Alain Mathieu, partner and chair of the firm’s Sports & Entertainment Group, was quoted in Law360 discussing the growing role of private equity across the sports industry, from professional leagues to college athletics and related businesses.

Mathieu highlighted how investment activity is expanding beyond teams themselves into the broader sports ecosystem, particularly in athlete representation. “Sports agencies are being backed by private equity because they see opportunities there,” he said. “Any given athlete can be making six, seven, eight-figure deals as a matter of course, it’s becoming pretty routine. You are seeing private equity take notice, and a lot of money is being pumped into the agencies that support athletes.”

He also emphasized the importance of understanding the specific and rapidly developing NCAA rules, public university governance, state and federal laws, and applicable private contracts in college sports—particularly as private equity investment accelerates activity and dealmaking in the space. He noted, “I’ve been able to get college athletes out of very bad deals that they signed simply because the people around them had no idea that there is an entire body of law that governs their behavior,” adding that, “Their failure to comply with these laws was enough to get them out of those bad deals.”

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