Tanisha Pinkins is a corporate lawyer in Holland & Knight’s Atlanta office who advises national sports leagues, athletes and sports agencies on high-stakes transactions at the intersection of sports, media, and entertainment. She brings strategic counsel to clients navigating the increasingly complex legal, commercial, intellectual property and branding frameworks that drive the modern sports industry.

Ms. Pinkins regularly represents National Basketball Association (NBA) and National Football League (NFL) athletes, U.S. Olympians, and elite collegiate athletes, as well as sports agencies and investors, in connection with mergers and acquisitions (M&A), brand monetization, digital tokenization and name, image and likeness (NIL) matters. Her practice includes structuring and negotiating endorsement, sponsorship, and NIL agreements, advising on athlete agent registration and compliance, and counseling on the commercialization of athlete-driven brands, media platforms, and consumer products.

In addition to her NIL and endorsement work, Ms. Pinkins has significant experience advising on sports-related corporate transactions. She has represented athletes and sports entrepreneurs in connection with business restructurings, asset sales, and strategic investments, including advising on the acquisition of a sports lifestyle and apparel brand associated with an NBA Hall of Famer.

 

Ms. Pinkins is a leading advisor in the evolving NIL landscape, having negotiated NIL agreements for elite collegiate and professional athletes, including deals valued at $6 million, and prepared and filed more than 100 NIL athlete agent registration applications on behalf of premier sports agencies, ensuring compliance with varying state and institutional regulations. Her experience also includes advising Olympic athletes on regulatory compliance under athlete representation laws and assisting sports agencies with multi-state operational frameworks.

 

Beyond her sports practice, Ms. Pinkins represents private equity firms and global corporations in complex M&A transactions and advises music entertainment and media clients on corporate, content acquisition, financing, production, and distribution matters. Her cross-disciplinary experience allows her to guide athlete-clients, entertainers and sports investors in building, scaling, and monetizing ventures across media, fashion, and technology and brand protection.