Sports & Entertainment Beat

Welcome back to the Spotlight: the blog with more longevity (but far less financial backing) than the European Super League (ESL). OK, maybe that’s not saying a lot, as the ill-fated collection of 10 of the most preeminent soccer clubs in Europe announced the formation of a new league that threatened to shake the time-honored foundations of the soccer world—only to have (as of this writing) eight clubs back-out within less than three days of such announcement. While a crisis appears to have been averted – at least for the time being – lawsuits amongst the ESL member clubs may be on the horizon. Until then, let’s get into what else is making headlines this week:

“Happy” Tax Day to those of you here in the United States celebrating/commiserating (noting of course that certain taxpayers have until May 17 to file their returns this year). Like taxes, this installment of the Spotlight ought not be evaded. I know that some of my readers are accountants, so let’s waste no time diving right into this week’s featured topics/stories:

Happy Thursday and a big congratulations to the Stanford Cardinal and the Baylor Bears on their respective NCAA Women’s and Men’s Basketball Tournament wins (the latter of which helped yours truly place second in our Firm’s Bracket pool). Perhaps it also counts for something that my alma mater Wisconsin Badgers were defeated by the eventual champions, but I digress…

At any rate, here are the highlights from this week’s Spotlight:

March is over, a new month begins.
Congrats on the Final Four to the Zags, Cougars, Bears and Bruins.

Opening Day is upon us, it’s time to play ball,
And battle for the World Series title deep into the fall.

Enough setting the stage, let’s get on with the show,
Here’s what’s going on this week to put you in the know:

A devilish sneaker collaboration leads to a lawsuit by Nike,
with allegations that its brand was tarnished and that consumer confusion is likely.

NFTs as collectibles remain one of the hottest items in town,
as the creators of NBA Top Shot close a huge financing round.

Apple throws it support behind a DIY music distribution up-start
That enables creators to shun labels and retain ownership of their art.

Against the NCAA, student-athletes took their case to the Supreme Court,
And Justices tipped their hands to show the NCAA skepticism and the athletes support.

Will be back next week with my usual pithy prose,
If you guessed this was April Fools’ hijinks, you hit it right on the nose.

Happy Spring! After an especially long winter throughout several parts of the country, it is a welcome sight to see many of the familiar hallmarks of this time of year (even as our daily lives remain markedly different from this time two years ago): MLB Spring Training, Awards season and busted brackets (thank you, Oral Roberts).Without further ado, below is a sampling of the latest for you to tuck away in your bonnet:

Welcome back and to those of you who celebrated a belated Happy St. Patrick’s Day. While I can’t promise that this installment of the Spotlight will be the “hair of the dog,” it should still make for a great accompaniment with your coffee(s). Without further ado, here is a sampling of what I found at the other end of the rainbow:

• • Former NFL greats (and momentary draft day teammates) Eli Manning and LaDainian Tomlinson are the latest big name athletes to get into the SPAC game, backing a $200 million blank check company in its pursuit of a consumer-oriented company that can leverage “influence driven purchases” and “talent as brands.”
  • Music streaming service SoundCloud appears to be experimenting with a new per-stream royalty structure, marking a deviation from the model favored by streaming giants Apple Music and Spotify. Pay-per-stream certainly seems like it could go a long way to provide transparency and allow more artists to garner meaningful streaming income.
  • The Non-fungible Token (NFT) market remains hot, with more influencers and institutional players adapting to take advantage of the new crypto opportunities in the sports, arts and entertainment world, while others sound the alarm on the viability of NFTs as an asset. Only time will tell whether we are witnessing a passing fad or a sign of things to come.
  • After a two-year hiatus because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments will be (fingers crossed) set in motion, and due to recent legislative developments in New Mexico and Maryland, it appears that at least some of the players and their fellow collegiate athletes will soon be able to be compensated for the use of their name, image and likeness (NIL). Until the ever-elusive federal legislation is passed, collegiate athletes (and the NCAA) will have to deal with a patchwork of laws and regulations in the near term.
    
    

Welcome back to another week in the Spotlight. It is truly remarkable to think that it has (already? only?) been one year since the World Health Organization’s declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic, shuttering sports arenas, film sets, theatres, concert venues and disrupting people’s way of life – that of course is nothing in comparison to the human toll of the disease. Still, the beat goes on…

At any rate, below is a sampling of some developments that caught my attention this week:

Greetings, and welcome to the inaugural edition of the Sports & Entertainment Spotlight series! The product of my unrequited desire for human interaction nearly one year into the COVID-19 pandemic, this weekly feature will endeavor to bring readers up to speed on new, noteworthy and/or cutting-edge business and legal developments in the sports and entertainment industries. I hope you find it informative and fascinating, as I certainly do. If there are any topics you’d like to read more about, please feel free to let me know.

This week’s installment spotlights some noteworthy trends and developments, including:

With the Super Bowl coming up, it is important for brands looking to capitalize on football-themed promotions to remember that the terms “Super Bowl” and “Super Sunday” are registered trademarks guarded by the National Football League (NFL) more closely than a shutdown corner on a wide receiver. Because there is a fine line between permissible fair uses of Super Bowl and Super Sunday (e.g., in on-air banter and news and sports reports) and impermissible promotional uses that may infringe the NFL’s trademark, here are some guidelines to keep you from going “offsides:”

California Adopts Bill Allowing Athletes to Earn Money from Marketing Promotions or Endorsement Deals

On Monday, September 30, 2019, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law SB 206, the "Fair Pay to Play Act," which is a bill that could fundamentally transform collegiate athletics amateurism rules. The bill allows college athletes to earn money from the use of their name, image or likeness through sponsorships and/or endorsements, which is in direct conflict with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (the "NCAA") amateurism rules.[1] The Fair Pay to Play Act will go into effect in 2023 and will apply to all 58 California NCAA-affiliated schools.[2]

The Fair Pay to Play Act does not require colleges to pay their athletes, but rather will prohibit schools from upholding rules preventing student athletes from participating in intercollegiate athletics because the athlete is being compensated for the use of their name, image or likeness.[3] This prohibition will apply to institutions and organizations affecting California student athletes, including the athlete’s academic institution, the NCAA and collegiate athletic conferences such as the Pac-12.[4] However, colleges will be able to control the types of sponsorships or endorsements students may enter into, so that student deals will not directly conflict with preexisting school sponsorship deals.[5]