A recent lawsuit filed against the Tennessee Titans could offer the latest interpretation of the rights and obligations of parties to a PSL Agreement. Professional sports teams began selling PSLs, Personal Seat Licenses, to offset new stadium construction costs in the 1980’s. Today, PSLs or some equivalent are sold by nineteen out of thirty-two NFL teams and numerous other major league sports organizations. For a one-time fixed fee, a buyer may purchase a PSL for an extended period of time, often as long as thirty years. The PSL gives the holder certain rights to specific seats in a stadium. Generally, the PSL holder has the right to purchase season tickets for those seats before the season begins and, depending on the language of the agreement, the right to sell or transfer the rights to the seats. As first reported by Paul Kuharsky, in March of 2021, a group of “Permanent Seat License” owners (PSL equivalent) filed suit against Tennessee Football, Inc. (the Tennessee Titans) and Cumberland Stadium, Inc. (Nissan Stadium). The complaint alleges that the Titans, through ticket transaction data, determined the plaintiffs to be “ticket resellers.” Although all of the plaintiffs are PSL holders, six of the eleven plaintiffs are not residents of Tennessee and Kuharsky stated that it was his “sense that the franchise sought to identify ticket buyers who have not attended a game themselves for multiple years.” The complaint alleges that the Titans limited the sale of tickets, “grossly inflated” ticket prices, limited the amount of time to purchase season tickets, limited relocation options, eliminated season ticket member perks and gifts, and did not allow for the standard six-month payment plans to those deemed “ticket resellers.” The complaint further alleges that this treatment of “ticket resellers” was a large departure from the Titans course of dealing with its PSL holders in the past. One plaintiff claimed that the resale, transfer, and/or purchase of additional PSLs was traditionally encouraged. The same plaintiff stated that, based on the suggestion of a Titans’ ticket representative, he purchased approximately eighteen PSLs, in contradiction to the publicly stated policy that PSL holders could hold no more than four PSLs. Ultimately, the plaintiffs claim that the Titans and Nissan Stadium violated their duty of good faith and fair dealing under the PSL Agreement and “have substantially and negatively impacted the value of all PSLs,” resulting in a breach of contract and a violation of the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act. Section 3(e) of the most recent Titans PSL Agreement states the Titans, “in its sole discretion and without regard to good faith or any other standard,” may limit the number of seats, prohibit any transfer/sale of seats, or terminate PSLs for any individual or entity determined to be a “ticket reseller” or “ticket broker.” Although the PSL agreement does not cover price increasing, payment plans, relocation, or timing to purchase season tickets, it appears that the Titans expected and addressed such a scenario within the agreement. Does a PSL holder have the right not to attend a single game, while selling each ticket for personal profit? Does an NFL team have the right to inflate pricing and treat ticket resellers differently than the average fan who attends each game? Absent a settlement, these questions will likely be determined by the court’s interpretation of the PSL Agreement. Courts generally do not want to reshape or reconstruct contractual agreements among private parties. Rather, the court will look to the intent of the parties, evidenced by the words within the agreement. Here, the interpretation of Section 3(e) will be crucial to the court’s decision. New stadiums are being built. More teams are relocating and rebranding. The professional sports landscape is everchanging. It will be important for teams, stadiums, and fans to monitor cases such as this one to better understand their rights and obligations regarding their Personal Seat Licenses.

Who is Eligible for Salary Arbitration? The way the Major League Baseball (“MLB”) compensation system is structured, a player is paid the minimum salary until they accrue three years of MLB service time. The Basic Agreement (“CBA”) between the Owners and the Players states that “[a]ny Player with a total of three or more years of Major League service… but with less than six years of Major League service” may be eligible for salary arbitration.[1] During the offseason after three, four, and five years of service a Player is eligible for a raise, and after six years of service, a Player is eligible for free agency. However, there is an additional group of players who are eligible for salary arbitration after their second year of Major League service; those players are called “Super Two” players.[2] What is a Super Two Player? The CBA dictates that an additional group of players can be eligible for salary arbitration after their second season if they meet two key criteria: (i) The Player has at least 86 days of service during the platform season (the season immediately prior); and (ii) The Player ranks in the top 22% in total service in the class of Players who have at least two but less than three years of Major League service. “If two or more Players are tied at 22%, all such Players shall be eligible.”[3] Each year at the end of the season, the Major League Baseball Players’ Union announces the cutoff for players to achieve Super Two status.[4] It generally falls in between 2.125 (2 years and 125 days of service) and 2.140 (2 years and 140 days of service), although it could be more or less days. After the 2020 season, the Super Two cutoff was set so that there were 19 players who were Super Two eligible, including Walker Buehler (who signed an extension), Mike Soroka (who won his arbitration case), and Juan Soto (who settled before trial). Each of these players will be eligible to go through arbitration again, and get a raise, for each of the next three seasons. What is the Point of the Super Two Process? The Super Two criteria was amended prior to the 2012-2016 CBA to increase the number of eligible players from the top 17% to the top 22% starting in 2013, which is how the system remains today.