2025 TJSL NSLNC
October 13, 2025
Thomas Jefferson School of Law hosted the 15th Annual National Sports Law Negotiation Competition at its Downtown San Diego campus from October 10 through October 12, 2025. Forty teams from over twenty law schools competed to negotiate problems relating to the business of sports. In addition to all three San Diego law schools and others throughout California, teams competed from Colorado, Florida, Louisianna, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, Texas, and Wisconsin.
A unique aspect of this competition is that the competing teams gather for a networking event on the night before the competition. This gathering is designed to foster civility within the legal community by encouraging competitors and coaches from the competing schools to interact with each other in an informal setting.
This year, two teams from Stetson College of Law, and one each from the law schools at Chapman University and the University of Mississippi advanced to the final rounds. The team from Chapman Law School ultimately prevailed as the 2025 champion. A team from Stetson College of Law finished second, and a team from Ole Miss Law Center finished third.
This year’s negotiation problems involved hypothetical disputes arising when (1) a college athlete signed an endorsement deal with a different equipment provider from the one that sponsored his school and (2) a WNBA player was traded after her team learned that she was pregnant.
The event was judged by members of the legal community, some of whom traveled to San Diego from as far away as Los Angeles and Sacramento. The final round was judged by California Superior Court Judges Dwayne Moring and Roderick Shelton, along with the Dean and President of Thomas Jefferson School of Law, Linda Keller.