What is an LLM in Sports Law?

LLM in Sports Law Sports Law and Entertainment Law are often included on the same courses as they both cover similar legal areas such as sponsorship deals and aspects of Employment Law and Corporate Law.

In this blog we’re going to take a look at what is covered in an LLM in Sports Law.

What is Sports Law?

Sports law covers a large area of law as it encompasses diverse areas such as the regulation of national and international sports by either national bodies, international bodies and some governments, such as in France, who are directly involved in the regulation of sport. It also includes the representation of professional and amateur athletes as they engage with these bodies, but also as they become involved with sponsors and advertisers. Other areas include Corporate Law and Business Law for businesses involved in competitive sport such as football clubs, and Employment Law and Immigration Law for their players and employees.

Where can you study it?

There are many law schools in the US that offer LLM programs in Sports Law such as the University of Miami, Pepperdine University, University of Arizona and Marquette University. In the UK the University of London, De Montfort University and Nottingham Trent University all offer LLM programs that have a focus on Sports Law. Melbourne University in Australia has a Sports Law track for its LLM program and the University of Zurich in Switzerland has a International Sports Law specialism for its LLM in International Business Law that is conducted in English.

What modules are covered?

Modules on the University of London Sports Law specialisation includes Intellectual Property and Sports Law, meanwhile the LLM in Sports Law at Nottingham Trent University has modules including Sport Law and Regulation: UK and International Perspectives, Sport and Human Body, and European Sports Law and Policy. The LLM in Entertainment, Arts and Sports Law at the University of Miami features modules on subjects such as Negotiation and Drafting Sports Venue Agreements, Copyright Law, Purchase and Sale of a Minor League Baseball Team, and Sports Law. The LLM in International Business at the University of Zurich has a Sports Law concentration and some of the modules include tax and sports, the French and American sports models, financial fair play and match manipulation.

Why study Sports Law?

A career as a sports lawyer is a diverse one because of the many different areas that interact with Sports Law. The international aspect of sport means that many people who work in Sports Law have a career that leads to travel all over the world and working within many different jurisdictions. Many Employment Law specialists find themselves working for large sports teams and migrating to Sports Law. Studying an LLM in Sports Law allows those professionals who already work in the area to gain an understanding of the issues surround more specialised parts of Sports Law such as sporting sponsorship deals. Although the coronavirus pandemic has had an impact on the short-term value of live sporting events, there still is, and in the future will be, large sums of money involved in the businesses associated with national and international sporting events. In short, the value of the global sports market in the United States – and indeed worldwide – is worth billions of dollars and is seemingly ever increasing, which contribute to its interest. This table illustrates the size of the global sports market in US dollars over the last few years.

Global sports market

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