Paul Loving

Paul Loving is a transactional attorney who advises individuals and brands in the sports, entertainment and consumer products sectors. Mr. Loving has 29 years of extensive experience working as outside and in-house counsel for startups as well as Fortune 500 companies.

Mr. Loving is highly knowledgeable in sports marketing matters, including athlete, team, event, and league endorsement, licensing and sponsorship agreements. Mr. Loving has drafted, structured and negotiated numerous sports marketing agreements, including agreements with the New York Yankees, Anschutz Entertainment Group, LA Kings, Boston Marathon, University of Miami, University of Kansas, University of Michigan, UCLA, Notre Dame, NFL, NBA, MLB, MLS, NASCAR, Patrick Mahomes, Aaron Rodgers, Von Miller, Dak Prescott, Joe Montana, Trevor Lawrence, Kris Bryant, Aaron Judge, Carlos Correa, Roger Clemens, Mark Gonzalez, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Carmen Jordá, Conor McDavid, Katie Ledecky, Steven Gerrard, Jozy Altidore, Candace Parker, James Harden, Damian Lillard, Derrick Rose, Trae Young, Donovan Mitchell and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Mr. Loving’s clients rely on his negotiation skills. He led the negotiating team for adidas’ historic long-term partnership with Kanye West and its multilayered partnership with Beyoncé, which includes the co-creation of performance and lifestyle products and a unique purpose-driven program. In addition, Mr. Loving has represented brands in deals with some of the biggest musicians, entertainers, influencers and events in the business, including Kendall Jenner, Kylie Jenner, Karlie Kloss, Soo Joo Park, Sophia Ritchie, Ming Xi, HoYeon Jung, Pharrell Williams, Donald Glover, Justin Bieber, Snoop Dogg, Bad Bunny, Black Pink, Selena Gomez, Katy Perry, Ciara, Rita Ora, Nicki Minaj, Dua Lipa, Ally Love, Robin Arzon, Hannah Bronfman, Ninja, Faze Clan, Stormzy, Missy Elliott, Darryl “DMC” McDaniels, Redman, Method Man, A$AP Rocky, Pusha T, Kid Cudi, 2 Chainz, Migos, Noel Gallagher, Martin Garrix, Shay Mitchell, Maya Jama, Lourdes Leon, Emily Ratajkowski, Hailey Bieber, Zoe Saldana, Ken Jeong, Chadwick Boseman, Jonah Hill, Ranveer Singh, Jimmy Kimmel, Lollapalooza, Something in the Water and Coachella.

He has also negotiated product collaboration and licensing agreements with athletic legends, international brands, renowned artists and chefs, and licensing companies including Lucas Films, Warner Bros., HBO, EON Productions (James Bond), Crayola, McDonalds, ICEE, Jeremy Scott, Stella McCartney, Jerry Lorenzo, Fear of God, Peloton, Def Jam Recordings, Muhammad Ali, Jesse Owens, Burton Snowboards, Reigning Champ, the Estate of Andy Warhol, Zaha Hadid, Mariana Abramović, Daniel Arsham, Sean Wotherspoon, Eddie Huang and the Collegiate Licensing Company. In addition, he represented Snoop Dogg in his partnership with Treasury Wine Estates regarding the Snoop 19 Crimes global wine franchise.

Mr. Loving is well-versed in negotiating master and publishing licenses for music used in global marketing campaigns and advises clients on content review and clearance, rights acquisition and content distribution, and issues related to SAG and FTC. He also negotiates and drafts television production and distribution agreements. Mr. Loving’s practice includes drafting and negotiating general business and commercial agreements, including mergers and acquisitions, marketing, vendor, sales, consulting, distribution, manufacturing and strategic alliance agreements.  He also works with incoming and exiting executives at sports, entertainment, media and consumer products companies on their executive compensation agreements and separation agreements.

Mr. Loving has prior experience as special counsel for adidas, and as assistant general counsel for Nike, where he handled sports marketing, advertising, entertainment, television and digital matters. Prior to that, he was vice president of business development and general counsel at a private equity-funded digital media sports and health content provider headquartered in Australia.

Mr. Loving served as a judicial clerk for the Oregon Supreme Court and significantly was the first African-American clerk in history to do so.

Mr. Loving continues to contribute to the legal community. He is an adjunct professor of sports law at the University of Oregon School of Law, and he is a frequent guest lecturer nationally on sports and entertainment law issues. During his undergraduate studies, Mr. Loving was a member of the 1987 NCAA Championship Track and Field team.