[5] This was bargained for by the Union in the negotiations in response to a growing trend of MLB organizations intentionally delaying the promotion of top prospects in order to avoid paying young players raises an additional year prior to free agency. The cutoff date for Super Two eligibility is also announced after the end of the season, which makes it harder for teams to try to work around it to save money with their young players. However, this ultimately leads to teams being extra cautious promoting their top prospects. This is one explanation for why baseball fans generally have to wait until the beginning of June to see their favorite team’s top prospect, and why some financially constrained teams (like the Rays) may wait even longer. MLB’s top prospect in 2021, Wander Franco, wasn’t called up until the end of June, virtually guaranteeing he will not be Super Two eligible after the 2022 season, despite strong performance in the Minor Leagues from the start of the year. The Super Two process is certainly to be among the structures discussed in the upcoming CBA negotiations; when top prospects are intentionally kept in the minor leagues when they have earned a spot on the big league roster it hurts clubs, players, fans, and ultimately is not good for the game. Dean Rosenberg is a 2L student at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York City. He can be found on LinkedIn and Twitter @deanrosen7. [1]​​https://d39ba378-ae47-4003-86d3-147e4fa6e51b.filesusr.com/ugd/b0a4c2_95883690627349e0a5203f61b93715b5.pdf [2]Id [3]Id [4]https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2018/10/super-two-cutoff-mlb-2018-2019.html [5]https://www.federalbaseball.com/2020/10/1/21454026/washington-nationals-juan-soto-could-receive-super-two-designation-2020-2021-offseason

In the 1950s and 1960s, after decades of failed attempts, players from the four major sports leagues successfully founded the players associations that unionized American professional sports. In doing so, the players guaranteed themselves some bargaining power in the wildly lucrative world of sports. With the players associations came collective bargaining agreements, leading to revenue sharing. The players in the four major sports leagues are now entitled to large portions of their league’s revenues: 48.5% in the NFL, 49-51% in the NBA, 48.5-51.5% in the MLB, and 50% in the NHL.[1] Professional tennis’ governing body, the ATP, is not as well-developed. At the top of the ranks are a few of the highest paid athletes in the world. However, some players have been less satisfied during the last few years. In 2019, the players received just 17.5% of the $2.2 billion in revenue generated from the Grand Slams and the larger ATP and WTA events.[2] Comparing that percentage to the major sports is a bit off-putting, and while several players are pushing back, the ATP pushes forward. Founded in 1972, the ATP was founded by a top player in the world with the goal of protecting the players. It has since grown into the world’s main tour. In 2019, world #1 Novak Djokovic and Vasek Pospisil, a Canadian player, founded the Professional Tennis Players Association. They created the PTPA with a goal that is ironically aligned with that of the players in 1972: to protect the players. Djokovic has repeatedly voiced concerns about the conflicts of interest within the governance of the ATP.[3] Currently, ATP policy changes need a majority vote of the seven voting board members: three player representatives, three tournament representatives, and the ATP Chairman.[4] A PTPA objective is to bring the players out of the minority. Though the PTPA was founded in 2019, it made its most prominent headlines this past summer. The ATP introduced their “30-Year Plan” which, beginning in 2023, would lock in media deals, prize money distribution, and tour structure until the 2050s.[5] Djokovic and Pospisil displayed public outrage with the ATP Chairman, and the PTPA publicly launched their “Delay the Vote” campaign. The PTPA argued that the ATP had formed a backroom deal, trying to streamline a deal that would put players’ concerns in the backseat if the decades-long deal were voted in.[6] The PTPA website outlines the organization’s disagreement with the ATP’s 30-year plan, and how the lack of transparency within the plan’s details is not benefiting the players. It seemed suspicious that the ATP would not release all the plan’s details, and the ATP actually stated that “the plan will inevitably benefit some more than others” at the beginning.[7] Eventually, the “Delay the Vote” campaign ended successfully for the PTPA and its 500+ members, announced by Pospisil on July 2.[8] Though the dust has settled for now on the disagreements from the summer, future disputes between the two organizations create an interesting thought. Up until now, discussions have been run by the players and advisory board that the PTPA put together and the ATP board. However, if legal battles were to ensue, the venue is quite unclear. The PTPA is a Canadian non-profit, and the ATP is headquartered in London. If the new organization were to seek help from the NLRB—which has issued injunctions against the MLB, NFL, and other minor league teams for undermining collective bargaining agreements—it would be interesting to see if the NLRB could establish jurisdiction over the ATP, or if they would even try to. To check all the boxes, the PTPA put together a team of board members and directors with expertise in American as well as EU sports law. Part of growth of the PTPA is the formation of their management team. Adam Larry, the Executive Director of the PTPA, has consulted for or negotiated the collective bargaining agreements for the NBA, NHL, and CFL.[9] Notable members on the PTPA advisory board include Dr. Katarina Pijeltovic, a sports law expert in the EU, and Michael Hirshfeld, the head of the NHL Coaches’ Association who also manages international relations for the Association.[10] So, while the PTPA seems to have a big hill to climb in terms of its goals, the team it has put together has the experience, and the Association is clearly trying to get a seat at the table for a very long period of time. Carson Howard. Current 2L and Masters of Sports Law and Business student at Arizona State University. Undergraduate degree in Finance from the University of Oklahoma. Can be reached at [email protected] or on LinkedIn. [1] https://www.sports-king.com/revenue-split-sports-leagues-2771/ [2] https://ptpaplayers.com/faq/ [3] https://theracquet.substack.com/p/ok-but-i-could-set-the-building-on [4] Id. [5] Id. [6] https://ptpaplayers.com/faq/ [7] Id. [8] https://www.sportskeeda.com/tennis/news-vasek-pospisil-announces-novak-djokovic-s-ptpa-acknowledged-says-atp-delayed-vote-30-year-plan [9] https://ptpaplayers.com/team/ [10] Id.

