| Biography:
Jon Oram is a partner in Proskauer’s Corporate Department and a member of our Sports Law Group. Jon has a broad-based transactional practice with an emphasis on clients in the sports industry. He represents both established and early-stage companies, as well as investors, financial institutions and private equity funds, in a variety of acquisitions, financings and licensing transactions.
Since joining Proskauer, Jon has represented the National Basketball Association, the WNBA, the National Hockey League, Major League Soccer, the ATP Tour, the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour and other sports leagues and tours in various corporate matters, including team ownership transfers, financings, expansions and relocations. In 2007, he advised MLS in its negotiations with David Beckham and the NBA in connection with the formation of NBA China and its $253 million private placement. More recently, he helped NBA China structure its joint venture with Anschutz Entertainment Group to develop and operate the Shanghai World Expo Performing Arts Center and other sports arenas throughout China.
In addition, Jon regularly advises professional sports teams, including the Philadelphia Eagles, the New York Jets, the New York Yankees, the Washington Nationals and the New Jersey Devils, in a wide array of transactional matters, including team acquisitions and financings, employment contracts with coaches and other key executives, and the sale of sponsorship, naming rights, seat license, apparel, television, Internet and other new media rights. Among these transactions have been the Eagles’ $140 million naming rights agreement with Lincoln Financial Group, the Devils’ $105 million naming rights deal with Prudential Financial, the WTA Tour’s $88 million global sponsorship with Sony Ericsson and the “cornerstone” sponsorships for the new Meadowlands stadium being constructed by affiliates of the Jets and Giants.
In recent years, Jon has counseled a variety of teams, leagues and owners seeking to develop new stadiums, arenas and other sports facilities. He has worked with, among others, the Eagles in connection with the lease and development of Lincoln Financial Field, the Jets with regard to the financing of the new Meadowlands stadium, the Devils in their efforts in the construction and financing of the Prudential Center, and NBA China in negotiations relating to the Shanghai World Expo Performing Art Center.
Jon frequently represents both borrowers and financial institutions, such as JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Société Générale, in financing transactions involving sports properties. These have included a $650 million bond issuance by an affiliate of the Jets, the NBA’s $1.9 billion league-wide credit facility, private placements of $250 million and $140 million by an affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers and a $225 million loan to the owners of the Houston Texans.
Jon graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Stanford University in 1996, with a B.A. in public policy (with distinction) and an M.A. in education. He received his J.D. from Yale Law School in 1999, where he was an Essays Editor of The Yale Law Journal and a member of the Yale Law & Policy Review.
Prior to joining Proskauer, he served as a law clerk for the Honorable Peter K. Leisure of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. He has been ranked by Chambers USA as one of the leading individuals in the field of sports law, named by the SportsBusiness Journal as one of the “Forty Under 40” most influential sports executives, and recognized by Lawdragon as one of the nation’s top 3,000 attorneys.
Jon and his wife, Lisa Rubin, live in Manhattan.
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