Contracts & Coffee Ep 5: How sports teams are changing the game with the help of CLM

In this special sports edition of Contracts & Coffee, we explore how AI-powered contract lifecycle management (CLM) is transforming the fast-paced world of sports teams and leagues.

Join Jonny Jessop (Head of Pre-Sales) and Olly Atkin (Senior Director of Sales) as they share real-world insights from working with some of the biggest names in sport – from Premier League clubs and NBA teams to motorsport organizations.

Discover how legal teams in sport are overcoming contract chaos, embracing automation and using AI to make game-defining decisions.

What’s brewing in Episode 5?

• Why speed and agility are critical in sports contract management.

• The biggest challenges sports legal teams face – and how CLM helps solve them.

• How sponsorship agreements are being automated for faster revenue generation.

• The role of AI in managing legacy contracts and extracting key data.

• Why integrated CLM platforms like Summize offer more than standalone AI tools.

Q&A highlights

Q: What makes contract management in sports so unique?

A: Sports teams operate in high-pressure environments where contracts – especially sponsorships and transfers – have to be executed quicky. Legal teams are often small and stretched, making speed and automation essential to keeping up with the pace of play.

Q: What’s the biggest problem CLM solves for sports teams?

A: CLM helps eliminate bottlenecks by enabling self-service contract creation, automating drafting and integrating with existing tech stacks. This drastically reduces turnaround time, allowing teams to close deals faster and generate revenue more efficiently.

Q: How are sports teams using AI to manage legacy contracts?

A: Many teams have thousands of legacy agreements stored in platforms like SharePoint. AI-powered CLM tools like Summize can ingest these documents, extract key clauses (e.g. indemnity or liability caps), and surface insights instantly – saving days of manual review.

Q: Why not just use ChatGPT or other LLMs for legal tasks?

A: While LLMs are great for quick answers, they lack the security, structure and workflow integration of a CLM. Summize wraps AI into a secure, centralized platform that tracks obligations, sends notifications and supports day-to-day legal operations.

Q: What is Ask SIA and how does it help sports teams?

A: Ask SIA is Summize’s agentic AI feature that lets users query non-contractual documents like league regulations or race decisions. Whether it’s Premier League financial rules or NBA ownership policies, Ask SIA delivers instant, actionable insights – right within the CLM.

Want to know more about the changing role of in-house legal and how CLM is helping? Explore our Legal Disruptors Hub below.