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Alexander Steinberg

Alexander Steinberg

Partner
About

Alexander Steinberg has extensive experience advising sports and media-related clients in a wide variety of transactional based matters. His practice focuses on:

  • Content licensing and distribution
  • Corporate transactional matters, including acquisitions and dispositions
  • Sponsorship matters, including naming rights agreements
  • Gaming matters, including market access agreements
  • Financing transactions, and other matters relating to general corporate practice

Alex regularly provides counsel to programming networks, broadcast stations and other rights holders across a full spectrum of legal and strategic business matters, including domestic and international affiliation agreements (both with traditional distributors and "over the top" distributors), content distribution and licensing, and distribution via emerging technologies.

Alex has represented buyers, sellers and sports franchises in the National Football League, National Basketball Association, National Hockey League, Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer and European football leagues. In addition to representing clients in strategic transactional matters, Alex acts as an advisor to the firm's sports and media clients on a wide range of general business law matters.

Bar admissionsNew JerseyNew York

EXPERIENCE

Alex joined DLA Piper as Of Counsel in October 2019. Prior to that, Alex was an attorney at the National Football League where he was responsible for a broad range of media-related transactional and strategic matters across broadcast and cable television, digital and social media and connected devices and technology. In this role, Alex served as the legal point of contact in connection with the NFL's content licensing business and partnerships with emerging and social media platforms, the distribution of NFL Network and NFL RedZone programming services and the NFL's international media business. Alex also advised the NFL business team on commercial aspects of the NFL's Next Gen Stats initiatives as well as other League data licensing.

Prior to the NFL, Alex was an Associate at DLA Piper LLP (US) in the Media, Sports and Entertainment sector.

Alex's experience at DLA Piper LLP (US) includes the representation of:

Recent Matters

  • The E.W. Scripps Company on general matters related to Scripps Sports, including recent content rights deals with the WNBA and the NHL's Las Vegas Golden Knights.
  • Qatar Sports Investments in connection with its strategic partnership and investment transaction with Arctos Sports Partners in which Arctos acquired a minority stake in Paris Saint-Germain (PSG)
  • Portland Thorns FC in its sale to RAJ Sports, led by the Bhathal family
  • Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) in connection with its minority investment in Monumental Sports & Entertainment.
  • San Diego FC, in connection with the acquisition of expansion rights from MLS for an MLS-record setting expansion fee as well as its entrance into a long-term lease with San Diego State University
  • NBA's Phoenix Suns and WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury in connection with their sale to Mat Ishbia for an NBA record setting $4 billion
  • Sorare SAS in connection with its agreements with the National Basketball League, NBA Players Association, Major League Baseball and Major League Baseball Players Association
  • Paycor in connection with its stadium naming rights agreement with the Cincinati Bengals for the naming rights to Paycor Stadium
  • For Soccer Ventures in various corporate and commercial matters
  • AS Roma SPV, LLC, the majority shareholder of Italian soccer club AS Roma in its sale of the controlling interest to the Friedkin Group
  • Northland Investment Corporation and Larry Gottesdiener in the acquisition of the Atlanta Dream, a WNBA franchise
  • A major social media platform in the launch of its first ever NFT collection
  • Ares Management Corporation in a US$150 million preferred equity investment in Major League Soccer’s Inter Miami CF
  • Ted Segal in the acquisition of majority position of Major League Soccer’s Houston Dynamo FC and the National Women’s Soccer League Houston Dash
  • Los Angeles Chargers in various corporate and commercial matters
  • Richard Graham and Striker Partners in connection with various matters related to For Soccer Ventures, LLC and its affiliated companies
  • Houston Dynamo and Houston Dash in its partnership with Fubo Gaming
  • Major League Soccer’s Austin FC in its partnership with PointsBet
  • Subaru of America on its naming rights agreement with Major League Soccer’s Philadelphia Union for Subaru Park
  • A major sports and entertainment content company in various licensing and sponsorship matters
  • A major sports and entertainment company in the launch of a new Latin America focused direct-to-consumer video platform
  • A major Korean media company in various commercial agreements and content license agreements

Representative Matters 2012—2017

  • Major League Soccer's Los Angeles Football Club in connection with the private financing of its new, 22,000-seat, soccer-specific stadium in South Los Angeles
  • Three existing minority investors in connection with their acquisition of controlling interest in Major League Soccer's Los Angeles Football Club
  • A leading New York-based global entertainment company's contribution of a video streaming service to a new joint venture with a Hollywood-based leading global entertainment studio
  • The sale of a US-based sports genre pay TV and OTT channel to a non-US media conglomerate, including advising on cross border structuring and media rights
  • Owners of Atlanta Hawks in auctioned sale of NBA team and operating rights to Philips Arena
  • ESPN, Inc. in connection with distribution matters
  • Arthur M. Blank (Atlanta Falcons owner) in the acquisition of Major League Soccer's 22nd expansion team, to play in Atlanta in 2017
  • AS Roma (Serie A) and Raptor Sports Group in connection with its equity capital raise and stadium development project
  • Abu Dhabi United Group in the acquisition, together with the New York Yankees, of Major League Soccer's 20th expansion club, New York City Football Club
  • Investors in the purchase of a minority interest in the Oakland Raiders football team
  • The buyer of a minority ownership interest in the Brooklyn Nets from Shawn C. (Jay-Z) Carter
  • The San Francisco 49ers in the refinancing of their initial stadium construction loan for Levi's Stadium
  • Al Jazeera Media Network in its strategic acquisition of Current TV
  • Atlanta Spirit Group in connection with the sale of a minority interest in the Atlanta Hawks
  • The buyers of minority ownership interests in Los Angeles Football Club, Major League Soccer's expansion team, to play in Los Angeles in 2017

In addition, during law school, Alex worked in-house as the project law associate in the legal department at ESPN Inc., where he assisted lawyers in the drafting, negotiating and review of contracts, and helped manage various litigation matters.

Additionally, prior to receiving his law degree, Alex worked for James Grant Sports (now YMU Group), a leading talent management agency, where he served as the marketing coordinator and managed all public relations and marketing opportunities for James Grant Sport's US soccer clients.

Education
  • J.D., Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law
  • B.B.A., International Business and Sport Management, George Washington University

Awards

  • Selected, Variety, "Dealmakers Impact Report," 2020, 2021, 2023

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