If the answer is yes, the follow up would be, “Why is Mr. Imsirovic banned from GGPoker?” If the answer is for chip dumping and using RTA then Mr. Foxen would be immune from civil liability on those particular allegations. UPDATE: Bryn Kenny who is #1 on the All-Time Money List has also been accused of cheating. Matthew F. Tympanick is the Founder/Principal of Tympanick Law, P.A., located in Sarasota, Florida, where he focuses his practice on Criminal Defense and Personal Injury Law. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts School of Law where he served as a Public Interest Fellow and as a Staff Editor on the UMass Law Review. He was previously a felony prosecutor for over three years and civil attorney for nearly two years in Sarasota, Florida. As a prosecutor, he tried nearly forty jury and non-jury trials and prosecuted thousands more. You can follow him on Twitter @TympanickLaw. Arrested or Injured? Don’t Panic…Call Tympanick (1-888-NOPANIC). www.tympanicklaw.com

The city of Anaheim and the state of California have reached a settlement agreement and submitted a stipulated final judgment that will resolve their dispute over the city’s 2019 land sale of Angel Stadium to SRB Management LLC, a land-holding company owned by Angels Owner Arte Moreno. Background In October 2019, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law certain amendments to the California Surplus Land Act, which requires the city to first offer public land to developers that can build homes for low-income families. The amendments include requiring cities to take a formal action in a regular public meeting to declare land “surplus land,” and the city must support the declaration through written findings. Further, for a first violation, the amendments authorized the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to issue a monetary penalty of thirty percent of the sales price. Notably, the amendments would not go into effect until January 1, 2020. Importantly, the amendments carve out an exception to the application of the amendments. Section 54234 of the Land Surplus Act states, “if a local agency, as of September 30, 2019, has entered into an exclusive negotiating agreement . . . the provisions of this article as it existed on December 31, 2019, shall apply . . . .” In December 2019, SRB agreed to purchase Angel Stadium and an additional 153 acres of Anaheim-owned land for $320 million. As a part of the purchase, the Angels agreed to remain in Anaheim until at least 2050. In April 2021, the (HCD) sent a warning letter to the city warning the city that the city may have violated California’s Surplus Land Act. Specifically, the city failed to declare the land as either “surplus land” or “exempt surplus land” as required by the amendments. In December 2021, the HCD sent a Notice of Violation to the city. In turn, the city responded by denying that the Surplus Land Act applied to the sale of the property. Specifically, the city has maintained the position that the exception applied to the city’s deal with the SRB. The city entered into an exclusive negotiating agreement with SRB prior to September 30, 2019. Thus, the city did not need to issue any declaration as to the property. When the city revealed its position, residents were left wondering why the negotiating agreement was never publicly discussed during council meetings. Settlement Now, it appears that the parties have resolved their dispute. As a part of the settlement, the city will put roughly $96 million (30% of full purchase price) into a trust fund to fund affordable housing in the city within five years. The city of Anaheim estimates it could build up to 1,000 units. Notably, the city did not admit to a violation of the Surplus Land Act. Even though it will take years to see the fruits of this agreement, leadership throughout the Anaheim is touting the agreement as a victory. For now, Anaheim gets to keep their baseball team, and new housing is on the horizon. Landis Barber is an attorney at Safran Law Offices in Raleigh, North Carolina. You can connect with him via LinkedIn or via his blog offthecourtdocket.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Landisbarber.

