The Sports & Entertainment Law Playbook

I'm gonna go out on a limb, and say that Ohio State Football Coach Urban Meyer didn't get his new $26M contract from legalzoom.com. It has nothing to do with the fact that it's a high-dollar contract, either. The reason I know that the contract was not created from some computer database is that the terms of the contract are tailored to the specific circumstances that are important to the contracting parties.

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with Legal Zoom. If you need a will, and you have no children or substantial assets, I'm sure that whatever they have may suffice. If you need a simple power of attorney, a bill of sale for that old refrigerator you're selling out of your basement, or maybe even an operating agreement for your single-member LLC, then I could see using Legal Zoom. But I wouldn't trust them with a document that has the possibility of affecting another person's livelihood, or the potential to be litigated.

Last November, Urban Meyer shocked the college football world when Ohio State introduced him as their new head football coach in the wake of the Tattoo-gate scandal, which cost the Buckeyes several players, including quarterback Terrelle Pryor, and once-beloved coach Jim Tressel. Meyer won two national championships at the University of Florida, and then resigned, citing health conditions, before essentially coming out of early retirement to take the job in Columbus. Although Meyer's $4.4M annual compensation makes him far and away the highest paid coach in the Big Ten Conference, the brilliance of his contract isn't reflected in that number.

When Ohio State released the details of Meyer's contract last week, we learned about a special provision that—if the NCAA levies more sanctions against the school arising out of the Tressel-ball era—allows Meyer to get out of the deal, AND still pays him $1.5M per year for the remainder of the six-year term. That contractual provision is essentially an insurance policy for Urban Meyer, so he doesn't get stuck living in Columbus, Ohio, and coaching a dead-end team because of what happened during Jim Tressel's watch. This type of a contract clause can't come from some antiquated legal form. It can only be the product of a skilled contract drafter, someone who has taken the time to understand the parties' true interests and objectives, which many times are a lot more complicated than dollars and cents.

You might think that you have to make Urban Meyer money to be able to get a contract that good, but you'd be wrong. Before you enter into any agreement for employment, or to buy or sell anything of significant value, it's worth the cost of a one-hour consultation with an attorney to discuss what's on the table, and address any potential issues or concerns that are on your mind. At the end of that consultation, the attorney will either tell you that you'll be fine with the basic contract, or what the pitfalls lie ahead in relying on a standard document. In most cases, it's like the old adage, pay a little now, or pay a lot later: If you and a buddy enter into a business deal based on some chicken scratch on a cocktail napkin, if and when things go south, you could find yourself in the middle of a contentious (expensive) lawsuit.

NB: The above statements are not intended to be construed as an endorsement of any online or other provider of legal documents or forms.

Photo credit: Brooke LaValley, Columbus Dispatch

Earlier:

University Paid Nearly $142K in Football Players' Legal Fees

Will NCAA Sanction Tressel If They Determine He Withheld Information

Consequences If Buckeyes Break Promise To Return

Who do you think foots the bill when a university hires attorneys to defend its student–athletes?

Ohio State University's student newspaper—The Lantern—ran a story earlier this week about the outrageous legal fees the school has paid thus far in defending various football players against alleged NCAA rules infractions.

The "Sports Illustrated 9" refers to nine current players, separate from the six players suspended for "Tattoo-gate," "whose alleged wrongdoing might fall within the NCAA's four-year statute of limitations," according to a June 6 SI article.

OSU's athletics department paid the fees out of its general operations fund, which student fees do not go toward, said Dan Wallenberg, associate athletics director for communications.

[Wallenberg] also said the funds for similar services could come out of the Student-Athlete Opportunity Fund, which was created by the NCAA in 2003 to provide direct benefits to student–athletes or their families, and is generated by NCAA basketball tournament revenue.

The benefactor of this particular transaction is the Columbus law firm of Crabbe Brown & James LLP, which has reportedly received "$141,814.30 as of mid-September." That number is quite small compared with, for example, the amount Ohio State paid the Vorys law firm from 2004–2008 to defend them against former basketball coach Jim O'Brien's wrongful termination lawsuit (well over a million bucks).

