An Experienced Sports & Entertainment Industry Expert
ABOUT
Jonathan Mputu, Esq. is a Sports Attorney, Entertainment Executive, Speaker and Sports Law Adjunct Professor at Thomas Jefferson School of Law, who currently works with NBA Players, Entertainment clients, Students, Professionals, as well as, Sports and Entertainment companies.
In July 2022, Jonathan left the entertainment conglomerate, Endeavor, after four and half years, to join an NBA player's growing marketing business as his marketing attorney. While at Endeavor, Jonathan held the roles of Business Affairs Executive, Associate Counsel and Live Events Coordinator at the various subsidiaries of WME, IMG and Endeavor's Representation business.
As a Business Affairs Executive for WME, Jonathan worked in the Sports Talent and Brand Partnership space. Jonathan's role included helping Agents draft and negotiate marketing deals for A-list athletes, actors, social media influencers, content creators and sports marketing Talent. In January 2021, WME Sports and BDA Sports officially formed their joint-venture basketball agency. Jonathan worked closely with BDA's President and General Counsel to help onboard the then existing BDA Marketing Clients into WME's system through counseling the new Clients and their representation teams on the Agency's process. He also aided in the signing process of BDA Sports-WME Sports 2021 Draft Class by working with prospect's representation team to navigate the marketing side of the agency world.
In July 2021, the launch of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) rights swept across the nation, enabling student-athlete's to monetize their NIL rights without losing their NCAA eligibility, as long as students stayed in compliance with school and state laws. Jonathan, along with a formal WME NIL team, led WME Sports Agents through the process of properly recruiting student athletes without threatening their eligibility. This NIL task force helped WME Sports bolster one of the most lucrative NIL rosters in the country, including signings such as Olivia Dunne and Chet Holmgren.
Prior to becoming an Executive for WME, Jonathan held the role of Associate Counsel of the Client Services team within the Endeavor Representation Group. His responsibilities included on-boarding all WME Clients within the territories of California, New York, and the United Kingdom, throughout the departments of Talent, Scripted and Non-scripted Television, Motion Pictures, Literary Packaging, WME Legends Management Group, Music, E-sports, Personal Appearances, Speakers, Sports Marketing, Coaching and Production Companies.
Prior to Jonathan joining the Client Services team, he was a member of the IMG Live Events Group where he was a coordinator and lead attorney for the live events of Stars on Ice figure skating, Professional Bull Riding, Hospitality and Inter-Company events. His practice included general transactional agreements, including, but not limited to, sponsorship, vendor, independent contractor, talent, venue, waivers, music licensing and appearance agreements.
Outside of Jonathan's law license, he also holds an NBPA Certified Player agent, Alabama Athlete Agent, and is a former Division-1 college football athlete. Jonathan teaches the "Sports Agent Registration and Practice" course at Thomas Jefferson School of Law, as well as offers other programs and mentorships to students through his partnership with TMFE Group, LLC.
While in Law School, Jonathan broke into the sports and entertainment industry through his numerous prestigious internships, starting with Hylands Law Firm in Beijing, China where he worked on sports and entertainment matters, including a project with NBA China. He has also worked at the Athletes First football Agency, the Office of the General Counsel for the LA Clippers, and the MVP Sports Group baseball agency. Jonathan has also competed and placed for his alma mater Loyola Law School's vigorous 4th Nationally ranked Byrne Trial Advocacy Program.
Jonathan is a graduate of Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, CA and Colgate University in Hamilton, NY.
"When I went to law school, I already knew that I wanted to work in the Sports and Entertainment industry, but I didn't know how to break in due to my lack of prior experience or connections. I did a lot of things well, but also learned a lot of hard lessons. I pride myself now on being able to teach students who really want to be in this industry how to break-in and save the time that I unnecessarily spent."
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