Two Chapman University Dale E. Fowler School of Law students, Ashley Daniel (JD ’16) and Jeff Farano (JD ’16), traveled last weekend to New Orleans to compete in the second annual Professional Football Negotiation Competition. They returned with a second place title after a close competition in the final round.

A total of 20 teams from across the country were invited to compete in the competition hosted by Tulane University Law School. This is the first time that a Fowler School of Law competition team has participated. After winning the semifinal round against Tulane’s team, Jeff and Ashley went on to compete against the team from the University of Mississippi School of Law, narrowly missing first place in a competitive round.

“This is a new competition, and we went in with the idea that we would learn something with an eye for future years,” said Professor Nancy Schultz, director of the competitions program. “For Jeff and Ashley to do as well as they did is a testament to their hard work and commitment, as well as their obvious skill.”

The competition requires teams to negotiate contracts for NFL players. Teams are given 40 minutes to negotiate contracts with multiple objectives such as signing bonuses, salaries and roster bonuses. Representatives of professional sports organizations including the Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears, Kansas City Chiefs and New Orleans Saints served as judges.

Throughout the competition, Professor Schultz said, judges repeatedly expressed how impressed they were with Jeff and Ashley’s preparation, knowledge and negotiating skill.

Chapman’s Fowler School of Law also hosts an annual Sports Law Symposium, one of the largest and most influential in the country. The 2016 symposium, Relationships, Regulations & Compliance: Forces of Change in Sports Law and Business, will be held on Friday, February 12, Kennedy Hall, Room 237. 

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