Sponsorship Agreements: Strategic Drafting and Risk Management in Event and Athlete Deals

Sponsorship agreements are often treated as routine marketing contracts, yet they frequently involve significant financial commitments, brand exposure, exclusivity rights, and reputational risk. Small drafting choices can materially affect enforceability, liability exposure, and business value. This program provides a structured, practical approach to drafting and negotiating sponsorship agreements in both event and athlete contexts, with a focus on managing risk and protecting client interests.

Attendees will learn how to structure sponsorship agreements that reflect the true business deal, draft enforceable deliverables, allocate risk through indemnification and limitation-of-liability provisions, and address intellectual property, termination, and morality clauses. The program also examines common negotiation pressure points and strategies to reduce disputes while aligning legal protections with commercial expectations. Attendees will leave with concrete drafting techniques they can implement immediately.

Practitioners at every level of practice will gain valuable skills from this course. It is also beneficial for business attorneys, in-house counsel, nonprofit counsel, entertainment and sports attorneys who draft, negotiate, or enforce sponsorship and marketing agreements, and litigators handling related contract disputes.

Learning Objectives:

• Draft and negotiate sponsorship agreements that clearly define deliverables, compensation, and exclusivity rights.
• Evaluate and allocate contractual risk through indemnification, insurance, and limitation of liability provisions.
• Examine and structure enforceable intellectual property, cancellation, and termination provisions to reduce exposure to disputes and protect client interests.
• Analyze leverage points in negotiations and draft provisions to mitigate disputes in both event and athlete sponsorship agreements.