Author
Alex Kagianaris, Esq.
The Lew Firm APC, Beverly Hills · Admitted: California, Bar No. 218852
I am an entertainment and sports attorney at The Lew Firm APC in Beverly Hills, operating at the intersection of law, business strategy, and emerging technology, with a focused practice in AI, NIL, IP, and complex commercial transactions. I publish Sports Legal Audit as a practicing attorney.
I advise athletes, creators, executives, and companies on structuring and negotiating high-value deals across entertainment, sports, media, and brand-driven businesses. My work includes endorsement and sponsorship agreements, media and content deals, IP licensing and exploitation, NIL monetization structures, equity and revenue-share arrangements, and technology-forward commercial agreements.
A core area of my practice is AI risk and value allocation — ownership of outputs, training data rights, voice and likeness replication, derivative works, and downstream commercialization. I work where traditional contracts break under new technology and where poorly drafted agreements quietly destroy long-term value.
I approach transactions with an operator's mindset, not just a legal one. Incentives, leverage, scalability, and downside protection drive my analysis. Clients rely on me to anticipate second-order consequences, align legal structures with business objectives, and protect future optionality — not just close the deal at hand.
I routinely serve as outside counsel and strategic advisor alongside management teams, founders, and talent representatives, bridging legal precision with commercial execution.
Core focus areas: Entertainment and sports transactions · AI and emerging tech risk · NIL and brand monetization · IP ownership and licensing · Talent and creator deals · Business and commercial law
Elsewhere
Published — 96 entries
- Private Equity Isn't Waiting on College Sports' Revenue. It's Waiting on Congress and Something It Can Own.
- The WNBA's Game 6 Matinee Broke No Ticket Contract. The Real Problem Was a Contract the Dream Never Had.
- The Warriors Can't Stop Paying Porzingis Because He's Sick. They'd Have to Prove He's Refusing.
- Anthropic's IPO Won't Pay Its Sports Backers on Listing Day. The 180-Day Lockup Decides When It Does.
- The Knicks' Fake Ring Email Was Legal. New York Requires Notice, Not Consent.
- The Rays Won the Replay. If They Hadn't, They'd Have Had No Appeal. That's the Right Rule.
- The Shortcut That Saved Division III's Scholarship Ban in 2013 Is Gone. Now the NCAA Has to Defend It.
- NC State, Maryland and Baylor Owe Fired Coaches $30 Million. The Costliest Mistake Was Made at Signing.
- Malik Beasley's Plea Will Settle His Criminal Case. The NBA's Own Rulebook Will Decide His Career.
- Can a Stadium Kick You Out for Your T-Shirt? What Your Ticket Actually Gives You
- Netflix's Live-Sports Bet Is Shaped by a 1961 Antitrust Law. That's Why It Gets Holidays, Not Seasons.
- The Brewers Probably Kept the Letter of the Timeless Ticket. They Paid for Breaking Its Spirit Anyway.
- Can a Player Sue the Team Doctor? Workers' Comp, Malpractice and the NFL CBA
- The Next WNBA Commissioner Won't Fix the CBA. Players Already Won It. The Real Fix Is Who the Job Reports To.
- A $2,809 World Series Ticket Is Legal. Hiding Part of the Price Until Checkout Isn't.
- How the NBA Second Apron Works: Trade Limits, the Pick Freeze and the Tax
- Can MLB Owners Force a Salary Cap? They Can Lock Out the Players. They Can't Impose the Cap.
- Can a Game Result Be Overturned?
- The NCAA Is Right That Ohio Can't Rewrite Its Eligibility Rules. It May Have Sued Too Soon.
- Can MLB Owners Force a Salary Cap? The Lockout Law, Explained
- A 24-Team College Football Playoff Isn't the NCAA's Call. It's a Contract Between ESPN and Two Conferences.
- Can a European Club Block NBA Eligibility? Aday Mara, Zaragoza and the Letter of Clearance
- ESPN Isn't Losing Troy Aikman to an Argument. It's Risking Him on a Calendar.
- Alaric Jackson's Punch Came After the Whistle. That's Why It Cost Him Two Games.
- Kentucky Couldn't Negotiate Its $500,000 Field-Storming Fine. It Needed 90 Seconds.
- Is a League-Wide NIL Contract an Antitrust Problem? What Athletes and Families Should Check
- Will Man City Be Relegated? Guilty on Every Financial Charge, and Still No Punishment. Here's Why.
