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Legal, financial, social issues at SLA gathering

Afew elements struck me during back-to-back panels that I moderated at the Sports Lawyers Association in Denver earlier this month. The first session was with general counsels from the NBA, NFL, NHL, MLB and MLS, which was followed by a discussion among representatives from the NFLPA, NBPA, MLBPA, NHLPA and MLSPU. Here’s what you may want to keep track of after two of the more compelling discussions I’ll hear all year.

> THE BATTLE OVER PLAYER DATA: I couldn’t get over the level of disagreement and concern over the use and deployment of wearable technology and the data that comes from it. It easily struck the most passionate chord — especially among the player reps. Don’t think for a second there is uniformity of opinion how these devices should be used and especially about how the data is to be shared and owned. Not surprisingly, the players associations chastised me for even asking the question of who owns the data — players or management. NBPA Executive Director Michele Roberts actually gave me a quizzical look and said, “You really had to ask that question?” MLBPA Executive Director Tony Clark said that one of the most overlooked issues is the large number of players who want nothing to do with wearable technology for fear the data will be used against them — either publicly, or over playing time or in contract negotiations. Roberts jumped in declaring that clubs cannot use any of the data in contract negotiations. A few player reps questioned the accuracy of the data, surprising since many are in partnerships with the technology companies. But all sides agreed that owners and especially broadcast networks are pushing hard for player performance data, feeling it can be a fan and broadcast enhancement. On the league side, the message was that data should be split up in buckets — such as revenue-generating data, player/performance data, health/wellness data and other forms. As for management’s interest in exploiting new data points, the NHL’s Bill Daly said it best: “From an ownership perspective, anything that generates revenue is of interest.”

> CAN THE D- ‘AHEM’ G-LEAGUE PAY MORE? Roberts didn’t surprise me when she said little time was spent with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver on a minimum age requirement during the most recent round of CBA talks. The positions have been clearly staked out. Silver wants players to be at least 20 years old while Roberts has fought to keep the current age of 19. Both sides knew positions were entrenched, with little will to change, so it wasn’t a focal point of negotiations. What did surprise me is Roberts’ emphasis on focusing on improving moneymaking opportunities around the NBA D-League, or now the G-League. She stressed that salaries need to improve to make that a much more viable alternative for young players to work on their game and slowly get acclimated into the NBA culture. D-League salary levels this past season were $19,500 (B-Level) and $26,000 (A-Level) and the team salary cap was $209,000. “Some real money has to be paid these men,” she said. This development league is becoming an interesting laboratory of testing for the NBA and improving the financial resources around it will only make it a more attractive property for fans and media and corporate partners.

> FAN BEHAVIOR STILL A CONCERN: Player safety and fan behavior was a hot button for the player reps. While I failed to bring it up to the general counsels, Roberts talked of her visits to a number of NBA arenas and expressed great surprise at the varying levels of facility security. She complimented Madison Square Garden for its no tolerance policy, but expressed great frustration over the lackluster security at other venues, and said she’s seen time and again where fans — largely fueled by alcohol — hurl expletives and vulgar remarks at players, making for a very uncomfortable experience for fans and their families. She said fan comments were not racial in nature. But she expressed frustration that even when she got the attention of security, they ignored her and nothing would be done. She strongly stated it’s a growing issue for building managers and an area for improvement.

> STARTUPS FOR $1,000 PLEASE: I’m paying close attention to two new ventures established by the NFLPA and NBPA. First, the NFLPA-backed OneTeam Collective is an accelerator program that was launched in late 2016. It offers a mix of group licensing rights to NFL players, mentorship/counseling and investment funding. Its mission is to target companies across a broad spectrum of offerings, including data, content, wearables and consumer products. It’s already made an investment in Whoop wearable technology. The other effort to watch is the NBPA’s plan to develop its own licensing program, which Roberts touted with enthusiasm. Traditionally, the NBA paid the union a flat fee for those rights. Last year it paid $41 million, according to the union’s LM-2 filing. That changes under the new CBA, and Roberts was bullish that the PA will bring in more revenue than the previous figure. But she stressed, and cautioned, that this wasn’t set up as a competitor to the league’s efforts for sponsors and partners. It’s understandable the players are looking to control their own revenue streams and IP, but keep an eye on this, as the leagues and teams are concerned about what form this takes. More than a few NFL team officials have pressed me for information on what the NFLPA’s efforts are, wondering if they run counter to the league’s efforts, and expressed that the league’s reach and marks are more powerful, so efforts should be/could be coordinated. Certainly, on the NBPA front, it doesn’t sound like Roberts is itching to be out in the market competing against an NBA sales force in offering rights to intellectual property, but that’s generally what happens. File this under an issue to watch.

> WHAT ELSE CAUGHT MY ATTENTION: I wasn’t the only one who found Daly’s comments about an effort to better define hockey-related revenue in the future to be noteworthy. Hockey-related revenue is complicated, but largely it’s money from NHL games or events that include players or likenesses of players, but it also is a broad umbrella that includes media and internet revenue, signage, as well as parking and other facility-related revenue. Also, despite what may be floated recently from the international community, the likelihood of the NHL revisiting possible participation in the February Winter Olympics is near zero. Watching the responses and body language from both Daly and the NHLPA’s Steve Fehr gave little hope for any change of heart by the league or that the league will move off its spot — at least for 2018. The Beijing Games in 2022 will be an entirely new conversation.

> TOP ISSUES: The hot-button issues that speakers were watching were consistent with what we continue to hear: Future of gaming and gambling, esports luring a new fan base, the social activism of players, new technology, and, of course, changes to media consumption. Oh, and any conversation in Colorado would not be complete without talking about marijuana — but don’t hold your breath on any agreement over marijuana being approved as a form of medicinal or therapeutic recovery. Not surprisingly, there was very little agreement. The general counsels stated that the science behind marijuana as a therapeutic aid is nowhere near the few public voices pushing for it.

> OVERALL TONE: I find relationships between management and PAs always strained. There may be a spirit of cooperation publicly, but there remain underlying tensions and distrust. The sides — and personalities of the sides — are just different, and that’s what made the recent collective-bargaining success of the NBPA and MLBPA so admirable. But don’t mistake those deals as a sign for peace in our time. There are some serious concerns on the horizon, most notably player data and wearable technology, as well as any efforts to deregulate gambling and how that is monetized and shared. Those will be massive bellwether issues, and all this comes as the media landscape, which has fueled riches for both sides, is under major change. These topics, and the eventual disagreements, are only going to become more stark and complex in the future.

Abraham D. Madkour can be reached at amadkour@sportsbusinessjournal.com

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