In the Sports Arena
Alumni have taken many paths to arrive center court in an incredibly competitive and dynamic industry.
National Basketball Association Commissioner Adam Silver, ’88, has spent much more of his professional career on basketball courts than in law courts. Nonetheless, he is quick to point out how valuable his legal education was in preparing him for a leadership career at the NBA.
“Whether it was the philosophical underpinnings of the law that I learned in ‘Elements of the Law’ or my representation of real-life clients at the Mandel Legal Aid Clinic, the Law School’s approach to issue spotting, problem-solving, the use of empirical data, and critical thinking skills helped prepare me for my job,” he said.
Silver is one of a growing cadre of Law School alumni blazing new trails in the fast-growing and ever-evolving world of sports. With billions of dollars at stake in team sales, stadium projects, streaming deals, licensing agreements, and more, these transactions demand high-caliber analytical ability and legal expertise. Alumni are tackling these challenges in a wide variety of roles, from operational leadership positions to in-house legal counsel for teams and athletic associations, to practicing in law firms or working in sports-adjacent organizations.
Six alumni involved in different aspects of the sports industry recently took time out to discuss their career tracks and perspectives on this dynamic industry.
Adam Silver, ’88, NBA Commissioner
For Adam Silver, it was far from a slam dunk that he would wind up in basketball. His professional path initially looked much the same as many corporate lawyers, including a clerkship with a federal judge and stint at the blue-chip Cravath law firm in New York City. As Silver began exploring possible next steps, he connected with then–NBA Commissioner David Stern. A lawyer himself, Stern was in the market for a special assistant who could “think like a lawyer,” Silver said.
Silver got the job, and the rest is NBA history. After joining the association in 1992, he held various positions, including chief operating officer and deputy commissioner. When Stern retired in 2014, Silver was named his successor.
Over the last decade, Silver has been instrumental in increasing league revenue, which has benefited both owners and players.
“There is no shortage of opportunities in the sports business for talented legal professionals.”
Adam Silver, ’88NBA Commissioner
There have, of course, been challenges along the way, including the COVID pandemic, which forced the NBA to temporarily suspend the season in March 2020. After consultation with players and other stakeholders, Silver and other NBA leaders decided to restart the season in July by creating an isolation zone inside Walt Disney World in Florida. The league brought in their own PCR testing machines and tested everyone each night until the end of the playoff games in mid-October.
Silver recently used his legal and analytical abilities in the complex process of negotiating new media rights deals. In July, the NBA signed agreements with Disney, NBC, and Amazon Prime Video that will bring the league $77 billion over eleven years.
“It’s complicated for several reasons,” Silver told the Associated Press in a recent interview. “One is the advent of new platforms, particularly streaming, and the interest of streaming companies and traditional media companies also carrying our games on streaming platforms. It’s complicated because with multiple partners, all seeking similar assets in many cases, you’re just figuring out the right way to balance those games as they go to different partners.”
To legal professionals aspiring to work in the sports industry, Silver has a few simple words of advice. “Be open-minded and unafraid to pursue what some might consider unconventional roles. There is no shortage of opportunities in the sports business for talented legal professionals. Sports are at the intersection of media, technology, health and wellness, and so many other areas, and sound judgment and decision-making from trained lawyers are critically important in navigating these issues.”
When asked what might surprise people about his role as NBA commissioner, Silver shared a revelation that, upon reflection, might not be so surprising to avid basketball fans: “What might surprise some people is how much time I spend dealing with ticket requests,” he said.
Sarah Horvitz, ’05, Major League Baseball Senior Vice President
Sarah Horvitz, ’05, began her journey into the world of sports early as a competitive skier. A member of the US Ski Team, her Olympic hopes were shattered by a career-ending knee injury ten months before the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City. Fortunately, Horvitz kept up with her studies throughout her athletic training and finished her BA at Wellesley College. A year later, she enrolled in the Law School.