“18 NBA veterans were arrested by federal authorities and are named in the indictment, and all are facing a count of conspiracy to commit health care and wire fraud,” reported Jonathan Dienst of NBC New York. The players allegedly defrauded the NBA’s Health and Welfare Benefit Plan of nearly $4 million. The list of players includes Terrence Williams, Alan Anderson, Anthony Allen, Shannon Brown, William Bynum, Ronald Glen "Big Baby" Davis, Christopher Douglas-Roberts, Melvin Ely, Jamario Moon, Darius Miles, Milton Palacio, Ruben Patterson, Eddie Robinson, Gregory Smith, Sebastian Telfair, Charles Watson Jr., Antoine Wright, and Anthony Wroten. Terrence Williams is reportedly in charge of the operation and is accused of having impersonated an insurance plan employee as part of the scheme. Also, Tony Allen’s wife, Desiree was indicted. “Terrence Williams recruited NBA players by offering fabricated invoices to be used in false claims in exchange for a kickback. He received at least $230,000 in kickbacks from players.” Williams is also accused of impersonating an individual who processed the health care plan claims. The fake invoices and medical necessity forms had unusual formatting and grammatical errors which made them stand out. The ex-players were told to repay the money they received from the health-care plan once they were told that the claims were false. Some players paid it back and others did not. Many of these NBA players have faced criminal charges in the past. Sebastian Telfair was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison on gun charges yesterday, Shannon Brown was arrested in 2020 after he was accused of firing a rifle at two people who were looking at homes for sale in suburban Atlanta, Glen “Big Baby” Davis faced 5 years in prison after being arrested with 126 grams of marijuana but paid the $15k fine to avoid jail time in 2019, Terrence Williams was arrested and accused of brandishing a gun at the mother of his 10-year-old son during a visitation exchange in 2013, Ruben Patterson plead guilty of attempted rape in 2001, convicted of misdemeanor assault in 2001, arrested for felony domestic abuse in 2002, and arrested for DUI charge in 2010, and Darius Miles arrested on gun charges in 2011. Williams and the other ex-players that helped in this operation could be facing up to 10 years in prison for health care fraud and up to 20 years for wire fraud. Sebastian Telfair could have years added to his 3.5 sentence. The other players that have a record could also face harsher penalties. CJ McCollum was elected President of the NBA Players Association (NBPA) in August and already will be facing a major issue before the season even starts. As more information comes out it will be interesting how it affects the NBA, NBPA, and the other programs that they have in effect. Chris D'Avanzo is a 2L at Hofstra Law School and can be found on Twitter @_chrisdavanzo

Earlier this week, the PGA TOUR and the sports betting operator, PointsBet, announced they were signing a three-year extension to their current content and marketing agreement. The agreement will, among other things, result in the integration of live betting odds onto viewers’ screens for all linear and streaming PGA Tour broadcasts on NBC, GOLF Channel, and Peacock, NBC’s over-the-top streaming service. The deal will first allow for exclusive PointsBet odds integrations to be displayed on both NBC Universal’s platforms, GOLF Channel and Peacock. The PGA Tour’s press release also said that there are plans to include the live betting odds integrations on NBC’s golf broadcasts in the near future. PointsBet is already NBC’s official sports betting partner, having signed a $500 million deal with NBC Sports last year, so the implantation of PointsBet’s live odds on NBC’s broadcasts should be seamless. And live odds integration on NBC’s platforms is nothing new – this season, NBC has already integrated sportsbook betting lines into its Football Night in America program and Peacock’s Sunday Night Football Final postgame show. So far, however, NBC has yet to do live odds integration during the broadcasts of the competition itself. That will change when it debuts during its golf coverage. The PGA Tour’s live betting odds integrations will include such bets as odds for the lowest score by group, total leaderboard odds, and hole-by-hole odds. The PGA Tour says that these integrations will be featured during GOLF Channel’s coverage of the upcoming FedExCup Regular Season. The agreement will also bring about a “free-to-play” game, scheduled to debut earlier next year, which the two entities say “is designed to enhance fan engagement with live in-play games with weekly prizes.” A PGA Tour official told The Wall Street Journal earlier this year that a typical PGA Tour season typically produces around 1.2 million golf shots. That type of statistic is sure to do well with in-play betting. This news comes on the heels of an experiment conducted at The Fortinet Championship in Napa last month, which was broadcasted on the GOLF Channel and NBC and featured intermittent live odds integration during the weekend, displaying live odds on groups and individual leaders. Following that experiment, NBC Sports and the PGA Tour now seem to be all -in on odds integration. And viewers can likely expect this type of integration set up to be the norm for golf broadcasts moving forward, if the last several years are any indication. The Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the Professional Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) in 2018 has been gangbusters for professional golf betting. Golf Digest has a weekly gambling podcast, for instance. And The Washington Post reported last year that DraftKings golf handle, as of November 2020, the month of the Masters, had increased tenfold compared to 2019. (It’s no surprise the DraftKings’ logo is displayed so prominently on Bryson DeChambeau’s hat.) And, next week (October 15), sports gambling is about to launch in America’s most golf-rich state: Florida. The future of gambling on professional golf will only continue to get brighter. John Rigby is an Associate Attorney at Venable LLP in Los Angeles. He is a graduate of the UCLA School of Law and the University of Iowa. He’s broken 100 in golf only once.

