HOW ESPORTS ORGANIZATIONS CAN DRAFT SPONSORSHIP AGREEMENTS

What is one thing that all eSports players, teams, and organizations have in common? Their need for sponsorships. But once a sponsor is interested in a sponsorship opportunity, which may be difficult to achieve, a sponsorship agreement must be carefully drafted that identifies the terms of the sponsorship. This can be tricky if you have never drafted and negotiated such an agreement before. Below are 10 important elements to every eSports sponsorship agreement. This list is not meant to be all inclusive, but is an introduction to the bulk of the provisions which should be included in a sponsorship agreement.

1.       Identify the parties
For clarity, identify the parties right away in the contract. That includes both the Sponsor and Sponsee (the organization/team being sponsored) and their respective addresses.

2.       Length of Agreement
How long is the sponsorship agreement to last for? If the sponsorship is for an event, you want to make sure that the term of the agreement lasts through the expected duration of the event, and perhaps also leaving some additional days for timely rescheduling.

3.       Identify what is being sponsored
Is this an event sponsorship? A team sponsorship? Whatever the case may be, you want to specify what is being sponsored. If you’re a team, then briefly discuss the team, what you play, and maybe even some recent accomplishments to remind the Sponsor why they want to align with your brand. If you are putting on an event, then discuss the details of the event (i.e. if it’s a tournament, how it’s structured), and how it is broadcasted (if at all).

4.       Sponsor Responsibilities
This is where sponsorship agreements begin to get tricky. In this portion, you want to clearly define what the Sponsor’s responsibilities are. If the Sponsor is providing money, as many do, then specify how much, and the dates by which payment must be made.

If the Sponsor is providing products, defining the Sponsor’s responsibilities can be difficult. The Team would want this clause to be as broad as possible, allowing it greater access to products (in terms of amount or frequency). However, the Sponsor would want this clause to be narrow and tightly defined in order to limit its obligations to the team. Like with the cash sponsorships, time frames should be established when the products are to be provided. If the sponsorship is for a period of time where it would be expected that multiple rounds of products would be provided to the team, then it should also be defined how additional product requests will be made and handled. This contentious point must be negotiated thoroughly.

5.       Team/Organization Responsibilities
Conversely, the Sponsee’s responsibilities must be defined. Effectively, this section describes what the team or organization will be offering the Sponsor in exchange for the sponsorship. It can also be used to retain some exclusive rights (i.e. control over certain aspects of a tournament). The team or organization would want this provision to be drafted as narrowly as possible, to limit their exposure and obligations to the Sponsor, while Sponsors could seek to broaden this provision.

6.       Exclusivity
This provision is especially important, as it defines the exclusivity, or lack thereof, of a Sponsor. Teams and organizations obviously want to have more than one sponsor, so exclusivity provisions must be carefully drafted. Sponsees should seek to categorize the sponsorship narrowly, that way it can offer exclusive sponsorships in many categories. However, sponsors may seek to broaden any category they feel is too narrow. For example, a team would want to categorize a prospective soda sponsorship as an exclusive soft drink sponsorship, specifically excluding energy drinks (as there are some soda alternatives to energy drinks). This would allow the team to offer exclusive sponsorships for soft drinks and energy drinks, respectively, thus potentially increasing its sponsorship dollars.

7.       Sponsor’s promotional entitlement
This section describes what promotions the Sponsor is entitled to in exchange for their sponsorship. This section can be drafted broadly or narrowly, depending upon the specifics the Sponsor requires. Some examples of narrow provisions are specifying the size of the Sponsor’s name and logo that will be used on a stream, how often the stream’s casters mention the Sponsor, and the specifics of website promotion (banner size, placement, etc.). An example of a broad provision would be limited social media promotion at the discretion of the Sponsee.

8.       Intellectual Property
Promotion of the Sponsor necessarily entails that intellectual property will be used, including the Sponsor’s name, and possibly logos. It is necessary to include a provision stating that the Sponsee can use such intellectual property to further the goals of the sponsorship agreement. Also worth including is a provision allowing for the limited use of the Sponsor’s intellectual property in the future, as it pertains to recordings or repackagings of the event or team during the sponsorship term. This gives Sponsees the flexibility to use old content without having to blur any names or logos.

9.       Cancellation provisions
These provisions are extremely important, as they define when the Sponsor and Sponsee may cancel the agreement. Such provisions are very context dependent, and as a result, vary from contract to contract. One such example would be the cancellation of a sponsorship if a certain number of teams withdraw from the event being organized by a Sponsee.

10.   Miscellaneous provisions
Several miscellaneous provisions should be added to the end of the contract, including, but not limited to, choice of law, arbitration, indeminity, waivers of liability, warranties, notice, and severability. 

Drafting sponsorship agreements is no easy task, but the above should serve as a basic intro guide to drafting the meat of the agreement. It is important to remember that the strength of any contractual relationship is equal to the strength of the contract itself. If you need any assistance drafting or negotiating sponsorship agreements, contact me at [email protected] or (917) 477-7942.