Sports Law Alumni Leaders Took Their Own Route

By MICHAEL FISCH

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winter 2025

Last spring, when NFL, MLB, and DraftKings legal leaders—all Suffolk Law alumni—stepped onto campus for a wide-ranging panel discussion on everything from health privacy law to IP licensing, they underscored an important point for students set on following in their footsteps: There isn’t a singular road into sports law but rather a busy intersection of legal fields. The panel, with 80 students from the Sports & Entertainment Law Association in attendance, featured three Suffolk Law 1995 graduates who were all in the same section—and friends throughout law school: John Donovan, JD ’95, Sloane and Walsh, outside counsel for the NFL and NFL Physicians Society R. Stanton Dodge, JD ’95, DraftKings, chief legal officer and a President's Circle-level member of Suffolk University's Summa Society Larry Ferazani, JD ’95, NFL Management Council, general counsel Mandy Petrillo, JD ’06, assistant general counsel of the Boston Red Sox, served as moderator. The panelists’ divergent career paths underscored the range of skills and legal specialties that can lead to success. In the case of the NFL’s Larry Ferazani, for example, criminal law positions helped him make the transition. Growing up near Suffolk in Winchester, Massachusetts, he credits his early litigation experience—with internships facilitated by Suffolk Law in local district attorneys’ offices—as critical to landing his first post-graduation position as an assistant DA in The Bronx. He followed that with five years as a special agent with the FBI in New York, which included serving as the case agent for an undercover operation that resulted in the arrest of 50 defendants, including bankers from white shoe firms and associates of organized crime. He joined the Eastern District of New York as a federal prosecutor in 2004. A case involving some NFL players eventually landed him a job at the NFL as a labor counsel, litigating grievances on behalf of the league and clubs under the collective bargaining agreement with the NFL Players Association (NFLPA). Eighteen years later, he’s still with the NFL, leading the department that he joined and is also now responsible for negotiation, administration, and enforcement of the league’s collective bargaining agreements with players and game officials. Outside NFL Counsel John Donovan’s career demonstrates how a completely different type of practice–in his case, medical malpractice law–can be a gateway into sports lawyering. As a young lawyer at Sloane and Walsh, he watched as senior partners at the firm defended doctors charged with malpractice in the death of Celtics star Reggie Lewis. Years later, they won another malpractice case in which Tom Brady offered testimony. Ferazani later called upon Donovan and his firm to assist the NFL with sports medicine and medical privacy issues, which led to Donovan’s current work as outside counsel for the NFL Physicians Society, an independent society of NFL team doctors.

Photograph by Matt Patterson via AP

FROM SATELLITE DISHES TO SPORTS WAGERS R. Stanton Dodge’s career trajectory ran a path through corporate law. He joined DraftKings in 2017 as the chief legal officer after 21 years at the DISH Network. He moved to DraftKings because he wanted “the rush of working at a startup again”—especially at a company where the legal and government affairs teams would be integral to the company’s success. And he liked the idea of building something new and uncharted. The DraftKings job has required expertise in various legal areas, from navigating complex gaming regulations across different states to guiding the company through an initial public offering during the COVID pandemic, at a time when most live sports were at a standstill. FROM WEARABLES TO WAGERS: A COMPLEX WEB In addition to the various ways in which the panelists found their way into sports law, there are many others. For example, in an era of 24/7 sports coverage, caffeinated social media, and mobile phone betting apps, privacy issues are now very much on a pro sports lawyer’s menu. Donovan highlighted the delicate balance between medical privacy and public transparency. “NFL physicians must ensure they’re acting in the best interests of the patients, but also that they’re considering the transparency that the public demands,” Donovan said. Wearable tech that collects player information complicates the issue, raising questions about the line between a player’s private health data and what the public might consider performance metrics that ought to be shared, Donovan said. “A player that wakes up sick and might not be able to play in that day’s game could affect the betting line. It’s important that we are transparent about that so insiders don’t have an unfair advantage,” said Ferazani. The NFL is constantly reviewing with the NFLPA the ways in which the public is updated about players’ health status, he added. TAKING THE NFL GLOBAL Petrillo, who handles complex legal negotiations for the Red Sox, Fenway Sports Management, and NESN, asked Ferazani what keeps him awake at night. Without missing a beat, he replied, “Global expansion,” wondering aloud about the potential for an NFL team in Europe, South America, or elsewhere—and potentially opening up new areas in international law for sports attorneys. He also expressed concern about figuring out the best ways to continually attract young fans reared on streaming to football stadiums for live games. “The evolution of content delivery,” he said, “stands as one of the most significant challenges facing sports in the coming five to ten years.” The massive shift to streaming and short content implicates areas such as broadcast rights, digital media law, and international licensing agreements. SPORTS LAW TRAINING Given the diverse nature of sports law, the panelists offered students advice on how to prepare for the field. Dodge advised students to take classes in intellectual property licensing and bankruptcy, “two classes I had absolutely no interest in during law school,” he said, but which permeate the sports and corporate law fields. Donovan praised Suffolk’s No. 3-ranked legal writing program as great training for legal communication. “I’ve seen that Suffolk Law students write better than students from other schools in Boston and around the country,” he said. Petrillo recommended that students consider getting a foot in the door in an adjacent field such as IP, or with a regional sports network. “There’s a way to touch the industry without actually physically being in it every day,” she said. “Eventually, you’ll have the skills you need to break into the field.”

FROM LEFT: SUFFOLK LAW ALUMNI R. STANTON DODGE, JD ’95; JOHN DONOVAN, JD ’95; LARRY FERAZANI, JD ’95; AND MANDY PETRILLO, JD ’06

FROM LEFT: SUFFOLK LAW ALUMNI R. STANTON DODGE, JD ’95; JOHN DONOVAN, JD ’95; LARRY FERAZANI, JD ’95; AND MANDY PETRILLO, JD ’06 Photograph by Michael J. Clarke

Kristen Kuliga, JD ’94 Principal and Founder of K Sports & Entertainment LLC