If there was an entry in the dictionary for sports law and how the practice area is broad in scope, there would also be a picture of Max L. Siegel next to it.
Siegel has leveraged his extensive experience in many pockets of sports law to ultimately become the team leader of the sports and entertainment practice at Baker & Daniels.
Among those experiences along the way was his role as:
• the former President of Global Operations at Dale Earnhardt Inc., one of the top motor sports franchises in NASCAR;
• the former Sony BMG/Zomba Label Group executive, where he helped the company score more No. 1 hits and gold and platinum records than ever before;
• a member of the Board of Directors for USA Track & Field; and
• an agent for Hall of Fame athletes, such as Tony Gwynn and the late Reggie White.
That diverse path seems more and more to typify the rise of many of the industry’s brightest lights.
That’s why Sports Litigation Alert recently visited with Siegel to talk about his path and the advice he might offer to others.
Question: What are the biggest challenges in sports law?
Answer: “Some of the biggest challenges in sports law today involve the economic downturn. Existing revenue streams are flat, so teams are trying to generate new ones. That means striking a balance between being too aggressive and finding the most lucrative opportunities.
“The other challenge can come with existing sponsor relationships. Some of these sponsors are hurting financially, and are seeking relief from an existing contract. The challenge for the team is to think about these contracts from a long-term, strategic standpoint.
This problem is very present in motorsports, where the client sometimes needs to consider do I want to get it all now, or do I want a long-term engagement.”
You’ve worked as an agent as well. Can you talk about how this helps you provide counsel from the team’s perspective?
“Any successful negotiation has to be where both parties get something that they wanted, but not everything. If they both walk away with a bad feeling that can actually be a good thing. My objective when representing a team is to help my client understand what the individual player’s needs might be. On the other side, my background representing players helps me give the agent a unique perspective.”
You joined the firm about a year ago, what are you doing to grow your team?
“Sports law is an industry practice that brings together a number of core practices, from contracts to intellectual property law. Here, I have been on the lookout for solid practitioners, who understand that you have to not only be knowledgeable about a lot of practice areas, but also stay abreast of trends outside the law. For this reason, I encourage our attorneys to read magazines like People and Billboard.”
What advice would you give a student who wants to be a sports law attorney one day?
“The first thing that the student should understand is that this is a business. Second, being a sports law attorney is also about providing service. Finally, they need to develop a skill in a certain area of the law, in the tax or IP area for example, where they can differentiate themselves from other attorneys who want to specialize in sports law.”
Tell me about your new show, Changing Lanes?
“We are pretty excited. We have partnered with NASCAR Media’s Jay Abraham to produce the reality show, which focuses on female and minority drivers. It will debut on Black Entertainment Television this spring.
“The sport is taking strides toward embracing minority and female drivers, but we’ve still got a long way to go. The goal here is to raise awareness of the sport through Changing Lanes and the Drive for Diversity program. We want to find a driver that both the industry and racing fans can truly embrace and get excited about.
“As for me, I play a majority owner of a NASCAR franchise. It’s kind of like American Idol meets The Apprentice.”