Over the last seven years, the Golden State Warriors have taken the NBA by storm and changed the way basketball is played. The Warriors are no strangers to the entertainment and media aspects of the business. They’ve not only been at the forefront of success in the NBA but also have some of the league’s most marketable stars. In 2018 Stephen Curry created a production company called Unanimous Media that partnered with Sony Pictures Entertainment and most recently signed an eight-figure deal with Comcast NBCUniversal for a long-term partnership. Curry is an executive producer for the film Breakthrough, the television series Holey-Moley, and the animated revival of Good Times. Draymond Green signed a multi-year deal with TNT’s Inside the NBA studio show as a television analyst. Green has also appeared in Space Jam: A New Legacy, The Shop: Uninterrupted, and various other television shows. When Klay Thompson was rehabbing from a torn ACL and Achilles tendon, he was a huge social media hit with his dog, Rocco, acted in Space Jam: A New Legacy, and was a voice-over in the animated series STARBEAM. Members of the Warriors are used to stating their opinion on the court as well. On several occasions, Draymond Green has gone after the media, stated dislike of some NBA rulings, and has encouraged and discouraged some teammates to the public. The most popular incident was with then-teammate Kevin Durant when they got into an argument while playing against the Los Angeles Clippers. Green took a wild last-second shot with the game tied that sent the game into overtime in which the Warriors ultimately lost. Also, head coach Steve Kerr has expressed his opinion on many issues happening in the country such as gun regulation and police brutality. When he had crippling back pain, he later became a small advocate for marijuana use for NBA players. Due to their success, the Warriors’ members are not afraid to state their opinion and to be in the spotlight. This makes them the perfect professional sports team to be in front of a camera and to create content. Now the Golden State Warriors have announced the launch of Golden State Entertainment. The team’s top legal executive, David Kelly, will oversee the division as its chief business officer. The Warriors want to leverage the team’s brand outside of sports, “telling the stories of people that shape culture and move culture,” Kelly told CNBC in an interview. They already have documentaries lined up with two former guards, but they are not able to publicly announce their names yet. K Pop star BamBam is already partnered with the Warriors and will have a new single released by them. The Last Dance’s success gave the Warriors the idea to create entertainment like this to get their stories out. Similarly, they are also looking to partner with a streaming service like Netflix to stream their content. The only downside is that Article XXVIII Section 1 of the NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) restricts the team from licensing additional content around active NBA players. A documentary about Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, or Draymond Green will have to wait until they retire from the NBA. Without the NBA media rights of active players in the CBA, there would be a lot of copyright issues on who exactly owns the rights. When it comes to entertainment copyright is one of the most important aspects of the business to have correct. Luckily, the Warriors have a history of NBA legends that they can highlight. Hopefully, more professional teams create this type of entertainment as well. Located near Silicon Valley it should be no surprise that the Warriors are going all-in on media and technology. Chris D'Avanzo is a 2L at Hofstra Law and Hofstra Men's Basketball Manager. He can be followed on Twitter @_chrisdavanzo.

After inking deals with professional leagues for certain player data, including the NFL, NBA, and MLB, sportsbooks are now shifting gears to the NCAA. In response to a request for interpretation from the Mid-American Conference (MAC), the NCAA will now allow schools and conferences to initiate deals with sportsbooks for statistics. Request for Interpretation Section 10.3 of the NCAA Manual provides that certain members shall not participate nor provide information to individuals involved in sports wagering activities, including staff members and non-staff members of a school’s athletic department, staff members of a conference office, and student-athletes. The MAC sought to clarify whether the section prohibited conferences from entering into deals for player data. In response, the Division Interpretation Committee will allow schools and conferences to provide statistics to sportsbooks, provided that the information is available to the general public. Why Sell Statistics? Quite simply, selling statistics provides leagues, conferences, and schools an opportunity to cash in on sports wagering. As an example, the NFL’s deal Is likely worth over $100 million per year. Even though any distribution deal a conference or school makes is unlikely to be as significant as the NFL’s, selling statistics opens up a revenue stream for something that sportsbooks already had. Who Owns the Statistics? For now, the Interpretations Committee limited its interpretation to statistics available to the public, which is a calculated maneuver. In NBA v. Motorola, Inc., the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that copyright law protects broadcasts, but the facts (or statistics) are not copyrightable. Therefore, for copyright purposes, those seeking ownership of the data produced must overcome the holding in Harper & Row, Publishers, Inc. v. Nation Enterprises, “[n]o author may copyright facts or ideas.” For student-athletes seeking to benefit from their statistics, the issue for college athletes is the lack of collective bargaining with the conferences and schools. In the NFL’s newest collective bargaining agreement, the NFLPA negotiated for players to share in the revenue generated from player data. At the same time, in MLB’s collective bargaining agreement, the MLBPA negotiated to exclude certain data from any deal, and players are allowed to sign sponsorships with sportsbooks. Thus, unfortunately for student-athletes, the lack of a negotiating opportunity will likely hinder a student-athlete’s ability to earn revenue from any deal. Overall, the NCAA seems to be embracing sports wagering, which more states are legalizing each year. However, an issue that organizations will continue to discuss is student-athlete compensation for their data. Do they deserve to be compensated? Absolutely. Will they succeed in any lawsuits? If their pursuit is under copyright law, likely not. Landis Barber is an attorney at Safran Law Offices in Raleigh, North Carolina. You can connect with him via LinkedIn or via his blog offthecourtdocket.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Landisbarber.

