WSHC+B’s partner Alan Fertel’s thriving Sports Law Practice was featured in South Florida Business & Wealth. The firm has recently added three decorated Olympic athletes as new clients. Alan, who is chair of the firm’s Sports, Arts and Entertainment Law practice group represents swimmers Caeleb Dressel, winner of five gold medals this summer in Tokyo, and Bobby Finke, along with Olympic speed-skater turned baseball player Eddy Alvarez.
Fertel’s sports representation practice is reaching new heights due to his work with Dressel, who he has known since the swimmer’s standout career at the University of Florida. He began negotiating business contracts for Dressel as he became an Olympic hopeful and eventually into and through the 2020 Summer Olympics. As the pandemic affected the world, Fertel was tasked with renegotiating Dressel’s endorsement contracts so they would be in effect for the Olympic Games in Tokyo that took place in the summer of 2021 – a year after they were originally planned for.
In addition to representing Olympians, Fertel represents other individuals and entities in the sports, arts and entertainment space, from athletes and entertainers to coaches, athletic directors, teams, agents, leagues, radio stations, models, modeling agencies, restaurants and clubs.
With the recently signed NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) legislation in Florida, the firm plans to expand its sports practice with the hiring of additional sports and entertainment attorneys as well as further developing relationships with agents, coaches and sports professionals to best serve the influx of college athletes in need of representation.
“As a lawyer, this is an exciting path to take, and as society continues to evolve with social media and new rules for athletes emerge, it will only continue to become more exciting, complex and more reason for athletes, whether college-level or professional, to seek legal representation,” said Fertel. “The new NIL legislation for Florida-based college athletes opens up a whole new window of possibilities for student athletes, and I’m looking forward to seeing what we can accomplish. With the growth of this practice area at the firm, we are equipped to guide student athletes on a path to lifelong success that takes them beyond their athletic careers.”
On behalf of his athlete clients, Fertel has negotiated endorsement and sponsorship contracts with major consumer brands such as, Google, Speedo, Coca-Cola, Comcast, Hershey’s, Toyota, Omega, Beats and GrubHub. He has also consulted with eight first round draft picks in the NFL draft and negotiated the Principal Hosting Agreement for the 2014 Miss Universe Pageant, as well as the broadcast agreements with the Miami Marlins, Miami Dolphins, Florida Panthers, and the University of Miami Hurricanes. He has acted as counsel to the Miami-Dade Special Olympics, World Series of Boxing, the National Senior Games and the World Water Skiing Championships.
Fertel was recently a featured speaker on two panels this past November for the North American Law Summit about the new Florida NIL bill and the intersection of the Olympics, COVID-19 and sports.
