Endorsement Contracts for Professional Athletes

• Publication year: 2003
• Pages: 43
• Citation: Vol. 32 No. 1 Pg. 43

32 Colo.Law. 43 Colorado Lawyer 2003.

2003, January, Pg. 43. Endorsement Contracts for Professional Athletes

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43

Vol. 32, No. 1, Pg. 43

The Colorado Lawyer
January 2003
Vol. 32, No. 1 [Page 43]

Specialty Law Columns
Business Law Newsletter
Endorsement Contracts for Professional Athletes
by Leigh Augustine-Schlossinger

This newsletter is sponsored by the CBA Business Law Section to apprise members of current information concerning substantive law. Subject to author submissions, the newsletter is published eleven times per year, focusing on business law topics for the Colorado practitioner, including but not limited to, issues surrounding anti-trust bankruptcy, business entities, commercial law, corporate counsel, financial institutions, franchising, nonprofit entities, securities law, and small business entities

Column Editor:

David P. Steigerwald of Sparks Willson Borges Brandt & Johnson, P.C., Colorado Springs - (719) 475-0097

About The Author:

This month's article was written by Leigh Augustine-Schlossinger, Denver, owner and managing member of a firm focusing on legal representation of athletes, Leigh Augustine, Attorney at Law, LLC - (303) 726-5329, leigh@augustinesports.com.
The author gives special thanks for assistance in the preparation of this article to Adria Muir and Holly Christiensen, third-year students at the University of Denver College of Law.

This article provides an overview of team and league guidelines as they pertain to endorsement contracts for professional athletes, discusses negotiations of
endorsement contracts, and covers essential elements in such contracts.

Companies quite often use the name, likeness, or image of professional athletes for their marketing campaigns. Such corporate sponsorships for athletes, generally called endorsements, easily can exceed $100,000 per year. Coaches also may be used for corporate marketing campaigns as they fall under the purview of endorsement contracts for professional athletes.1

Representation of professional athletes for these sponsorship contracts creates many unique legal issues, inasmuch as the athlete may need to comply with league and team rules in addition to following general business precepts. This article provides a general overview of endorsement contracts, including the categories and essential elements. It also discusses team and league endorsement guidelines and issues involved in contract negotiations.2

Team and League Guidelines

Before seeking any sponsorship, an athlete or his or her advisor should be familiar with the athlete's team and league endorsement guidelines. Examples of guidelines that may cause unexpected problems include conflict of interest rules between team and individual sponsors, and violations of regulations regarding specific advertising activities. Olympic athletes have many more restrictions on the corporate endorsements they may accept because technically they are considered amateur athletes.3

Categories of Endorsement Contracts

Sponsorships for professional athletes generally can be divided into three categories: headgear and clothing, hard goods, and non-marking sponsorships. Following is a...