It’s got to be refreshing for attorneys to take note of Ahmad Nassar’s career path. Nassar, the President of NFL Players Inc. (the licensing arm of the NFL Player’s association), began his career as a litigation associate at Latham Watkins and Patton Boggs before moving in-house with the NFLPA. For those who would like to believe that a J.D. can be a pathway to a business career, Nassar is certainly validating evidence.
Law meets business is at the heart of a new initiative that Nassar has spearheaded at Players Inc., the OneTeam Collective, which allows Players Inc to partner with Silicon Valley mega funds like Kleiner Perkins and the growing wave of new start-ups. Many athletes from Joe Montana to Carmelo Anthony have set up venture funds to invest in start-ups, but not every athlete makes Carmelo Anthony money. The OneTeam Collective allows the other 99% of athletes to invest in start-ups, in part by allowing the start-ups to make use of the players’ likeness. For years, Players Inc. was able to cover all its expenses through licensing deals with video games, but now Players Inc is both diversifying its portfolio and allowing athletes to get more involved in the start-up gold rush.
In a week that has both the Legaltech Show in NYC and the Super Bowl in Houston, I could think of no better way to highlight innovation then to host Nassar here on ATL. Speaking of innovation, thanks to Relativity for sponsoring today’s conversation and shedding light on innovative lawyers like Ahmad.
Zach Abramowitz is a former Biglaw associate and currently CEO and co-founder of ReplyAll. You can follow Zach on Twitter (@zachabramowitz) or reach him by email at [email protected].