Demonstrating broad knowledge on all aspects of sports litigation, M&A, and naming rights-related matters, the Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner team maintains a client roster that encompasses professional sports teams, Olympic committees, and national sporting leagues. The practice boasts a particularly strong record of handling stadium developments and financings and also regularly advises on media contract negotiations for sports-related TV and radio stations. Ryan Davis co-heads the department from St Louis and serves as a key contact for litigation proceedings and sponsorship issues, whilst Steve Smith co-leads from Colorado Springs and chiefly advises on naming rights agreements and contractual disputes. Also in Colorado Springs, Richard Young focuses on complex commercial disputes, while New York-based Douglas Mishkin offers niche expertise on US gambling laws. Christopher Schmidt primarily handles professional and collegiate sports disputes from St Louis.
Key clients
- Dallas Cowboys
- Houston Texans
- Los Angeles Chargers
- Minnesota Vikings
- Seattle Seahawks
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Tennessee Titans
- National Football League
- National Hockey League
- National Collegiate Athletic Association
- Acrisure
- Airbnb
- Arizona State University
- Dolby
- Enterprise
- Lower.com
- MetLife
- Progressive
- SoFi
- Stifel
- Target
- Wisconsin Center District
- National Football Foundation
- Mountain West Conference
- Big West Conference
- Big Sky Conference
- Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference
- The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee
- LA28 Olympic Committee
- Sacramento River Cats
- Oklahoma City Dodgers
- Shuckers Baseball LLC
- Horse Racing Integrity & Welfare Unit
- World Anti-Doping Agency
- U.S. Anti-Doping Agency
- World Triathlon Corporation/IRONMAN
Work highlights
- Represented the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in concussion, CTE and other sports injury-related claims in state and federal courts around the country, including Finnerty vs NCAA, in which the jury decided in favor of the NCAA on all counts and found that the NCAA was not negligent in the death of Cullen Finnerty.
- Advised SoFi Technologies, Inc. on a deal to become the first presenting sponsor of the TGL, the new team golf league developed by Tiger Woods and TMRW Sports.
- Advised QuintEvents LLC on Liberty Media Corporation's acquisition of more than 90% of the shares of QuintEvents in a transaction valuing the company at $313m.
Lawyers
Practice head
The lawyer(s) leading their teams.
Ryan Davis, Steve Smith