Initially, Horvitz contemplated using her legal education to pursue a career as a sports agent. However, “the closer I got to that universe, and seeing how my friends and peers worked with their agents, and what their agents were responsible for, the more it struck me as a job I actually didn’t want to do,” she said.
Instead, Horvitz joined Skadden in its antitrust department, but continued to think about ways she could pair her legal career with her passion for sports. When she had the opportunity to move to another firm and help represent the national governing bodies of Olympic sports, she leapt at it. Her sports-related work included negotiating and drafting sponsorship agreements, participating in Olympic eligibility arbitrations, and assisting with arbitrations and litigation on behalf of the US Anti-Doping Agency.
In 2009, when Major League Baseball (MLB) came calling with an offer to join its legal department, Horvitz was eager to step up to the plate. Initially her work was focused on digital rights, which was an exploding growth area for MLB. An early adopter, MLB developed website and streaming platforms not only for itself, but for other sports leagues and entertainment companies as well. It was a heady time for Horvitz, who today serves as MLB’s senior vice president and head counsel, Business and Technology.
“The lawyers here are not here because (or just because) they are baseball fans. They are here because they are excellent lawyers.”
Sarah Horvitz, ’05Major League Baseball Senior Vice President
Less than a year after she took over her current role in 2019, the COVID pandemic began. “I don’t think I’ve ever worked harder than those first few months of the COVID pandemic,” she recalled. New technology tools and needs had to be reviewed, vetted, and finalized to go live, often on incredibly short timelines.
Baseball during this period went from suspending all games, to playing games in nearly empty stadiums, to using digital technologies to “populate” the stadiums with virtual fans, to reopening the games to full crowds again. Each of these operational changes had licensing, marketing, and consumer protection implications with which Horvitz and her team had to deal.
Horvitz describes a day in the life of her job today as working her way through a very long to-do list, responding to issues that crop up, and staying abreast of contract negotiations.
Being a lawyer for MLB in many ways is similar to being a lawyer for any large organization or business, Horvitz said. “The lawyers here are not here because (or just because) they are baseball fans. They are here because they are excellent lawyers. We are a consumer-facing business that builds and runs our own digital products across numerous platforms. We support a worldwide licensing business. Being knowledgeable across the breadth of MLB’s business operations is a critical aspect of what we have to do every day.”
Anil Gollahalli, ’00, Big Ten’s Chief Legal Counsel
Anil Gollahalli, ’00, took what he calls a “meandering path” to arrive in sports. After getting his BS in chemical engineering at the University of Oklahoma, he enrolled in the Law School contemplating a career in intellectual property law.
After a postgraduation federal clerkship, he joined a Dallas law firm doing IP litigation and licensing work. After several years in private practice, Gollahalli had the opportunity to move in house with the University of Oklahoma as its vice president for technology development in 2007. The move was a homecoming for the Norman, Oklahoma, native. A little less than two years later, he was tapped to be the university’s general counsel.
Gollahalli went from concentrating in IP to handling the full breadth of higher education issues, including free speech, academic misconduct, tenure and employment, and, of course, collegiate sports. “It was a pivotal time in college sports, and the IP background allowed me to take control of the portfolio of trademarks and how we did the licensing,” Gollahalli recalled. “We also had a very innovative athletics director who wanted to think through different business models.”
“When I was in law school, I never would have expected that I was going to be a sports lawyer.”
Anil Gollahalli, ’00Big Ten’s Chief Legal Counsel
Oklahoma was also engaged in a major conference realignment, moving from the Big Twelve to the Southeastern Conference. It was his work shepherding this change that put Gollahalli on the radar screen of the Big Ten Conference. In May 2022, after fifteen years with OU, he joined the Big Ten as its chief legal officer and general counsel, relocating to Chicago with his family.
The past couple of years have been eventful for Gollahalli and the conference, which expanded by four teams in 2024, adding Oregon, UCLA, USC, and Washington. The Big Ten also recently resolved a high-profile dispute with the University of Michigan over a disciplinary matter. In 2023, when the Big Ten was between commissioners, he briefly served as interim commissioner.