Last week, news broke the members of the National Women’s Soccer League had been secretly tolerating abuse for years. Fearful that their accounts of abuse would ruin the only U.S. League, the athletes remained quiet. However, the time to remain in silence was up. Women’s pro soccer players took a stance to not accept the current state of their sport. In an investigation published last week by the Atlantic, both current and former players accused North Carolina Courage manager, Paul Riley, of emotionally abusing the athletes and forcing them to have sex.[1] In response, the N.W.S.L. announced that they had hired a law firm to review policies at all levels, and to make recommendations of reforms. In addition, the firm will reopen the 2015 investigation into Riley. On Sunday, the U.S. Soccer Federation announced the hiring of Sally Q. Yates to also lead an independent investigation of abuse in women’s professional soccer. [2] The league’s players rose in unison last weekend by canceling all previously scheduled games and demanded real change from a league that has truly failed to protect them. Last Friday, N.W.S.L. Commissioner Lisa Baird, resigned after truth came to light that she had done little to protect the women on the field, and was complicit in protecting the men who run the N.W.S.L. As is true in the world of sports, men are in the seat of power and control. However, the N.W.S.L’s athletes have bravely shown that they are unafraid to take a stance and demand the respect they deserve. On Wednesday night, Gotham FC, Washington Spirit, NC Courage, and Racing Louisville FC players collectively stopped playing six minutes into the match, and linked arms at midfield. The N.W.S.L. later released a statement stating “#NoMoreSilence. Tonight, we reclaim our place on the field, because we will not let joy be taken from us…But this is not business as usual.”[3] Following Wednesday’s games, the Players Association stated “The reckoning has already begun. We will not be silent. We will be relentless in our pursuit of a league that deserves the players in it.”[4] Triggered by Sports’ latest #MeToo movement domestically, professional female soccer players in both Australia and Venezuela have also come forward with allegations of sexual abuse and harassment. Atlètico Madrid forward Denya Castellanos, one of Latin America’s best known soccer stars, and twenty-four of Venezuela’s top soccer players came forward alleging “years of abuse and harassment, physical, phycological and sexual”[5] abuse by their former coach Kenneth Zsermeta. The letter Castellanos posted on social media stated that her teammates had been sexually abused from 2013 to 2017, and some players since the age of 14 by their coach. Castellanos, who played college soccer at Florida State University, wrote that she had stayed silent out of fears of retribution, she continued: “The injustices that our teammates are experiencing in the United States are issues that all professional players (regardless of gender or league) should be paying attention to and taking seriously.”[6] In Australia, Lisa de Vanna, reported to Australia’s Daily Telegraph newspaper that she had also experienced abuse and harassment when she joined Australia’s national team at 17 years old. Lisa De Vanna wrote “Have I been sexually harassed? Yes. Have I been bullied? Yes. Ostracized? Yes. Have I seen things that make me uncomfortable? Yes.”[7] Current and former female soccer players across the globe are all currently calling for a reform to a system and a league that has greatly failed to protect its members. Hannah is a 2L at Elon University School of Law and host of Podcast “Bars to the Bar” from Hoboken, New Jersey. Hannah graduated from Providence College where she was a four-year manager for the Men’s Basketball Team. She can be found on Twitter @hannahjane503. [1] https://theathletic.com/2857633/2021/09/30/this-guy-has-a-pattern-amid-institutional-failure-former-nwsl-players-accuse-prominent-coach-of-sexual-coercion/ [2] https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/03/sports/soccer/women-soccer-league-abuse.html [3] https://www.si.com/soccer/2021/10/06/nwsl-gotham-spirit-players-pause-game-after-six-minutes-link-arms [4] Id. [5] https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/10/06/women-soccer-abuse-castellanos-nwsl/ [6] Id. [7]https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/subscribe/news/1/?sourceCode=DTWEB_WRE170_a&dest=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailytelegraph.com.au%2Fsport%2Ffootball%2Fmatildas-star-lisa-de-vanna-details-horrific-abuse-and-bullying-in-footballs-toxic-culture%2Fnews-story%2Fb2e11f790faa63f24a47d1ad90b1709c&memtype=anonymous&mode=premium&v21=dynamic-cold-test-noscore&V21spcbehaviour=append

It’s Hail Mary time! Well legally speaking for Rams owner Stan Kroenke and his constituents as they continue to fight their legal battle with the city of St. Louis. The team has now filed a writ of prohibition under seal to the Missouri Appellate Court to have the trial moved out of the plaintiff’s hometown. The trial, which is set for January 2022 had an appeal already seen by Circuit Judge Christopher McGraugh. The motion set forth by the Rams and the NFL to move the trial location back in September was denied. Now the writ of prohibition that was filed is a last ditch effort by the defendants to block McGraugh’s actions and prove that he exceeded his authority. Since the writ of prohibition was filed under seal, it is unclear exactly what evidence was given to the Appellate Court. Attorneys familiar with the case have speculated that an opinion poll/survey gauging the residents disdain for Kroenke and the NFL would have been presented. Hoping with the results of dramatic unpopularity and anger would be able to sway the Appellate Court to rule that the location had “actual prejudice” towards the defendants in the trial. It is not just Kroenke whose feet are being held to the fire in this lawsuit. Of course he is the face on the dartboard for the fans in the St. Louis area, but Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has also been linked in the conspiring plans of moving the Rams back to LA. CNBC.com reported that Jones and Kroenke had talks to move the team back West as early as 2013 and the lawsuit states that Jones was key in flipping the other core member owners into approving the move. Now that the city of St. Louis and the long suffering fans finally have Kroenke and his conspirators pinned down; it would be unjust to move the trial outside of the place where the damage was done. Tom Hartbach, a former season ticket holder for the Rams and avid St. Louis sports fan had this to say when asked what his thoughts were on Kroenke trying to move his hearing to higher ground. “I don’t think he should be able to, he flat out lied to us. He tried to portray this good ol’ Missouri boy but he was 100 percent just a businessman.” said Hartbach. The story has begun to gain national attention but in St. Louis the fans’ disgust for Kroenke has been around for years. “Oh yeah, this is a regular topic on the St. Louis radio talk shows and it has been for years. Former players will call in and reflect on what they believed was going on, I’m positive (Jeff) Fisher knew about it when he took the job.” Hartbach brings in yet another interesting dynamic and potential witness to be called to the stand under oath during the impending trial. Former head coach Jeff Fisher could be called to testify about if he had any knowledge of Kroenke’s intentions to move the team out to Los Angeles while they were “still negotiating a compromise in St. Louis.” Another set of eyes that should pay close attention to the pending legal battle in St. Louis is those of the Pegula family, the longtime owners of the Buffalo Bills. Cities such as Austin, Texas and San Diego have been floated as potential new landing spots for the team but one can be certain that the folks in “Bills Mafia” would put up the fight of their life to keep the team in Orchard Park, NY. There has been some speculation that since the team’s contract with their stadium is up in 2022 a move could be on the horizon. “I believe they thought money and power would take care of the entire thing," remarked Hartbach when asked about if he thought Kroenke had any remorse for his lies to the fan base and the city. If he didn’t he sure does now because the fury of St. Louis faithful will be alive and well in that courtroom come January.

