Joshua M. Frieser, Esq. is a sports business lawyer and Principal Attorney at Frieser Legal. His practice is focused on the representation of athletes, agents, sponsors, and sports businesses.
While working to solve the unique legal needs that athletes have, Josh represents athletes in eligibility and disciplinary proceedings and NIL licensing agreements, as well as in related intellectual property and business planning matters. In addition to serving as counsel to college and professional athletes, he represents sports agents and sports industry ventures as outside counsel. He also serves as a trusted advisor to sponsors working with athletes and sports properties.
Josh is a member of the State Bar of Wisconsin and an active member of its Sports & Entertainment Law Section and Business Law Section. He is also a member of the Sports Lawyers Association. Additionally, Josh serves on the Sports Advisory Committee for the American Arbitration Association.
As a leading expert on the regulatory landscape of college athletics, Josh has been quoted in numerous publications. He also regularly speaks on panels and CLE seminars about NIL and the legal implications surrounding college sports.
Josh’s prior experience includes working at the National Collegiate Athletic Association for the Office of the Committees on Infractions and at the National Sports Law Institute. Additionally, during law school, Josh served as a Judicial Intern to the Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago and as a Judicial Intern to a Senior District Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. Josh attended Marquette University Law School where he received a Sports Law Certificate and was a member of the Marquette Sports Law Review. He attended Indiana University as an undergraduate where he studied Sport Marketing & Management and Entrepreneurship & Small Business Management.
Question: How did you get your start in sports law and who were your mentors along the way?
Answer: My first in-depth exposure to sports law came during my time as a student in the sports law program at Marquette University Law School. Professors Matt Mitten and Paul Anderson did a wonderful job of exposing me to comprehensive sports law coursework, internships, and industry leaders. During law school, I had the opportunity to spend a semester at the NCAA’s Office of the Committees on Infractions, where I developed lasting relationships with Matt Mikrut, Aaron Hernandez, and Naima Stevenson Starks, all of whom have meaningfully impacted my career as mentors.
Q: What areas of sports law are your strengths?
A: The areas of sports law I work with most regularly are athlete sponsorship and marketing agreements, sports agent regulation, and college athletics/NIL.
Q: Who are some representative clients in those areas, who you have worked with?
A: I have had the opportunity to represent professional sports league MVPs and 5-star recruits, as well as college athletes that have no prospects of playing professionally and athletes in every circumstance in between. I have also worked with dozens of professional sports player agents and NIL agents on representation agreements, players association agent regulations, and athlete agent laws. Additionally, I have worked with corporate sponsors of college and professional athletes.
Q: What trends in the industry are you following closely and why?
A; The House settlement is likely to transform the landscape of college athletics even more than NIL did. While college athletes are set to receive a portion of revenue derived by university athletics programs, those dollars are coming with lengthy revenue-sharing contracts. The implications of those agreements are broad. From the preliminary agreements that universities are circulating, the contracts include complex intellectual property language, sublicense rights, restrictions on athlete movement, and comprehensive clawback language. As larger dollar figures are now at stake—both in the contract itself and in any potential disputes—there becomes an even greater need for athletes, agents, and university athletic departments to work with attorneys familiar with the contemporary landscape.