“It has been a fascinating time to be involved in college athletics,” Gollahalli said, noting that his background in IP has been particularly useful in dealing with name, image, and likeness issues, a hot topic in collegiate sports.
“When I was in law school, I never would have expected that I was going to be a sports lawyer,” he said. “It wasn’t on the career trajectory; it wasn’t even on the list of things that I might have thought about. But I have met some great people, developed some great relationships, and have really enjoyed it.”
Gollahalli’s advice to others with an interest in sports law is to remain flexible. “Make sure that you’re doing interesting things,” he said. “The opportunities will always be there, especially for University of Chicago lawyers, because the talent that comes through that law school is phenomenal.”
Chauntell Bobo, ’11, Women’s Tennis Association Deputy General Counsel
Chauntell Bobo, ’11, a first-generation college student, was not thinking of sports law when she enrolled at the Law School. She was looking at ways of combining her interests in business and law.
After she graduated, she worked at DLA Piper and Baker McKenzie as a corporate associate, managing a broad range of transactions. In 2016, she moved in house at a financial services company, DRW, where she became knowledgeable in cryptocurrencies and digital token investing. Interestingly, it was this fintech experience that put her on track to a career in sports.
While she was making great money being a crypto lawyer, it wasn’t where Bobo wanted to wind up. “I started thinking, what are my passion areas? Sports, travel, and wine. I wasn’t going to make any money drinking wine or traveling, so I started to think about what I could do in sports.”
“My experience in corporate law, sports betting, and crypto currency all came back in because I was doing deals of that nature.”
Chauntell Bobo, ’11Women’s Tennis Association Deputy General Counsel
Bobo became director of Legal and Business Affairs for FanDuel, a leading online sports betting and daily fantasy sports company. Her duties included handling issues related to governance, gaming licensing, sponsorships, and data privacy. She worked at FanDuel for two and a half years before landing a dream job” as assistant general counsel for the Golden State Warriors basketball team.
“My experience in corporate law, sports betting, and cryptocurrency all came back in because I was doing our sponsorship deals and the cryptocurrency deals and things of that nature,” Bobo said.
In 2022, less than a year after she joined the Golden State Warriors, the team won the NBA championship, an experience Bobo called “unforgettable.” She attended several Finals games and took part in the subsequent championship parade.
While she was really enjoying her time in basketball, Bobo decided to take the interview when she was contacted by a recruiter courting her to join the legal team of the Women’s Tennis Association. Bobo ultimately decided that the position, which allowed her to live anywhere and work fully remotely, was too good a match for her to pass up. In March, she joined the WTA as its new deputy general counsel.
Bobo almost immediately had the opportunity to fly to Madrid for board meetings and a major tournament, which she said provided her with “a crash course in tennis.”
Bobo’s main advice to legal professionals looking to join the sports industry is to be flexible in their thinking. “You can take a lot of different types of paths,” she said. “Are you willing to look at only the Golden State Warriors, or associations like the NBA and WTA? Are you willing to look at FanDuel or other sports-adjacent companies? There are lots of opportunities out there if you are willing to be flexible in your search.”
Daniel Render, ’12, Partner at Katten Muchin Rosenman
After graduating from Haverford College, Daniel Render, ’12, spent a summer interning for a minor-league baseball team in Baltimore. Using that position as a springboard, he landed an internship and then a full-time job working in sales and marketing for the Chicago White Sox.
While he loved being in sports, Render did not want to stay in sales and marketing for the long term. He considered furthering his education by going to business or law school, ultimately deciding that being a lawyer best aligned with his interests.
“I went to law school thinking I would like to parlay it into reentering the sports industry in a different way, but I was open to other things,” he recalled. “And then, lo and behold, I got to law school and found I was interested in a number of other areas (from general corporate law to free speech and constitutional law matters).”
“We were negotiating against Michael Jordan, who was my childhood hero, and his lawyers.”