“A safe and secure work environment is a top priority for the league and its collective ownership” – Alex Morgan The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) has recently faced some serious allegations and players are not holding back when describing the “unforgivable” conduct they have endured. These serious revelations have sprung a series of events: the league’s commissioner resigning, a coach’s termination, and the inception of multiple investigations. Allegations include sexual misconduct, homophobic remarks, inappropriate utterances, and other behaviors. North Carolina Courage coach, Paul Riley, who has held this position for four years, has been fired. Players, Sinead Farrelly and Mana Shim have accused Riley of harassment and sexual coercion. Farrelly and Shim reported this conduct to The Athletic and the story was published on September 30th. Riley has denied these allegations to multiple outlets and was ultimately fired from his position as head coach hours later. Shortly after, Lisa Baird, NWSL commissioner resigned. After these events and appalling revelations, Orlando Pride goalkeeper Erin McLeod spoke out and reported to NBC News that NWLS can no longer be seen as a safe workplace. NJ/NY Gotham FC midfielder, McCall Zerboni, told NBC, “How do we know that if we turn up to work every day that this is not going to happen to us? Or that it’s not going to happen again? Because it did, again and again, and again, and no one in a position of power or ability stopped it” Attorney General Sally Yates has been appointed to lead an investigation. It can be predicted that this is not the first time players have felt uneasy and unsafe. Players have stated that the league is no longer protecting players from abusive coaches. Since the report, NWSL postponed all the games over the weekend. Fans rallied outside stadiums demanding answers. The report has caused a domino effect and multiple coaches have been identified and accused of similar misconduct. On October 6th, NWSL Players from Washington Spirit and Gotham FC stopped playing in the sixth minute of their match and joined arms in protest. The National Women’s Soccer League Players Association (NSWLPA) put out a powerful statement claiming that “teams will stop play in each of tonight’s games at the sixth minute… Players will join together in solidarity at the center circle for one minute in recognition of the six years it took for Mana, Sinead, and all those who fought too long to be heard”. They also said, “We call on fans to stand in silence with us… during that time, we ask you to stand in that pain and discomfort with us, as we consider what too many of us have been asked to sit with for too long.” The NWSLPA also stated that players will not answer any questions that do not relate to change or abuse in the NWSL. Since the start of the investigation, NWSLPA has released a list of demands regarding the investigations which include full disclosure and league-wide cooperation. These women deserve change, safety, and overall respect as female soccer players and professionals. Abuse will not be tolerated. As we await further findings, we should stand with these women in silence and demand an overall systematic revision of the NWSL. Ariana is a 2L at Seton Hall University School of Law. She is the Vice President of the Entertainment and Sports Law Society (ESLS). She is currently an intern for Emily Staker Representation and previously worked as an intern at the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor.

Playoff baseball is back as the MLB Wild Card games kicked off this week and they did not disappoint! In one of the tightest races in recent history, the Red Sox knocked off the Yankees to win the AL Wild Card and the red-hot Cardinals were sent packing in electric fashion, as Dodgers’ utility man, Chris Taylor, secured the team’s NL Wild Card victory with a walk-off home run. Despite the edge-of-your-seat matchups we are all gearing up to watch, baseball enthusiasts are hype for more than just the post-season play–the free runner on second in extras is out! But, how did this “rule” even come about in the first place? It was Monday, June 29, 2020, when MLB Commissioner, Robert Manfred, made an announcement that would change the way baseball has been played since its inception–in the event of an extra inning game, each team would begin their half-inning at bat with a runner on second base.[1] The controversial free man on second, coined as the “Manfred man,” was implemented to support the MLB’s fight against the Covid-19 pandemic with the hopes to speed up pace of play and to keep players from being in close proximity to each other for any longer than necessary.[2] The 2020 season came and went, and, upon arrival of the playoffs, so did “Manfred’s man.” Fans were content because the classic game they grew up loving was back to normal. Despite Manfred’s statements made to the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, that the extra inning rule would not be in the league’s “long-term future,” the MLB opened their 2021 season with the rule still in full effect.[3] Manfred has been known for tinkering with the rules of America’s Pastime, which has been extremely controversial amongst the fans who have qualms as to whether the changes are good for the game.[4] Thankfully, post-season play is back, and “Manfred’s man” will not be making its appearance this year. This bears the question: will we see it next year? What is even more interesting to me, however, is the fact this specific change has never been codified into the Official Baseball Rules (“OBR”), so how is it even being enforced? The OBR states in its Foreword, “[t]his code of rules governs the playing of baseball games by professional teams of Major League Baseball and any league within the professional development league system operated by Major League Baseball in which Minor League Clubs are assigned to compete.”[5] If that stands true, then why has the Official Playing Rules Committee not modified the code? Well, it seems as though they attempted to via a subsection under its Important Notes section stating: The 2021 Official Baseball Rules do not include any of the rules that were adopted exclusively for the 2021 Major League season, which are contained in Section 5.1 of the MLB 2021 Operations Manual. To the extent of a conflict between the Official Baseball Rules and Section 5.1 of the Operations Manual, the Operations Manual shall control for Major League play.[6] Notwithstanding, Section 5.1 only contains language regarding substitutions and pitching changes, designated hitter rules, and calling “time” and dead balls.