The NFL often draws praise for its non-guaranteed contracts. Players are paid for present rather than past performance. The NFL would likely argue that this helps maintain the overall quality of play and competition throughout the league. NFL players argue that although they risk the most injury, and have the shortest careers, their contracts provide the least security. [...]
Former Patriot Tebucky Jones Sues Team Docs
August 11, 2009 By 1 Comment
New Britain native and former New England Patriot Tebucky Jones has filed suit in Massachusetts state court against Patriots’ team doctors, who he claims failed to diagnose and inform him of a tear of the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee suffered in August 2006. According to Jessica Fargen of the Boston Herald, Jones names Dr. [...]
Matt Cassel Rewarded for Perseverance, Performance
July 15, 2009 By Leave a Comment
In the opinion of this life-long Patriots fan, Matt Cassel was the most intriguing story of the 2008-09 NFL season. Cassel, in the last year of his contract, at 27 years old, was given the keys to a Patriots’ high-performance offense that rewrote the NFL records books the previous season. Here is what I wrote about Cassel’s [...]
UConn Football Plays Major Role in NFL Draft
April 27, 2009 By 27 Comments
When I was in law school at UConn, the bookstore sold a t-shirt emblazoned with the slogan: “UConn Law: A law school the basketball team can be proud of.” After this weekend’s NFL Draft, I wonder if we’ll see a new slogan – “UConn Football: a football team the basketball team can be proud of.” Although basketball [...]
Patriot Games: It’s Hard to Root for a Business
March 2, 2009 By 1 Comment
Free agency is underway in the NFL, and fans will hear a familiar refrain from players and teams alike: ”it’s just a business.” For example, the New England Patriots franchise made a couple of solid business decisions this past weekend. But in so doing the team lost a proven insurance policy at quarterback, Matt Cassel; and the heart [...]
CT Sports Law’s Top 10 Story Lines of 2008
December 30, 2008 By 1 Comment
As we approach the end of Connecticut Sports Law’s inaugural year, I have compiled a list of the top story lines and accompanying blog posts from 2008. Thank you for your readership and support and I look forward to another year covering the intersection of sports and the law. 1. UConn and Notre Dame agree to [...]
Thanksgiving Morsel: Patriots Contractually Obligated to Perform Community Service
November 26, 2008 By 4 Comments
Boston.com included an interesting note about the Patriots and their Thanksgiving spirit. Owner Robert Kraft and players Kevin Faulk, Sammy Morris, Ray Ventrone, Larry Izzo, Matthew Slater and Kevin O’Connell handed out foodbaskets to 200 families at Goodwill in Roxbury, Massachusetts on Monday. Perhaps more interesting is that Kraft reportedly includes a clause in every player’s [...]
Sports Briefs: Cassel’s Next Contract; UCONN Visits Syracuse; UConn and Texas Ink B-Ball Deal
November 14, 2008 By 2 Comments
Patriots QB Matt Cassel took one more step towards securing a big money contact in free agency, throwing for 400 yards, including 3 touchdowns, and running for another 62 in a heart-breaking loss to the Jets. Mike Lombardi, of The National Football Post, believes that Cassel’s value has increased to the point that the Patriots [...]
