Sports Law

The sports industry has made significant progression in the last few decades. This progression was largely enabled due to the role of law implication. Situations where laws are implemented to control and limit in the sports industry, are evident most primarily in athlete drug use, violence, and the over-paying of athletes.   These three aspects of sports are perhaps the most influenced by law and can be used as evidence for the relationship between law and sports.
The sports industry is largely influenced by the field of law. Every athlete representing a specific team in a pronounced league has been signed to a specific amount of money and time for their skill and representation through a contract. Contract law in sports however, has the potential to create huge problems between players and for entire leagues as a whole. Evidence that established laws have a tremendous effect on ongoing negotiations such as contracts can be illustrated through some examples. A key example of how law has had an effect on sports is illustrated by the lockdown that occurred in the National Hockey League (NHL) in 2005.   The NHL consists of 30 teams, whereby a team consists of up to 20 players. Each of these players has agreed to represent that team under the terms outlined in a contract that each player signed upon joining that specific team. This contract includes terms such as the players’ salary, physical expectations, restrictions, etc.   Near the end of 2003, the salary of hockey players in the NHL came under tremendous inspection after their yearly pay rolls seemed to reach an all time high. This issue had been noticed for many years along the NHL’s development and eventually became a problem. The NHL itself called for a lockdown period in which they underwent negotiations with the players to refine contracts, specifically in regards to the players’ salaries, in order to regain the league’s profitability.   According to the financial report issued by Arthur Levitt, the NHL is on a...