• Join Puck

    Directly Supporting Authors

    A new economic model in which writers are also partners in the business.

    Personalized Subscriptions

    Customize your settings to receive the newsletters you want from the authors you follow.

    Stay in the Know

    Connect directly with Puck talent through email and exclusive events.

  • What is puck? Newsletters Authors Podcasts Events Gift Puck Careers

The NBA-Amazon Prenup Contains a Legal Time Bomb

Courtside seating for C.E.O. Andy Jassy is just the cherry atop a highly redacted 35-page contract that gives Amazon the right to adopt future technologies for broadcasting basketball games—a mistake similar to the one the league made with TNT in failing to anticipate streaming. Isn’t that what the lawyers are for?

andy jassy
There are some choice nuggets in the unredacted portions of the contract: For a neat $1.8 billion a year, Amazon C.E.O. Andy Jassy is getting primo seats at any game he fancies. Photo: David Ryder/Bloomberg/Getty Images
Eriq Gardner
November 5, 2024

One of the amusing realities of the legal beat is that I’m often looking backward, sifting through yesterday’s grudges and grievances. But sometimes, I get a glimpse of where the road might actually lead. Case in point: the new 11-year pact giving Amazon the right to stream NBA games starting next season, a deal that’s now ground zero for a legal slugfest between the league and Warner Bros. Discovery.