By comparison, Auburn University paid $170K in legal fees while the NCAA investigated 2010 Heisman trophy winner Cam Newton's eligibility. And the University of Michigan paid over $600,000 in legal fees in an NCAA infractions case involving former head football coach Rich Rodriguez.

As Alex Antonetz's Lantern article points out, this is all legit—schools can pay outside counsel to represent their student–athletes when they get themselves into trouble. Perhaps its unfortunate that the schools can't help them out when they can't pay their phone bills, can't buy groceries, or can't afford to fly home for holidays, because if the student–athletes had some financial assistance in that regard they might not have to resort to earning money other ways (ways that get them into trouble). Having lived with two scholarship athletes (one All-American) during my freshman year of college, I have first-hand knowledge about student–athletes' financial woes.

Despite being wired in with most of the latest technology, since my firm has offices in both Ohio and New Jersey, it's inevitable that I travel between the two states from time to time. This week I'm in the Columbus office, and made it a point to attend a lunchtime seminar on legal blogging, at the Columbus Bar Association offices. I like going to events like this because I can always learn something. It's also a great way to meet other creative, successful, and like-minded attorneys, to steal their secrets (just kidding about the last part). 

The speaker was attorney Brad Wrightsel, who has authored the Ohio Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law blog since 2006. For whatever reason (my guess is that it was a Microsoft issue), there was an Internet connectivity problem during Brad's presentation, and he couldn't access many of the blogs that he intended to use as examples. So he ended up using this blog during the demonstration—what a bonus.

And speaking of bonuses, I recently received word from the American Bar Association that they've included this blog in their prestigious directory of legal "blawgs." I'm honored.

Last night, the Ohio State Buckeyes beat the Arkansas Razorbacks 31–26 in the Allstate Sugar Bowl. The games's MVP was junior quarterback Terrelle Pryor, who, along with four other Buckeyes, was suspended by the NCAA on Dec. 23, 2010 for allegedly receiving improper benefits (NCAA Press Release pdf). The so-called improper benefits were cash proceeds from the sale of memorabilia items, including their Big Ten Championship rings, which the five players admitted to selling, for between $1000 and $2500.

But because the NCAA found that "it was reasonable at the time the student-athletes were not aware they were committing violations," a loophole in the rules allowed all five Buckeyes to play in the upcoming bowl game. "The policy for suspending withholding conditions for bowl games or NCAA championship competition recognizes the unique opportunity these events provide at the end of a season, and they are evaluated differently from a withholding perspective."

ESPN-nation erupted, over what the public perceived as the NCAA giving Ohio State preferential treatment. Then, on Dec. 30—the day after the Buckeyes returned from their 4-day x'mas break—Jim Tressel announced that he had requested verbal commitments from each of the suspended players, to return for their senior seasons at Ohio State if allowed to play in the Sugar Bowl. All five players agreed, which seemed to quiet much of the public outcry. Columbus Dispatch's Rob Oller called Tressel's move, "a masterful flanking maneuver that puts him back in charge and quiets critics who have questioned his leadership."

But Tressel's deal didn't satisfy everyone; the new topic du jour was speculation over whether those five players would actually keep their promises to return. Critics argued that if they decided not to honor their promises, and instead declared for the 2011 NFL Draft, then those players wouldn't have to suffer any consequences for their impermissible conduct. Oller even referred to the players' agreement as "nonbinding." Although I believe it would be a supreme waste of time to, say, try to enforce the players' promises using judicial means—not to mention, a public relations nightmare—I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss the players' promises as nonbinding.

Some will inevitably refer to Jim Tressel's gentleman's agreement as his deal with the devil, especially given the way all five players contributed immensely to the Buckeyes' Sugar Bowl win. Prior to last night, the Buckeyes had a 32-year winless streak against SEC football teams in bowl games. This morning, I bet that some of those same fans who criticized Tressel for his deal, are silently rejoicing.

Next—Part II: What is a contract?