Ever wanted to have an “ownership stake” in a professional sports team but don’t have “big 4 league” money (or just don’t want to spend that much)? The perfect opportunity may be on the horizon. The BIG3 is selling 1000 “ownership” tokens broken into the following: 25 “Fire” tokens, which cost $25,000 each at market, and 975 “Gold” tokens, which cost $5,000 each at market per team. Prices will likely vary on the aftermarket. As BIG3 co-founder Jeff Kwatinetz stated, Fire token holders will have “more of a feeling of being an owner than a limited partner.” While this isn’t for the MLB, NBA, NFL, or NHL, still the opportunity to meet incredible players, watch this revolutionary league up close and personally, and again, you can say you “own” a team and have had their voices heard on matters relating to the management of the team! On April 26th, SPORTICO provided more clarity on the plan. The well-known sports content platform reported that the tokens from the May sale are not in fact representative of an ownership stake in the BIG3 as the league, and more specifically, its investors own the teams within the league. However, specifically, the Fire token holders can see profits if the team that the stakeholder has a token for is sold. These teams would not be able to be sold without a majority of the relevant stakeholders approving the transaction. Upon approval and the ultimate execution of the “divesture,” 60% of the proceeds go to the league, with the remaining 40% being split amongst the Fire token holders. The BIG3, founded in 2017, is a 3-on-3 basketball league founded by actor and NWA rapper Ice Cube and media executive Jeff Kwatinetz. As of right now, the league consists of 12 teams comprised of former NBA players and players from abroad. This league differs from the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) in that the rules are different. While there are too many differences to list, in the BIG3, instead of 2 and 3-pointers, there are 1 and 2-pointers. There are also specific spots on the court that if the player’s foot is touching during the shot process and they make it, will count for 4 points. The last big difference is that there is no jump ball, instead opting for a coin-toss. Some well known players include Allen Iverson, Chauncey Billups, Nick Young, Mario Chalmers, and Stephen Jackson. On April 4th, the BIG3 announced that it was looking to revolutionize basketball, and team ownership in professional sports as a whole. The league plans to implement “decentralized team ownership.” For those unfamiliar with cryptocurrency, this will operate using blockchain much like other NFTs and cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solara, and Dogecoin. This move is keeping in line with Ice Cube and Kwatinetz’s goal of “building a league that was innovative and created opportunities for players and fans alike that other leagues lack.” As of 4am on May 5th, these tokens are being minted and available for purchase. It’s interesting to see a sports league, not just an individual team, work cryptocurrency and/or blockchain technology into even at least “quasi” team ownership-making it perhaps the first “crowd-funded” league of its kind. This of course, raises legal questions-whether the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) will consider the ownership “share” to be an asset or service remains to be seen. Kwatinetz told Forbes Magazine that “there’s a fine line that the SEC has yet to delineate between it being a security as opposed to being a utility [token].” The article, however, notes that ownership stakes in the BIG3 teams are different than the typical NFT, which acts as more of a collectible. Perks associated with ownership include but are not limited to: eligibility to be team CEO, President, or Vice President, access to exclusive merchandise, tickets to games, proceeds from “future team sales,” and meet-and-greets with the players. Worth noting, aside from proceeds from “future team sales” it does not appear as though there is any sort of direct compensation associated with ownership. The BIG3’s “ownership model” is similar to many NFTs, but there is a difference. In terms of similarities, the perks associated with being a stakeholder in a team resembles many other NFTs, though in particular, a fairly young but known sports NFT, Metafans, comes to mind. Metafans offers special perks for owners, including but not limited to access to tickets for major sporting events (often times at a discount, though there may be some free tickets available from time to time), “meet up” parties and receptions at well known sporting venues, as well as meet-and-greets with athletes and access to rare and otherwise exclusive merchandise. The Motley Fool, an Alexandria, Virginia based investment advising and private financial company, defines a security token as something that represents ownership shares in a company that does business using blockchain technology. The Motley Fool also notes that an integral feature of many security tokens is the ability to exercise control within the issuing company-basically making the token holder a shareholder within the company. A utility token, on the other hand, is something that equates to a promotional tool that grants holders special access or promotion for future product or service launches. Further complicating the issue, the regulatory landscape surrounding tokens are incredibly unclear, but that is mainly because it seems as though relevant legislation focuses on “securities” specifically. In order to determine whether a digital asset is a security, courts often turn to what is referred to as the “Howey test,” which comes from SEC v. W.J. Howey Co.