Former NFL Top Lawyer Jeffrey Pash Joins Proskauer as Litigation Partner

Jeffrey Pash joins Proskauer as a litigation partner in the firm’s sports group, the law firm announced Thursday. The move brings one of the most experienced sports attorneys in the country back into private practice after he stepped away from the NFL last year.

Pash spent more than 40 years connected to the league. He started as an outside lawyer at Covington & Burling, then moved inside as the NFL’s executive vice president and general counsel. He handled legal work for the 32 clubs plus NFL Enterprises, NFL Properties, NFL Productions, NFL International, and NFL Media. Labor talks, licensing deals, television contracts, player and team investigations, and high-stakes lawsuits all crossed his desk.

He left the NFL in April 2025. Retirement did not stick. “Retirement was a little dull,” Pash said. He told reporters he wanted to work again with people he already knew and respected. “I have known and worked closely with Proskauer lawyers for decades and have deep respect for the firm and its sports group.”

Bart Williams, chair of Proskauer’s litigation department, welcomed the addition. “Jeff has earned the trust of some of the most prominent organizations in professional sports through decades of thoughtful counsel on their most significant legal and business matters. He brings exceptional judgment, a deep understanding of the issues our clients face, and an approach that aligns with how we serve our clients. We are pleased to welcome him to the firm.”

A Career That Shaped Modern Sports Law

Pash’s path started at Harvard and Harvard Law. He joined Covington & Burling in 1980 and worked under Paul Tagliabue, who later became NFL commissioner. In the mid-1990s he served as general counsel of the NHL. He returned to football in 1997 and stayed nearly three decades.

The list of matters he managed reads like a history of the modern NFL. He led bargaining with the NFL Players Association that produced the 2011 lockout and the subsequent federal labor and antitrust cases involving Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, and Drew Brees. The resulting collective bargaining agreement largely favored the league.

Deflategate followed. Brady, now a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, challenged the league’s process in the Southern District of New York and the Second Circuit. The NFL prevailed, though questions about the science lingered.

Other major files included Maurice Clarett’s eligibility challenge, the concussion litigation that ended in a billion-dollar settlement, the Rooney Rule and Brian Flores’s lawsuit, Jon Gruden’s claims against the league and Commissioner Roger Goodell, the St. Louis lawsuit over the Rams’ move to Los Angeles, the Sunday Ticket antitrust class action, and the workplace investigation into the Washington Commanders under Daniel Snyder.

Pash also helped craft the rules that opened limited private equity and debt investment in teams. Franchise values, league revenue, and television ratings all climbed during his tenure.

Chicago Bears chairman George McCaskey offered a blunt assessment of the man: “Jeff Pash is everything a lawyer should be: knowledgeable, professional, ethical, zealous, wise, compassionate, curious, and humble.”

Why Proskauer, Why Now

Proskauer has long represented the NFL, the NHL, and the other major leagues. The firm already advised the NFL on institutional investment rules, the sale of NFL Network assets, and collective bargaining. In March it helped structure the league’s flag football partnership with TMRW Sports.

Sports legal work has grown crowded. Wall Street firms have rushed into the space chasing private equity clients who want pieces of teams. Proskauer lost two senior sports partners in 2025. Bringing Pash aboard reinforces the firm’s deep relationships with the leagues themselves, the owners, and the networks.

Joe Leccese, who has long led Proskauer’s sports practice, called Pash a “superlative talent” whose experience will prove invaluable. Pash sees the same opportunity from the other side. The sports industry keeps changing faster than most people expected even five or ten years ago. College labor issues and European leagues exploring American-style structures sit near the top of the list of emerging work.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell released a statement noting that Pash helped the league through some of its most difficult moments and remained a trusted adviser to commissioners and clubs.

Pash will work from New York. The firm’s sports group already handles the full range of issues he spent a career mastering. For a lawyer who spent decades at the center of the biggest cases in sports, the next chapter looks a lot like the last one—only this time the clients will come from every league, not just one.