[7] There is not a single phrase or even an inkling of reference to the “Manfred man.” It is well founded that the Office of the Commissioner and the Official Playing Rules Committee have the authority to create and dissolve rules within the OBR. In fact, the code has been amended dating back to 1949![8] Nevertheless, policy, procedure, and rules are effectuated for good reason, and it is concerning to me as a traditional baseball fan to see such a huge gap in this great game’s official rules. May “Manfred’s man” take its seat back on the bench for good after the conclusion of this season! There is no doubt in my mind that Commissioner Manfred should be credited with an E1 on this one in accordance with 9.12(a)(1) for this muff.[9] Cliff Wood is a 3L and current Web Editor for the Delaware Journal of Corporate Law at Widener University Delaware Law School. He has previously worked for Geragos & Geragos, Los Angeles County DA’s Office, and Delaware County DA’s Office. Cliff also has a forthcoming publication in Del. J. Corp. Law titled, Knowing Your Rights: Stockholder Demands to Inspect Corporate Books and Records Following Woods v. Sahara Enterprises, Inc. Contact him via email at [email protected] or [email protected], on Instagram @cjayyy_wood and LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/cliff-wood-bb2692125/. Sources: [1]New rules, features, protocols for 2020 MLB Season, MLB.Com (June 29, 2020), https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-announces-new-features-for-2020-season. [2] Bonnie. Stiernberg, Baseball’s Automatic Runner on Second in Extra Innings Has to Go, InsideHook (May 19, 2021, 7:13 AM), https://www.insidehook.com/article/sports/baseballs-automatic-runner-second-extra-innings-has-go; see also supra note 1. [3] Blake Williams, MLB Likely Eliminate 7-Inning Doubleheaders, Runner On 2nd Base For Extra Innings Rule, Medium Large Sport Media, LLC. (July 15, 2021), https://dodgerblue.com/mlb-likely-eliminating-seven-inning-doubleheaders-runner-on-second-base-extra-innings-rule/2021/07/15/. [4]See supra note 1; see also Tom Verducci, The Nine Big Changes. Coming to Baseball in 2021, ABG-SI, LLC. Sports Illustrated (Apr. 1, 2021), https://www.si.com/mlb/2021/04/01/mlb-rule-changes-2021-shift-pitch-clock-extra-innings (providing insight on just a few of the recent changes). [5]Office of the Commissioner of Baseball, Official Baseball Rules 2021 Edition (2021), at iv. [6]Id. at v. [7]Id. at 51-63. [8]Id. at iii. [9]Id. at 123.

After years of Newcastle fans wanting Mike Ashley to sell the club, the Magpies fans now have their wish granted as Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) have completed the purchase of the club for 300 million pounds ($409 million). This purchase now makes Newcastle not only the richest club in the Premier League by a large margin, but also the richest club in the world. To put into perspective just how much money the club has, you could combine the assets of all of the other owners in the Premier League and Newcastle’s owners would still have more money. They are worth a reported $435.8 billion, which means the takeover of Newcastle is only about 0.09% of the fund’s total value. The next richest owner is Manchester City’s Sheikh Mansour, who is worth about $31.2 billion. Since Pep Guardiola has taken over at Man City in 2016, the club has spent close to a billion pounds on transfers. Newcastle’s owners have over 10 times the assets that Mr. Mansour has, so this takeover can bring a power shift in the Premier League along with potentially world football. Last year, PIF were close to acquiring Newcastle but there were some obstacles they had to get over. There were concerns from the Premier League about how much control the Saudi state would have in running the team. Part of the agreement to buy the team included an assurance that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the state would not have a say in the team. Another obstacle in the takeover is that since 2017, Saudi Arabia has blocked the Qatari sports network BeIN Sports, one of the Premier League’s biggest broadcast partners, from operating within its territory due to the conflicts between Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Qatar have also accused Saudi Arabia of failing to take effective action against piracy of BeIN’s content. Saudi Arabia have now overturned the ban on BeIN in the kingdom which has helped clear the path for the takeover of Newcastle. PIF becomes 80% owners of the club with the Reuben brothers and PCP Capital Partners owning the other 20%. This deal is akin to when Manchester City and PSG were taken over by state-owned funds. Since PSG and Manchester City were taken over by these state-owned funds, they have enjoyed much success on a domestic level, although both clubs are still seeking European glory. We’ve seen both clubs open up the checkbook and spend heavily since the new owners have come in. PSG have shattered the transfer record with the signing of Neymar in 2017 along with the signing of Kylian Mbappé the next summer. Of course, this past summer saw PSG have arguably the best transfer window ever with the signings of Lionel Messi, Sergio Ramos and Achraf Hakimi to name a few. Man City on the other hand, have spent over a billion pounds since Mansour has taken over and continue to break transfer records in the Premier League. Just this past summer, we saw them break the record for most expensive English player ever when they captured the signing of winger Jack Grealish for $129 million. While the takeover from PIF will be well received by many Newcastle fans, human right organizations have made their objections to the deal and have called on the Premier League to change the rules to ensure that those accused of human rights violations cannot take charge of soccer teams. Along with that, many soccer fans across the globe do not like that clubs can be owned by states and the money they are injecting in the club. Many Newcastle fans were seen outside of St. James Park celebrating the takeover as they had enough of Mike Ashley holding the club back. Certainly, PIF’s takeover of the club should mean that Newcastle will soon be playing for trophies as we’ve seen after PSG and Man City went from mediocre clubs to two of the top clubs in the world. Newcastle are already being linked to players like Philippe Coutinho and managers like Antonio Conte, something Newcastle fans could have never imagined under the ownership of Mike Ashley. It is to be determined how Newcastle will plan to use the money and how much they will spend, but it is exciting times for Newcastle fans and it should make the Premier League even more competitive than it already is. Greg Termolle is a 2L at Pace Law. He can be followed on Twitter @Gregterm.