[1]The Howey test determines if a transaction has an investment contract, in which case the asset could be considered a security. As a point of clarification, again, the bulk of the scholarship in this space has focused on NFTs, and tokens and other situations like what the BIG3 will have to face soon, have received very little attention, if any. Per the test, an investment contract has 4 elements that must be met. 1) there must be an investment of money; 2) there must be an expectation of profits from the investment; 3) the investment of money is in a common enterprise and; 4) any profit comes from the efforts of a promoter or third party. While “common enterprise” has not been directly defined, in federal court, it the term is generally understood to be a common place where investors pool their assets in order to invest in a particular project. Personally, I could see both sides as to whether the Howey test is met in the BIG3’s case. In opposition of the test being met, one may be able to argue that the investment is not in a common enterprise, as the stakeholder is investing in different teams. Conversely, the teams are all owned by the league, so it seems logical that the money must flow through the league. The transaction structure at this point is unclear, and unless this ends up in court or the SEC takes action, I don’t expect any clarity anytime soon. Personally, I don’t see myself making this plunge right this moment (read: anytime in the near future) but when the time is right, I will most definitely be interested! Either way, this is an incredible opportunity to integrate fans and the general public into team ownership and to a degree “league operations,” even if it’s just selecting weekly awards or all-star players. As an aside, I also take particular interest because I believe it can serve as an example. I think plenty of sports and leagues without the resources the big 4 leagues generally can benefit greatly from this model. Immediately coming to mind, the WNBA could benefit from something like this on a project like a developmental league. In the last few days, there has been a lot of social media commotion about the number of cuts being made by the WNBA teams, and how many of the top draft picks are in fact not ending up on the final rosters. One twitter user “jokingly” asked if anyone would be willing to pitch in and start a G-league of sorts for the league and this model honestly could create an avenue for others leagues to implement, and the powers that be within the WNBA should consider looking into this to put an end to the nightmares experienced by so many WNBA draft hopefuls and picks. As this is not legal advice, should you have any questions or concerns, I highly recommend contacting a securities lawyer. As of May 15th, 2022, Stephon Burton will be a graduate from Duquesne University School of Law in Pittsburgh, PA. He obtained his undergraduate degree from Washington & Jefferson College in 2019. He can be contacted via email at [email protected], and on twitter @stephonburton3. [1] SEC v. W.J. Howey Co.,328 U.S. 293 (1946)

With all the chaos surrounding the NCAA right now, many people recognize that the current model is in need of change. Whatever that change may be, it’s obvious that college sports will look a lot different in 2042 than they do in 2022. With the proliferation of NIL inducements and the implementation of the one time transfer waiver, there is no shortage of debate about what’s right and what’s wrong surrounding all of the chaos. Amid all of the discussion surrounding these issues, I feel that a recent new development coming out of the NCAA has gone unreported. The NCAA Transformation Committee is a group of top administrators who have the difficult responsibility of overhauling and modernizing the NCAA’s governance over college sports. After their most recent meeting discussing big picture issues, reports surfaced that the group is considering some monumental changes that could affect a certain college sport that has long received the cold shoulder from the NCAA. Under the NCAA's current rules, college baseball teams are only allowed to have two paid assistant coaches. With 35 players on most rosters, this leaves college baseball with the highest player to coach ratio of any sport. While teams are only allowed to have two paid assistants, many also have a “volunteer” assistant who is unpaid and not allowed to recruit. In the last several years, there has been a strong push by many in college baseball to increase the number of paid assistants. The most recent proposal for a third paid assistant to the NCAA was denied in 2019 in a close vote determined by powerful athletic administrators. The cap on the amount of paid assistants has inevitably drawn many potentially great coaches away from the profession. With no salary or benefits, it's hard for a young coach to take a volunteer position and live off money from camps and lessons throughout the year. In addition to the lack of compensation, these volunteer coaches are not allowed to recruit off campus, an