- What Happens When a Club Breaks Financial Rules? Points, Fines and Expulsion
- The Fan Interference Call Was Right. The Run That Decided It Came From One Official's Opinion.
- Are Prediction Markets Gambling? The NFL Told the Supreme Court Yes. What It Really Wants Is a Referee.
- Can Athletes Endorse Prediction Markets? League by League
- The EuroLeague Can Say No to the NBA. EU Law Won't Let It Stop Its Clubs From Saying Yes.
- LeBron's Fanatics Helicopter Is Legal. The Line That Makes It Legal Is the Problem.
- The NFL Held a Referee to the Same Standard as a Player. The Officials' Union Contract Decides If It Sticks.
- The NCAA's Concussion Rule Keeps Coaches Out of the Decision. It Doesn't Let the Player In.
- A Public Bears Stadium Is the Right Deal. It Only Kills the Tax Bill If One Clause Makes the Bill.
- The Pistons Paid $10 Million to Beat a Threat the CBA Had Already Neutralized.
- Japan Can't Wall In Its Stars. Its Real Problem This Winter Is MLB's Labor Fight.
- Can an Association Restrict Who Is Eligible to Compete?
- What NIL Go Actually Reviews, and What Gets a Deal Rejected
- Can a School Make You Pay to Transfer?
- Golden State Didn't Get a Discount on Curry. It Bought All the Risk.
- The Labor Exemption, and Why College Sports Doesn't Have One
- Massachusetts Already Regulates Sportsbook AI. The Rule Turns on What DraftKings Knew.
- The Paramount Settlement Protects Movies and CNN. Nobody Asked About Sports.
- Which Antitrust Exemptions Sports Actually Has
- The Senate's College Sports Bill Isn't About NIL. It's About Antitrust Immunity.
- Apollo's Yankees Stake Might Already Be Over MLB's Cap
- The International Team Asked for Independence. The Tour Is Offering Permission.
- How Morals Clauses Actually Work
- What Dead Cap Is and Why It Cannot Be Avoided
- Semenya v. IAAF
- Phil Mickelson's LIV Money Was Never Just $200 Million
- Did the "Cohen Tax" work or backfire?
- What a Private Association Can and Cannot Do
- What Salary Cap Circumvention Actually Means
- Who Actually Regulates Sports Betting
- What the Franchise Tag Actually Does
- What Is a Trade Kicker? NBA Trade Bonuses and Salary Matching
- Who Actually Has to Approve a Franchise Sale
- Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association
- PGA Tour, Inc. v. Martin
- Clay, aka Ali v. United States
- Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972
- How College Coaching Buyouts Work
- Twenty-one eligibility suits, one motion, and a clock that does not care.
- In re NCAA Eligibility Rules Antitrust Litigation, MDL No. 3198
- Federal Baseball Club v. National League
- Haywood v. National Basketball Association
- Flood v. Kuhn
- The Messersmith–McNally Arbitration
- Robertson v. National Basketball Association
- White v. National Football League
- American Needle, Inc. v. National Football League
- NCAA v. Alston
- What an Associated Entity Is, and Why It Decides Everything
- The Hearing Opportunity Is Not a Hearing
- A Renewal Can Be a Reduction
- What a School May Not Rely On to Cut Your Aid
- Five of Miami's top six salaries aren't on the team.
- The bettor isn't the licensee. That's why the review is of FanDuel.
- The Clippers didn't overpay Kawhi. They routed around the cap.
- LSU's roster costs twice the cap. Both numbers are real.
- "Does not set a precedent" is a drafting choice, not a disclaimer.
- The Browns aren't stuck with Watson. They're stuck with the restructure.
- The Lakers price isn't the story. The fund structure is.
- House v. NCAA
- Johnson v. NCAA
- In re NFL Sunday Ticket Antitrust Litigation
- NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement
- State NIL Statutes — Conflict Tracker
- Major League Baseball Collective Bargaining Agreement — 2026 expiration
- KalshiEX LLC v. state gaming regulators — sports event contracts and CEA preemption
- What Does "Guaranteed" Actually Mean in a Pro Contract?
- How NIL Collectives Are Actually Structured
- League Discipline Is Not a Legal Proceeding
Commentary and analysis, not legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is formed through this content.