Daniel Render, ’12Partner at Katten Muchin Rosenman
After he graduated, he took a job doing traditional corporate work with Sidley Austin LLP, which, at the time, did not have a robust sports practice. Render enjoyed his time at the firm, but when an opportunity presented itself to work at Katten and do sports-related work, it was a “no-brainer” for him to pursue it. “I got to stay in Chicago, do the same type of corporate work I was doing at Sidley, but for clients and an industry I was particularly interested in,” he explained.
Today, as a partner at Katten, Render represents a wide range of clients in the professional sports and technology industries. His clients include teams and ownership groups in the National Basketball Association, the National Hockey League, the National Football League, Major League Soccer, and Major League Baseball. He also represents arenas and stadiums, and investors and brands that sponsor teams, arenas, and stadiums.
A typical day for Render might involve drafting a sponsorship agreement for a team or brand, negotiating an investment transaction for a team, or talking to one of the professional leagues about the approval process for an ongoing transaction. “There is also a good deal of interpersonal interaction, reading, and analytical time, which is a really nice mix,” he said.
A favorite recent transaction of Render’s was representing a buyer group that purchased control of the Charlotte Hornets NBA team.
“We were negotiating against Michael Jordan, who was my childhood hero, and his lawyers,” Render recalled. “I was given the opportunity to sit in the first chair and lead all the negotiations, manage the process, and interact directly with our client and investors. We were also working on a compressed time frame. It was tremendously difficult and challenging, but once we got it done, tremendously rewarding.”
For Render, the most fulfilling part of practicing sports law is the strong relationships that naturally form with clients and the close-knit community of fellow lawyers. “I often find myself working with people I genuinely like, which helps reduce unnecessary disputes,” he noted.
Shelby Klose, ’17, Chicago Fire Football Club Deputy General Counsel
While an undergraduate at Drake University, Shelby Klose, ’17, had her first exposure to working for a professional sports team, interning for the Iowa Wild hockey team. “I really enjoyed the environment and experience,” she said.
At the Law School, Klose initially contemplated a corporate law career and enrolled in the Doctoroff Business Leadership Program. “As part of that, I met with [Associate Dean for Admissions] Ann Perry in my first year, and she asked what kind of internship I would like. I asked her if sports law was a job outside of the movies, and she said, ‘Yes!’” With Perry’s help, Klose secured an internship with Major League Baseball, working with Sarah Horvitz, ’05, and Mitchell Schwartz, ’03.
Klose began her legal career at Skadden, doing mergers and acquisitions work. She later moved to Katten, where she was able to gain exposure to the firm’s growing sports law group. At Katten, she had the opportunity to work on several major sports-related transactions, including the sales of the Kansas City Royals baseball team and Utah Jazz basketball team.
When an opportunity to go in house with the Chicago Fire soccer team opened up, Klose was ready to run with it. She joined the team as associate general counsel and has since moved to deputy general counsel, serving under another Law School alum, Chief Legal and Administrative Officer Laura Warren, ’03. Klose says Warren has been both a wonderful boss and mentor to her.
“I loved the show Ted Lasso, but one thing they got wrong is the business side.”
Shelby Klose, ’17Chicago Fire Football Club Deputy General Counsel
“Laura and I operate as a small law firm here at the Fire, doing a little bit of everything,” Klose said. “I think what differs about sports and entertainment law is that there is industry knowledge that’s important. There are types of agreements we work with that you would never run across in other jobs, such as broadcast rights, sponsorship, and naming rights agreements.”
Each league also has its own rules and governance structures that lawyers have to be conversant in, Klose pointed out.
Many people don’t realize how complex the business side of sports is, she said. “I loved the show Ted Lasso, but one thing they got wrong is the business side. On the show, there are three people working in the team’s front office: Rebecca, Higgins, and Keely. In real life, there are usually hundreds.”
Mark A. Cohen is the Assistant Dean for Communications at the Law School.