important skill to develop for any coach. In support of getting a third paid assistant coach, Vanderbilt coach Tim Corbin painted the picture of the typical unpaid volunteer’s life. “I’m 32 years old, “Corbin described to the assembled media. “I’m married, I have a child, I leave home at 7:30 every morning, I come back at 8, 9 at night. I do it Sunday through Sunday. I don’t get paid. I don’t get compensated. My wife stays home with a baby, and can't afford daycare. And God forbid he goes to daycare, gets sick; I don’t have benefits, so I can’t pay for that. “Can't get a ticket to a football game, can't get a ticket to a basketball game, can't eat with a recruit. Why? I'm a volunteer. I stay all year, I work; I've got to go off in the summer, work camps. Why? I can't recruit. I'm a volunteer. I make camp money, I come home, put stress on my wife, can't have another child. Costs money to have children; can't do it. I’m a volunteer." Corbin, concluded with “It's the most short-sighted-thinking aspect of our game that we've been a part of. We lose good people to other jobs, other sports. They leave baseball because they can't afford to stay in it.Why that hasn't been changed, why that hasn't been turned over in the last couple of years is really, really sinful. It's dehumanizing in so many different ways.” Good news could be on the way, however. The NCAA Transformation Committee is considering lifting the number of paid assistant coaches a school can have. While nothing is certain (especially in today’s era of college athletics), there is growing optimism that the new landscape of college sports may allow for schools to decide how many coaches they want on their respective staffs. While many schools will up their number of football and basketball assistants, I believe many baseball programs will add paid assistants because of the intense amount of work each coach puts in right now. The cap on the number of paid assistants doesn’t make sense in today’s era of college athletics. If a school wants to pay more coaches, why shouldn't they be able to? The counterargument is that “the rich will get richer” and the elite will separate from the rest of the pack. But if you follow college baseball (and college sports in general), the schools with the most resources are often the only ones that compete for championships on an annual basis. So, when you’re watching college baseball down the stretch and into Omaha for the College World Series later this Summer, look at the amount of coaches in each dugout. Hopefully, that amount will grow as a result of the NCAA Transformational Committee’s latest discussions. Brendan can be found on Twitter @_bbell5

Over the past year, name, image, and likeness (NIL) has been a hot topic for athletes and universities alike. Recently, NIL deals have made headlines, including Miami incoming transfer Nijel Pack signing an $800,000 NIL deal with Life Wallet and a collective supporting the University of Texas paying offensive linemen $50,000. Now, reports are surfacing that the NCAA plans to introduce new rules taking aim at boosters involving themselves in recruiting by offering deals that are essentially “pay for play.” Specifically, the NCAA is concerned about the growing influence of collectives (a collection of boosters that pool resources to offer payments to athletes) and plans to introduce rules that reinforce a booster's role within a university as “representatives of the institution’s athletic interests.” Thus, per NCAA rules, boosters are not permitted to recruit prospective student-athletes. Rather, only institutional staff members can. With new rules set to level the playing field, it is time to review what the NIL landscape looks like in North Carolina. NCAA NIL Policy In July 2021, the NCAA adopted an interim policy that takes a hands-off approach. Under the interim policy, student-athletes, recruits, and schools can do the following: Engage in NIL activities that are consistent with the law of the state where the school is located; If the state does not have an NIL law, engage in NIL activities without violating NCAA rules; and Engage professional services for NIL activities. Importantly, the NCAA has left it to the schools/states to monitor for compliance with state law, which has led to a lack of enforcement due to broad policies/laws and states having no interest in enforcing violations. North Carolina State Law—College Recruits and Athletes The North Carolina General Assembly has yet to pass a bill regarding NIL, which has turned out to be a smart move due to the evolving NIL landscape. (For instance, Alabama actually repealed its NIL law after noting that it was more restrictive than the NCAA’s NIL policy). However, on July 2, 2021, Governor Roy Cooper signed Executive Order No. 223 detailing NIL limitations. Under the executive order, student-athletes can earn compensation for their name, image, and likeness provided such compensation is not a direct inducement to participate in sports at a particular institution or enroll/continue to be enrolled in an institution for participating in sports. Further, student-athletes can contract with representatives as long as they comply with certain laws, including the North Carolina Athlete Agent Act. Notably, North Carolina colleges and universities cannot compensate student-athletes for use of their name, image, and likeness. However, they