ALEJANDROESCARRAGIL.ORG
CAREERS IN SPORTS LAW Presented by Alejandro Escarrรก Gil
WORKING IN SPORTS
Building Your Career There are many careers in the sports industry that doesn’t involve being on the court or the field. Most of the time, all the real work is done behind the scene. Many seek a career in sports law because of the fast-paced environment, high stakes, and lucrative lifestyle. However, before diving into the industry, it’s essential to know the type of careers there are in sports law. Sports law seems like a very niche career with not many opportunities, but the industry offers many job opportunities in major firms, high schools, colleges, professional teams, or individual athletes. There is a large variety to choose from that are worth exploring.
Player Representatives and Contract Administrators
When people think of sports law, they typically think about working with major league and professional athletes to help them with contracts and legal advice. This is exactly what player representatives and contract administrators do for a living. Professional athletes to amateur and semi-professional athletes need an attorney by their side to negotiate salaries, contracts, and other information. The attorney will act in the player’s best legal interest throughout the player’s career.
Team Lawyers and Legal Advisors Much like athletes, professional and semi-professional teams as a whole need legal representation. Team lawyers and legal advisors will advise a team on legal issues and are responsible for crafting the team’s player, vendor contracts, and employment contracts. As a team lawyer, it is their job to handle a fan or player suing the team and to defend the team’s actions. This role will involve a lot of liability issues within the organization and it’s imperative for someone in this role to have the ability to read and comprehend liability law to its full extent.
High Schools, Colleges, or State Agencies
Believe it or not, many lawyers work with high school and college sports. There are laws relating to safety in high school and college sports, high school sports season lengths, college sports funding, scholarship laws, and much more that are drafted by sports lawyers. In this role, attorneys can either work for state government or local municipalities or work directly with colleges or high schools to advise them on the correct way to implement or follow laws of high school or college sports.