Entertainment & Sports Law Guide, Resources & information

Sports Law encompasses a multitude areas of law brought together in unique ways. Issues such as antitrust, contracts, and torts are quite common.

Sports Law can be roughly divided into the areas of amateur, professional, and international sports.The distinction between a professional and amateur athlete is somewhat tenuous. So-called "amateur" student/athletes at universities often receive scholarships and other forms of compensation. Also, keep in mind that even though an athlete may be defined as an amateur by one organization, he or she may not be an amateur according to another. Of course, this leads to even more confusion. A simplistic, yet useful definition is that amateur athletes participate in sports as an avocation while professional athletes are involved in sports as a vocation.

Professional Sports perhaps the most important relationship in the area of professional sports is that between the individual player and the team owner. This contractual relationship is governed by basic contract principles. Most sports leagues now have a Standard Player's Contract which serves as a model employment contract between players and owners. The model contract can be modified to accommodate the special needs and talents of individual players. With the increase in salaries in professional sports, most players are now represented by agents. Typically, this relationship is governed by a Standard Representation Contract which defines the duties and compensation of the agent. In an attempt to regulate agent activities, many state legislatures now require agents to register with some type of administrative agency.

The two major international sports competitions are the Olympics, sponsored by the International Olympic Committee and the World Cup, sponsored by FIFA.

Know your rights and exercise them for a safe, better future.