can impose reasonable limitations on a student-athlete’s ability to receive compensation for their name, image, and likeness. Therefore, within North Carolina’s legal parameters, student-athletes have ample opportunity to earn compensation for their name, image, and likeness. For now, as long as it is not “pay for play,” and student-athletes are abiding by their own school’s rules, an NIL opportunity should comply with North Carolina state laws. One note, international student-athletes on F-1 visas at North Carolina colleges and universities may not be able to engage in NIL activities. F-1 visa student-athletes can engage in paid work in limited circumstances: (1) the student-athlete must have completed a full academic year, and (2) the paid work must be on-campus employment, practical training, or necessary due to economic hardship. Such harsh treatment has led to individuals and organizations imploring the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to issue a policy memorandum or for Congress to pass a federal NIL law, allowing international student-athletes to engage in NIL activities. North Carolina State Law: High School Athletes In North Carolina, high school athletics—not including independent high schools—are governed by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA). Under Rule 1.2.15 of the NCHSAA’s rules and regulations, high school athletes may not accept money. Therefore, to maintain their eligibility, high school athletes under the NCHSAA’s umbrella may not accept monetary compensation for their name, image, and likeness. On the other hand, high school athletes at independent high schools may receive monetary compensation for their name, image, and likeness. Many have utilized their opportunities, including Vertical Academy in Charlotte, North Carolina basketball sensation Mikey Williams. What is Next? As noted above, NIL is an evolving landscape. Beyond the NCAA crafting new rules to limit the impact of collectives and boosters, leaders from multiple conferences are heading to Capitol Hill to discuss federal legislation. Looking forward, a federal law would benefit athletes and universities by creating a uniform rule and allowing international student-athletes to engage in NIL activities. Therefore, over the coming year, expect to see the NCAA and Congress attempt to forge new pathways for NIL. Landis Barber is an attorney at Safran Law Offices in Raleigh, North Carolina. You can connect with him via LinkedIn or via his blog offthecourtdocket.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Landisbarber.

Last week, Division I leaders met and discussed the need to enforce the NCAA’s name, image, and likeness interim policy. After dropping hints that new guidelines were on the way, the Division I board of directors issued new name, image, and likeness (NIL) guidelines for schools to follow on Monday, May 9. Despite the new guidelines, Division I leaders may have created more questions than answers. New Guidelines In an effort to curb the impact of collectives—a collection of boosters pooling resources to offer payments to athletes—the NCAA clarified its definition of a booster. Specifically, a booster includes a third-party entity supporting an NCAA institution by offering “NIL opportunities to prospective student-athletes (PSA) and student-athletes (SAs) of a particular institution.” Pursuant to NCAA rules, boosters cannot engage in recruiting activities on behalf of a school. While the NCAA made it clear that pay-for-play agreements are impermissible, in an attempt to establish guidelines for permissible agreements, the NCAA offered minimal clarity. “NIL agreements must be based on an independent case-by-case analysis of the value that each athlete brings to an NIL agreement . . . .” With that guidance, questions remain: Who will be independently evaluating each case? Who should be independently evaluating each case? How can the NCAA, or any other party, establish a player’s value? Even though these questions remain unanswered, and thus, the review process remains unclear, the NCAA intends to hold the colleges and universities responsible for impermissible recruiting activities. In the NCAA’s release, the NCAA noted that the policy applies retroactively. However, enforcement staff is only pursuing cases “that clearly are contrary to the published interim policy, including the most severe violations of recruiting rules or payment for athletics performance.” The minimal pursuit suggests that NCAA staff could be overwhelmed by a broad retroactive application of the rules and anticipates pushback to enforcing its policy, including lawsuits alleging antitrust violations in the wake of the United States Supreme Court holding in NCAA v. Alston that NCAA rules restricting compensation provided by schools to athletes could be antitrust violations. This is just the start of the NCAA enforcing the interim NIL policy. Either way, with new guidelines, boosters will continue to evolve for their college or university to remain competitive on the field. Therefore, the new guidelines may merely be the first step in a never-ending pursuit of so-called “amateurism.” Landis Barber is an attorney at Safran Law Offices in Raleigh, North Carolina. You can connect with him via LinkedIn or via his blog offthecourtdocket.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Landisbarber.