For fans of English Premier League clubs outside the traditional big six (Manchester United; Manchester City; Tottenham; Arsenal; Chelsea; and Liverpool), any chance to crack into the top four in the league standings, thus qualifying for the UEFA Champions League, is nothing short of a fairytale come-to-life.[1] While supporters of clubs such as Leicester City, Everton, and West Ham may have felt they were closing in on finally seizing the moment and stealing the spotlight, Newcastle United have just unprecedently threatened to shatter their dreams. After years of the Newcastle United supporters pressuring Mike Ashely into selling the club, he has finally caved in, as a Saudi-Arabian consortium are set to purchase the club for a fee of $408 million.[2] Although financial takeovers are not all too uncommon, because the consortium is valued at approximately $430 billion, the Newcastle United one has a chance to change the landscape of the sport like never before. With seemingly limitless funds to splash around in the transfer market, Newcastle could well be on their way to forming a super team and perhaps even replacing the big six with the “superior one.” But what are the legal implications of a deal like this, and how does it work? From an investors point of view, the best leagues in which to perform a takeover are England’s Premier League, Spain’s La Liga, and Germany’s Bundesliga, as they are regarded as the current top, and most competitive global leagues; thus granting the greatest opportunity for maximizing return-on-investment (ROI).[3] Next, like Newcastle did in 2018, you approach a lawyer who will then begin conducting an estimate on the overall valuation of the club using the “EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) before player trading” in order to gage the profit margin.[4] The deal itself then mirrors that of normal contract law, but includes the use of an escrow account.[5] An escrow agreement functions when two parties agree to surrender their bargained for property to an escrow agent, and then the agent disperses the agreed to items in the contract once the terms of the deal have been met.[6] For Newcastle, the timeline of events began in 2017 when previous owner Mike Ashely put the club up for sale.[7] Despite years of stagnant talks, prominent English financer Ashley Staveley, in a consortium with Saudi-Arabian investors, submitted a bid to Mike Ashely that sent shockwaves through both the soccer, and legal worlds.[8] With immense concerns over human rights violations committed by the prospective Saudi purchasers, the deal yet again stalled, which led to fans piling on the pressure via protests.[9] With Mike Ashely determined to get the deal done, he employed the London-based law firm Blackstone Chambers, who represented him in a court case in front of the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT), in which the Premier League sought to have the club expelled from the Premier League.[10] However, due to the Saudi consortium issuing a compromise with BeIN Sports, the ban on the deal was lifted, thus making the case moot, and allowing the deal to go through.[11] While the legal battle entailed far more hoops to jump through than a normal team sale would, given the troubling political concerns, Newcastle may have already prevailed victorious in their most challenging battle. The key question emerges of whether or not this deal essentially guarantees Newcastle the ultimate crown of the UEFA Champions League. Despite the notion that in American sports, where a salary cap is present, the overall management of a team is crucial to its success, not just its finances, the same cannot be said for soccer.[12] Currently, the five richest owners in the NFL (from top to bottom) are David Tepper (Panthers); Jerry Jones (Cowboys); Stan Kroenke (Rams); Shahid Khan (Jaguars); and Stephen Ross (Dolphins).[13] Between those five teams, since the turn of the century, they have a combined one Super Bowl trophy (Rams in 2000), two Super Bowl appearances (Rams in 2000;2019), and a measly total of 21 victories in the playoffs.[14] On the flipside, in soccer, the five richest clubs in the world, excluding newcomer Newcastle, are Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Manchester United, and Liverpool. Since the turn of the century, these clubs have combined to win a whopping 16 UEFA Champions League titles – club soccer’s greatest crown.[15] Evidently, in soccer, money creates trophies; so perhaps the question we really should be asking is not if or when Newcastle will win a trophy, but rather how many times they will be crowned champions. Sources: [1] See Ibrahima Mustapha, Premier League Return: ‘Big Six’ Is No More But Manchester City, United, Liverpool and Chelsea Are Pulling Away Fast, Eurosport (Nov. 8, 2021, 11:38AM), https://www.eurosport.com/football/premier-league/2021-2022/opinion-premier-league-big-six-is-no-more-but-manchester-city-united-liverpool-and-chelsea-are-pulli_sto8455308/story.shtml. [2] James Benge, Newcastle United Takeover: What to Know About the Historic Saudi-Arabian Backed Deal for Premier League Club, CBSsports (Oct. 7, 2021), https://www.cbssports.com/soccer/news/newcastle-united-takeover-what-to-know-about-the-historic-saudi-arabian-backed-deal-for-premier-league-club/. [3] Amitai Winehouse, How to Buy a Football Club: Newcastle are on the Cusp of £300m Buyout…and Here’s How the Deal Will be Done, Why Mike Ashely’s Price Dropped by up to 20 Percent and Whether BeIN Sports’ complaint Really Could Scupper the Saudis’ Bid, Daily Mail (May 1, 2020, 5:34 EDT), https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-8250503/An-insiders-guide-football-club-takeovers-Newcastle-deal-done.html; see Dan Weil, So, You Want to Own a Sports Team, WSJ (Oct. 18, 2019, 12:27PM), https://www.wsj.com/articles/so-you-want-to-own-a-sports-team-11571416055. [4] Winehouse, supra note 3. [5] Id. [6] See generally Escrow Accounts, Wells Fargo (2021), https://www.wellsfargo.com/mortgage/manage-account/escrow/ (explaining how different escrow agreements function). [7] James Robinson, Newcastle United Takeover Timeline: Everything That Has Happned as the deal Goes Through, (Oct 7, 2021, 