By Landis Barber
The 2025 Sports Lawyers Association Fall Symposium brought together leading voices from across the sports world to examine how global expansion, financial regulation, and legal innovation are reshaping sports. Two panels captured the audience’s attention: one focused on the evolving role of in-house counsel on both sides of the Atlantic, while the other explored how financial rules sustain fairness and integrity across leagues.
Across the Pond: Leading Clubs on Both Sides of the Atlantic
The first session, titled Across the Pond: Leading Clubs on Both Sides of the Atlantic, gathered four seasoned professionals to compare the structures, pressures, and philosophies of American and European sports organizations. Panelists included Katie Charles, Chief Legal Counsel for Everton Football Club; George Pennington, Chief Legal Officer for Nottingham Forest; Nyea Sturman, General Counsel of the Orlando Magic; and Ben Shribman, a partner at Cooley. Each brought a unique perspective on how legal departments adapt to shifting ownership models, international laws, and commercial realities.
Charles opened by describing the accelerating pace of legal work inside a modern football club. “It feels like the ground shifts every week,” she said. “Rules, ownership expectations, and commercial arrangements evolve in response to external events, so the legal team has to stay one step ahead to interpret what each change means operationally.” Pennington, who helped establish his club’s legal department only 18 months earlier, echoed her point. “In our league, every club is also a shareholder,” he explained. “That structure bakes in a constant need for collaboration. Shareholder meetings are not just administrative. They shape governance and policy for everyone.”
In contrast, Sturman described the stability of the National Basketball Association. “In the United States, stability is the hallmark,” she said. “We operate under collective bargaining agreements that bring predictability to our work. That allows us to focus on building for the long term.” Her legal team supports the Orlando Magic, a G League affiliate, a minor league hockey club, and a charitable foundation, reflecting the growing programs that an in-house counsel manage may manage.
One of the liveliest discussions centered on relegation, the European system that rewards and penalizes clubs based on performance. Shribman noted that no concept highlights the difference between American and European models more sharply. Charles agreed. “Clubs must plan for the possibility of relegation as part of their business model,” she said. “If you prepare properly, it does not have to be the financial cliff edge that people imagine.” Sturman admitted she could not envision a similar system in American leagues. “Our teams are treated like family assets, and the idea of losing a franchise’s place in the league would be unthinkable,” she said. Pennington added that the European model shapes investment decisions. “In Europe, the threat of relegation always lingers in the background.”
Financial regulation provided another point of comparison. Sturman explained the differences between professional leagues. “The National Basketball Association uses a soft salary cap, meaning there are limits with exceptions, but teams pay taxes and financial penalties if they exceed them,” she said. “The National Football League operates under a hard cap, where you cannot go above the limit at all. Major League Baseball has no cap but relies on a luxury tax.” In turn, Pennington described new Profit and Sustainability Rules for Premier League clubs, modeled on the Union of European Football Associations system. These rules focus on the ratio between squad costs and commercial revenue, encouraging clubs to balance ambition with financial prudence.
The panel also explored the rise of multi-club ownership. Pennington explained that shared ownership across multiple teams can create opportunities and regulatory challenges. “It helps with player transfers and shared services,” he said, “but we must always prove that transactions are conducted at fair value.” Charles noted that while blind trusts have been used to meet competition rules, the long-term solution must preserve both integrity and investor confidence. Sturman added that American rules permit cross-ownership across sports, though not within the same league. “You cannot own two National Basketball Association teams,” she said. “However, the same owner can hold interests in a basketball franchise and a hockey club.”
As the discussion turned to career development, the panelists emphasized flexibility and composure. “Relegation environments are intense,” Pennington said. “Legal cannot be the department that slows things down.” Sturman added, “We cover everything from sponsorship to real estate to labor relations.” Charles agreed that calm leadership is part of the job. “You have to appear calm and in control, even when things are moving quickly,” she said.
From Governance to Enforcement: Comparative Analysis of Financial Regulations in Sport
The second panel, From Governance to Enforcement: Comparative Analysis of Financial Regulations in Sport, continued the focus on alignment in governance. Moderator Shalabh Gupta led a conversation with Wyndam Makowsky, Vice President of Labor Relations for the National Football League; Federico Lodi, Single-Seater Financial Regulations Director for the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile; and Pablo Rodriguez, Chief of Financial Monitoring and Compliance for the Union of European Football Associations. Together, they examined how different sports maintain financial integrity while promoting competitive balance.
Makowsky described the foundation of the National Football League’s system. “We want competitive equity, and that begins with how money flows through the sport,” he said. “Teams make money, share money, players get paid, and costs stay under control.” Lodi explained that Formula One applies similar principles through its cost cap system. “Financial stability, competitive balance, and fairness are the pillars,” he said. “We ask ourselves whether the regulations are still achieving those objectives.” Rodriguez traced the evolution of financial rules in European football. “We needed to make sure that every club could pay its employees on time and invest responsibly for long-term success,” he said.
Beginning with the 2025 to 2026 season, European clubs will face a spending limit of 70 percent of income on player costs. Rodriguez stressed that enforcement, not expansion, is now the focus. “The monitoring body is completely separate from the business side,” he said. Lodi and Makowsky echoed the importance of independence and transparency. “Violations of the salary cap are handled through an agreed process,” Makowsky said. “Because the system itself is collectively bargained, it preserves integrity and prevents commercial conflicts from influencing enforcement.”
The panelists described the detailed reporting systems that underpin these frameworks. Makowsky explained that National Football League clubs must report transactions within 48 hours and submit annual financial reports. Lodi said Formula One teams must file audited financial statements each March. Rodriguez noted that European football clubs now provide quarterly updates and full statements to ensure accuracy.
All three agreed that enforcement depends on cooperation. “If spending exceeds a certain threshold, it becomes a major breach,” Lodi said. “We can settle minor issues ourselves, but larger ones go to an independent panel.” Rodriguez emphasized the need for vigilance. “Complex corporate structures make it easy to hide expenses,” he said. “Our task is to examine financial information in detail and verify that costs align with revenue.”
By the end of both sessions, a unifying message had emerged. Across football, basketball, and motorsports, the same priorities guide sports expanding across the globe: financial transparency and the preservation of fair competition. The panels underscored that as investment grows, credibility must remain. As Charles observed, “The appetite for innovation is strong, but fans and stakeholders still value the traditions that make each league unique.” The ability to continue traditions as sports expand will define the future for leagues across the globe.
Landis Barber is an attorney at Safran Law Offices in Raleigh, North Carolina, where he focuses on civil litigation, construction law, and sports and entertainment matters. He advises clients ranging from universities to private companies on contracts, transactions, and risk management. A member of the Sports Lawyers Association and Vice-Chair of the North Carolina Bar Association’s Sports and Entertainment Section, Landis is licensed to practice in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
