By Sarah Pack
In recent years, sports organizations—whether teams, leagues, conferences, or governing bodies—have increasingly sought innovative legal solutions to meet the complex demands of their operations. From player contracts and labor relations to intellectual property, sponsorship agreements, and compliance with ever-evolving regulations, the scope of legal needs is immense. The traditional outside general counsel (OGC) model, with its often exorbitant hourly rates and unpredictable costs, has proven inefficient for organizations that need ongoing legal support but want more predictable pricing structures.
Enter the tiered-subscription model for outside legal services, an emerging trend reshaping how sports organizations manage their legal needs. This model offers flexible, tiered pricing plans that allow teams and organizations to pay for different levels of service depending on their needs, much like subscription services in other industries.
The Shift: From Hourly Billing to Subscription Models
For years, sports organizations have relied on external legal counsel for high-stakes transactions and regulatory compliance, retaining law firms that specialize in sports law. However, this has often meant unpredictable legal fees, which could balloon during times of crisis or complex legal matters. The traditional hourly billing model, which rewards time spent rather than outcomes, has increasingly come under scrutiny.
The subscription-based model offers a way out of this cost unpredictability. Much like subscription services that have gained popularity in technology and media industries, the new model provides a more user-friendly, predictable, and transparent way to access legal services. Instead of billing by the hour, sports organizations can subscribe to a tiered plan, paying a flat monthly fee based on their specific needs.
Key Features of the Subscription Model
- Tiered Pricing: The most appealing aspect of this new model is its flexibility. Legal service providers offer different tiers of subscription plans, each corresponding to a different level of service. For example:
- Basic Tier: Covers day-to-day legal queries, contract drafting, and basic compliance advice.
- Mid-Level Tier: Includes more involved legal services such as litigation support, negotiation of larger contracts (e.g., sponsorship deals), and more specialized counsel (e.g., antitrust, intellectual property).
- Premium Tier: Provides full legal coverage, including litigation management, certain levels of litigation and arbitration, high-level strategy, conference realignment, crisis management, investigations, and access to top partners at the firm.
- Predictable Costs: Unlike the traditional OGC model, where legal fees could spike unpredictably, a subscription model provides sports organizations with consistent, predictable monthly or annual fees. This not only helps with budget planning but also allows teams and leagues to better manage their legal risks without hesitation.
- Scalability: The tiered system allows organizations to scale their legal services based on changing needs. If a team faces a period of litigation or complex transactions, they can upgrade to a higher tier. Conversely, in quieter times, they can switch to a lower tier, keeping their costs manageable.
- Tailored Service Bundles: Some subscription models allow sports organizations to select specific services a la carte, customizing their legal support to match their exact needs. This can be particularly useful for smaller organizations that may not need a full suite of legal services but do need specialized advice in areas like employment law, compliance, or contract negotiations.
- Access to a Dedicated Team: In many cases, subscribing sports organizations receive access to a dedicated team of attorneys who understand the nuances of their operations. This setup fosters a stronger partnership, as legal advisors become more ingrained in the daily workings of the organization, offering more proactive and strategic counsel rather than just reacting to crises.
Why Sports Organizations Are Adopting This Model
1. Cost Efficiency
Sports organizations often have limited budgets and need to be strategic in how they allocate funds. The unpredictability of hourly legal fees can be a significant burden. With a subscription model, they gain access to high-quality legal services without breaking the bank, knowing exactly how much they will spend each month.
2. Comprehensive Legal Needs
From regulatory compliance and player, coaching, and executive contracts to intellectual property disputes, sports teams face a wide range of legal issues. By subscribing to a tiered legal service, organizations can ensure that they have the right legal expertise at their fingertips whenever needed.
3. Risk Management
Legal risks in sports can arise unexpectedly, whether due to player misconduct, labor disputes, facility and event management, or regulatory issues. Subscription models allow teams to have instant access to legal counsel in high-pressure situations, without the delays and uncertainty that might come from an ad-hoc engagement of outside counsel.
4. Flexibility and Customization
In the fast-paced world of sports, legal needs can shift rapidly. The flexibility to change subscription tiers based on current needs (e.g., during off-season vs. in-season) allows sports organizations to remain agile and responsive to legal challenges as they arise.
Boutique Sports Law Firms
Boutique law firms that focus on legal needs of sports related clients are particularly well suited to provide a subscription-based model to serve their sports clients. These firms often specialize in high-level matters like labor disputes, athlete representation, industry-specific arbitration, and compliance with league rules. They offer subscription models for organizations that need consistent access to their expertise but may not need a full-time in-house legal team.
For example, a professional sports team might subscribe to a premier-tier plan during their regular season to ensure they have legal support on contract negotiations and regulatory compliance but may scale down to a mid-tier plan during the off-season when fewer legal issues arise.
Challenges and Considerations
While the subscription model offers numerous benefits, it is not without challenges. For one, not all legal issues can be neatly bundled into a subscription plan. For example, complex, high-stakes litigation or arbitration may require services beyond what a subscription covers, potentially leading to additional fees. Furthermore, firms must carefully design their pricing structures to ensure they are both profitable and provide value for sports organizations.
Another consideration is the level of expertise offered at different tiers. Premium-tier clients will likely expect access to senior attorneys or partners, while basic-tier subscribers may receive more junior-level support. Firms must strike a balance to maintain quality service across all subscription levels. Boutique firms are more likely to be able to provide access to high-level support in all tiers.
Conclusion
The shift toward a subscription-based, tiered legal services model reflects broader changes in how professional services are delivered, particularly in the sports industry where organizations need flexibility, cost certainty, and tailored solutions by specialized legal counsel with a strong history of working in the sports industry and with knowledge of the “lockeroom”. By adopting this model, sports organizations can better manage their legal risks, control costs, and ensure that they have access to top-tier and specialized legal advice when it matters most. As this trend continues to grow, it has the potential to revolutionize the relationship between legal service providers and their clients, making the law more accessible and strategic for organizations of all sizes.
Sarah Pack is Senior Counsel at Dennie Sports Law, a boutique sports law firm that provides outside general counsel services to sports organizations using a subscription-based, tiered legal services model.
