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Judge Rules Basketball Player Ineligible
An Alabama circuit judge denied Charles Bediako’s request for a preliminary injunction, ending his 2025–26 season after the NCAA deemed him ineligible because he entered the 2023 NBA draft, signed a two-way deal and played professionally in the G League. Judge Daniel F. Pruet concluded Bediako lacked a reasonable expectation of regaining college eligibility under those circumstances and failed to satisfy key injunction factors, including irreparable harm and a reasonable likelihood of success on his antitrust claims. The NCAA characterized the ruling as a common-sense defense of member eligibility rules against professionals returning to college, while Alabama argued the NCAA’s inconsistent treatment of players with prior professional experience is what is fueling the current instability. The decision underscores that as pay opportunities expand in college sports, eligibility disputes will increasingly turn on consistent application of eligibility rules and the distinction between professional and student athletes.
Judge Rules Alabama Men’s Basketball Player Ineligible
NFL Nears Commissioner’s $25B Revenue Goal
X Games Partners with Stake
NBA Launchpad Adds Five Tech Startups
China’s Freestyle Skier Highest-Paid Winter Olympic Athlete
NFL Super Bowl Contenders Face California Tax Bill
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Sheppard's Sports Industry Team is uniquely positioned to address the complex and dynamic needs of our sports industry clientele. Our sports practice offers the expertise necessary to provide full service legal counsel to owners, teams, leagues, governing bodies, facility operators, key rights holders, advertising companies, sponsors and others involved in sports-related transactions or disputes.
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A weekly summary of the key trends and stories in sports business.
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The NFL is nearing commissioner Roger Goodell’s long-standing goal of surpassing $25 billion in annual revenue by 2027, after generating roughly $23 billion in the fiscal year ending last March. Growth is driven primarily by escalators in the league’s media deals (roughly $11.4 billion per year), expanding corporate partnerships, and ancillary media income. Sources estimate that last year’s total included roughly $14 billion of national revenue shared across teams, $8.3 billion in local team revenue, and the remainder retained by the league, with another ~8% year-over-year increase would put the NFL at or near $25 billion imminently. One significant strategic lever is that once the league crosses $25 billion, it strengthens the case for earlier and more aggressive renegotiation of rights—via the 2029 opt-out and potential schedule expansion—effectively converting revenue momentum into increased bargaining power against media partners.
NFL Nears Commissioner’s $25 Billion Revenue Goal
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The X Games has announced a groundbreaking global partnership with Stake, making the online casino and sports betting company the exclusive official casino and betting partner for its new league-based format, XGL. As part of the deal, all XGL events and athlete drafts will be live streamed exclusively on Stake’s Kick platform, integrating real-time betting odds and interactive features powered by Alt Sports Data. The collaboration includes launching an Athlete Ambassador Fund for co-branded content, with X Games leadership positioning this as a strategic move to increase athlete earning opportunities, deepen fan engagement and modernize action sports through enhanced digital experiences and global reach.
X Games Partners with Stake
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The NBA announced the fifth cohort of its NBA Launchpad innovation program, selecting five emerging technology companies from more than 200 evaluated worldwide to pilot solutions that advance the game and grow the league’s business. The companies will participate in a six-month pilot with hands-on support from the NBA and WNBA, culminating in a Launchpad Demo Day at the 2026 NBA Summer League in July in Las Vegas. This year’s cohort includes Atlas (brain-sensing wearable for cognitive “clarity”), Peripheral Labs (photorealistic 3D reconstruction and player/ball tracking), Swish Basket (AI-driven on-court training and analytics), CRED (predictive sponsorship lead-generation intelligence) and Diddo (API enabling shoppable moments within media platforms).
NBA Launchpad Adds Five Tech Startups
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Coverage of the 2026 Winter Olympics will emphasize U.S. athletes, while simultaneously focusing on featuring Eileen Gu, a 22-year-old freestyle skier who competes for China despite growing up in San Francisco. Gu’s cross-cultural profile and Beijing 2022 success helped build a major endorsement platform, driving an estimated $23 million in 2025 earnings—more than any athlete expected to compete in the 2026 Winter Olympics. While freestyle skiing offers limited prize money, Gu’s income is dominated by global and Chinese sponsorships, including deals that can activate during the Games through Olympic marketing rights. Gu’s prominence illustrates sponsor-driven storytelling, where market access and brand compatibility can outweigh the passport on an athlete’s bib.
Sponsorship Deals Help China’s Freestyle Skier Become Highest-Paid Winter Olympic Athlete
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Super Bowl LX was played in California—the state that has the nation’s highest top income-tax rate—meaning that the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks players will face meaningful state tax exposure. Under the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement, every player on the winning team receives $178,000 and every player on the losing team receives $103,000, but those amounts (and portions of their regular compensation) can be subject to California tax. California applies a jock tax to nonresident athletes based on the share of duty days spent in the state, and additional California games later in 2026 may increase the taxable portion of players’ income. The broader takeaway is that for high earners, venue and scheduling can function like a hidden “transaction cost” of competition—one that can materially change net compensation even when headline pay is identical.
NFL Super Bowl Contenders Face California Tax Bill
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Weekly Trivia Question
Weekly Trivia Question
Which NFL team holds the modern era record for longest losing streak of all time at 26 straight games?
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Tampa Bay Buccaneers
REveal Answer
Other than the Chicago Bears, what other current NFL team existed since the founding year in 1920?
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The X Games has announced a groundbreaking global partnership with Stake, making the online casino and sports betting company the exclusive official casino and betting partner for its new league-based format, XGL. As part of the deal, all XGL events and athlete drafts will be live streamed exclusively on Stake’s Kick platform, integrating real-time betting odds and interactive features powered by Alt Sports Data. The collaboration includes launching an Athlete Ambassador Fund for co-branded content, with X Games leadership positioning this as a strategic move to increase athlete earning opportunities, deepen fan engagement and modernize action sports through enhanced digital experiences and global reach.
X Games Partners with Stake
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