Adam Sullins
Counsel
Adam Sullins is a counsel in O’Melveny’s Century City office and a member of the Entertainment, Sports and Media Practice. With years of sports industry experience and contacts, Adam's practice focuses primarily on representing professional teams, team owners and investors, leagues and organizations, corporate sponsors, content owners, rights holders, licensees, television networks, and athletes on various matters throughout the industry such as the acquisition/sale of professional sports franchises, broadcast and new media transactions, corporate sponsorship and endorsement deals, licensing, and strategic ventures.
After developing a broad transactional practice at O'Melveny, Adam spent approximately five years at The Upper Deck Company, a leading sports and entertainment trading card, collectibles, and memorabilia company.
As Vice President and General Counsel for Upper Deck, Adam oversaw the business and legal affairs of the company, including licensing, acquisitions and other ongoing matters with professional sports leagues, players’ associations, and prominent individual athletes from the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, MLS, PGA, and LPGA, as well as with various sports companies and talent agencies. Adam brought with him the industry expertise he developed at Upper Deck when he re-joined O’Melveny in August 2009.
Illustrative Professional Experience
- Represent the San Diego Padres baseball club and ownership on the sale of the franchise, including its interest in a regional sports network
- Represent the ownership group led by Robert Pera in its acquisition of the Memphis Grizzlies basketball team
- Represent the ownership group led by Rick Caruso in its bid for the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball club
- Represent the ownership group led by Jason Levien and Erick Thohir in its acquisition of a controlling ownership interest in DC United of the MLS
- Represent the International Olympic Committee in connection with the renegotiation of its financial arrangement with the United States Olympic Committee
- Represent the International Olympic Committee in connection with the US$4.38 billion licensing of broadcast and new media rights in the United States, and in connection with various sponsorship and other matters
- Advise Jason Levien in the acquisition and subsequent disposition of an ownership interest in the Philadelphia 76ers basketball team
- Represent Hollywood producer/director Mike Tollin on the launch of Mandalay Sports Media, a joint venture with Mandalay Entertainment Group
- Advise NFL Players Incorporated in connection with various digital media, broadcast, and television production endeavors
- Advise Manny Pacquiao on international endorsement and spokesman agreements
- Represent Univision Communications in its bid to acquire broadcast and new media rights for upcoming FIFA World Cups
- Represent a high-net-worth individual in the pursuit of a minor league baseball team
- Represent an NFL team and ownership in the potential sale of a minority ownership interest in the franchise
- Represent a Major League Baseball team in the early stages of the creation of a new regional sports and entertainment network and a related multi-year broadcast license agreement
- Advise a premier corporate sponsor in connection with its BCS football bowl sponsorship
- Represent a major sports rights holder in the potential creation of a new sports network
- Represent an entertainment executive in connection with the strategic formation of film production and distribution companies
- Represent an entertainment film company in connection with various strategic alliances and transactions
- Represent one of the world's leading concert promotion and touring companies in the acquisition of a touring division that produces music tours, shows, and events
- Represent a leading publisher of interactive video games in its acquisition of a boutique video game publisher and exclusive worldwide rights to develop and publish interactive games based on certain motion pictures
Professional Activities
Member, Sports Lawyers Association; Century City Bar Association
Speaker, "Entertainment Law in the Law Firm Setting," Southwestern Law School's Entertainment Law Career Day (February 2010)
Moderator, "Out of Workplace Misconduct in Sports; "ABA Sports Panel (2010)
Honors, Named by
Variety as an “Up Next” Dealmaker (2012)