8:01PM), https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/newcastle-united-takeover-premier-league-21785687. [8] Id. [9] Id. [10] Id. [11] See generally Greg Termolle, Futbol Finance: Newcastle United Becomes Richest Club in the World, Conduct Detrimental (Oct. 8, 2021), https://www.conductdetrimental.com/post/futbol-finance-newcastle-united-becomes-richest-club-in-the-world (exploring the complications that arose in the Newcastle deal involving a challenge from BeIN Sports). [12] Weil, supra note 3. [13] John Breech, NFL’s Richest Owners Revealed for 2021: Panthers, Cowboys and Rams Top List of Teams With Wealthiest Owners, CBSsports (Apr. 9, 2021, 1:26PM), https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/nfls-richest-owners-revealed-for-2021-panthers-cowboys-and-rams-top-list-of-teams-with-wealthiest-owners/. [14] Since 2000, the New England Patriots Have the Most Wins by a Team in the Playoffs, With 30 Wins, StatMuse (2021), https://www.statmuse.com/nfl/ask/most-playoff-wins-since-2000. [15] Igor Mello et al., Champions League Final: Full List of All UCL and European Cup Winners as Chelsea, Man City Try to Make History, CBSsports (May 27, 2021, 12:39PM), https://www.cbssports.com/soccer/news/champions-league-final-full-list-of-all-ucl-and-european-cup-winners-as-chelsea-man-city-try-to-make-history/.

On September 6th Gonzaga Men’s Basketball Coach, Mark Few was given a DUI citation while coming home from his vacation in Idaho. According to the affidavit, “Few was driving erratically, had difficulty finding his paperwork in the center console and glovebox, while speaking he sometimes started a sentence and trailed off without finishing what he was saying, struggled to follow directions, had to lean against his car for support as he stood, and when asked to take a field sobriety test, Few refused and began arguing with police about whether they were subjective or not.” His blood alcohol content samples were .119 and .120 where the legal limit is .08. More than a month after the incident Gonzaga’s first-year athletic director, Christ Standiford has suspended Few for only the two preseason exhibition games, the team's season-opener vs. Dixie State, and Saturday's Kraziness at the Kennel Midnight Madness event. Coming off a loss in the National Championship game against Baylor, Gonzaga will most likely be the number one ranked team to start the season. The first game back for Few will be a highly anticipated top 10 matchup against Texas. Few was a graduate assistant at Gonzaga from 1989-1990, an assistant 1990-1999, and finally being the head coach 1999 till now. He has won 17 Western Coast Conference Championships, led multiple number one seed teams in the NCAA Tournament, two Final Four appearances, and two National Championship appearances. Few has created a winning culture that very little coaches have ever done in the history of college basketball. Now Gonzaga is known as one of the premiere basketball schools in the country. After all the success Few has brought to Gonzaga is it a coincidence that he will be back just in time for one of the most important games of their season? In 2004 Bob Huggins, head coach for the University of Cincinnati at the time was arrested for DUI charges which became headline news. He was suspended for 76 days and was given an ultimatum at the end of the following season to either be fired or take a $3 million buyout. Huggins brought Cincinnati back to being National Championship contenders after years of being nonexistent. He was the head coach from 1989-2005 winning eight tournament championships, post season appearance in all 16 years, a Final Four appearance, and has the most wins in the program’s history. Cincinnati has not made a Final Four or Elite Eight since. Even his success at Cincinnati could not help Huggins from being forced out. Also, there have been numerous assistant college coaches that have been arrested for DUIs that were fired immediately. For example, Duke great and 10 year NBA veteran Chris Duhon was fired immediately from Marshall University in 2016, Dalonte Hill at the University of Maryland in 2013, and Tony Bland at the University of Southern California in 2017. Many of their careers were tarnished and found finding a new job to be very difficult. Coaches are not the only ones that could ultimately lose everything. Players could lose their scholarship, kicked off the team, or even lose their chance to play college basketball all together. In 2017 Grayson Allen made headline news and was talked about nonstop by the media for weeks for tripping an opponent on a couple occasions. The media crucified him, and people called him all sorts of names for not acting mature. If the media recently went this far just for Allen tripping players, what would they do to a player arrested for a DUI? Few received a slap on the wrist compared to what other coaches have gone through in the past. Is Gonzaga trying to keep the incident on the low for the sake of the school? Surprisingly the DUI and suspension is hardly being talked about by the media. When one of the faces of college basketball does something so careless it has to be handled correctly. Having practically no consequence in order for Gonzaga to play at full strength for a nationally televised game is alarming. Firing Few would hurt Gonzaga drastically by not being able to recruit the high-level talent that they have been getting. When schools are not getting top recruits, it will lead to them not making it far in the NCAA Tournament. Ultimately those schools will not make nearly as much money. Gonzaga was not a huge basketball program with coaches lined up to take the head coaching job before Few arrived. Without Few the school could lose millions of dollars and have their program tarnished. After being so close to winning the National Championship recently the school has clearly shown that winning is their main priority. It is not fair compared to what Huggins had to go through while at Cincinnati or the other coaches that have made the same mistake. The NCAA should step in and make an example of Few to show coaches all around the country that this behavior is not tolerable. No matter their level of success they cannot get out of these types of situations as easily as Few did here.