Sports Law: Protecting and Assisting Athletes and Sports Businesses
Lommen Abdo provides counsel and representation on a broad array of sports-related legal matters. From issues concerning athletes, coaches and teams to event producers, venues, training/fitness providers, athletic apparel, sports equipment manufacturers and more, our goal is to provide sports professionals, amateurs and companies with effective legal representation. We also advise on collateral career issues such as copyright, trademark, brand, privacy and publicity rights protection. Our sports clients are engaged in a variety of sports-related activities including football, baseball, basketball, hockey, golf, bowling, hunting, fishing, recreation, extreme sports and more.
Areas of Focus: Sports Law Group
Intellectual Property | Business | Estate Planning
- Individual Athletes
- Contract Negotiations
- Sponsorships and Endorsements
- Publicity and Privacy Rights
- Trademark and Copyright Considerations
- Online Reputation Management and New Media Rights
- Personal Appearance Agreements
- Estate Planning
- Sports-Related Businesses
- Business Entity Formation
- Licensing and Merchandising Agreements
- Venue Agreements
- Participant Waivers and Releases
- Product Creation and Intellectual Property Protection
- Product Liability Issues
- Manufacturing and Distribution Agreements
- Equipment Lease and Purchase Agreements
- Contests and Sweepstakes
- Litigation and Risk Management
- Non-Profit and Professional Organizations Counseling
Representative Client Work:
- AlialFital, LLC: Fashion clothing designed by former NFL quarterback Gibran Hamdan.
- Bronko Nagurski Enterprises: Named after one of the greatest American football players of all time, a company formed by Bronko's children to authorize and license the commercial use of Bronko’s name, likeness, images and Bronko Nagurski endorsed products.
- Carl Eller: Former Minnesota Viking and Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee established a non-profit to assist career transitions for former professional athletes.
- Joe Kapp: Led the Minnesota Vikings to their first Superbowl in 1968/1969 and was the coach of the University of California for “The Play.” Joe, and is the only player to quarterback in an NFL Super Bowl, the CFL Grey Cup and an NCAA Rose Bowl game.
- Defiant Bicycle Company: Manufacturer of motorized bicycles.
- Retired Players Association: Non-profit organization dedicated to advocating for and providing assistance to retired NFL players.
- Rhino Gym, Inc: Pennsylvania-based Fitness Company.
- RobbStauber: Winner of the Hobey Baker Award, retired National Hockey League goaltender and owner of Stauber’s Goalcrease Training Center and ProShop.
- STMA Football Academy: Non-profit 501(c) (3) youth athletic association and member of American Youth Football; the largest youth football organization in the United States with over 18,000 teams nationwide.
- Tommy Kramer: Former Minnesota Vikings quarterback, brand development and protection.
- Ultimate Scrimmage Systems: Manufacturer of tackling dummy apparatus designed to help coaches teach players football skills.
- Ben Utecht: Former NFL player and Super Bowl © champion now a professional recording and performing artist.
For questions, or for assistance in selecting an attorney specific to your needs, contact Entertainment, IP and Sports Practice Chair, Ken Abdo at ken@lommen.com or 612-336-9316 or any of the attorneys in this practice area pictured below.
Read more about our Sports Practice:
Jeff O'Brien and Minnesota Vikings Hall of Fame defensive lineman Carl Eller (a Lommen Abdo client) are interviewed by Roshini Rajkumar on WCCO's News and Views on January 20, 2013. They discuss the issues that athletes face when transitioning from their athletic careers to everyday life.
Estate Planning for the Entertainer or Athlete - Appearing in the American Bar Association's "Entertainment & Sports Lawyer," by Tim Matson, Lommen Abdo intellectual property attorney, and Scott Nelson, estate planning attorney.
Gibran Hamdan (former NFL quarterback and creator of the Alial Fital clothing line) and Brian “GB” Leighton (local musician) appeared on the Fox29 show, GameON!
Lommen Abdo Teams Up Clients for Mutual Benefit - At Lommen Abdo, we believe that excellent client service is not just about providing high quality legal services. It also includes making introductions and cross-marketing amongst our clients when the situation is appropriate and where there is opportunity for mutual client gain. As an example of this philosophy in action, during the weekend of May 12 and 13, 2012, the Lommen Abdo team successfully connected multiple clients (Former Vikings quarterback Tom Kramer, the St. Michael-Albertville Football Academy and Woody's Roadhouse) for a series of great events.
Lommen Abdo client and former Rice University and Minnesota Vikings Quarterback Tommy Kramer was recently chosen for the College Football Hall of Fame.
3rd Annual Entertainment & Sports Law Symposium reaches new level with national speakers. Lommen Abdo presented its 3rd Annual Entertainment & Sports Law Symposium for industry professionals in sports, music, interactive, film and other entertainment businesses on Friday, November 12, 2010 on the 50th floor of the IDS Center in Minneapolis.
The Second Annual Entertainment & Sports Law Symposium was held on November 12, 2009. Lommen Abdo attorneys, partnering with Minnesota Law & Politics® and the GRAMMY Foundation®, spoke to attorneys and industry professionals about substantive legal and business issues addressed in the practice of entertainment and sports law.