Sports Lawyer in the Spotlight: Ricky Volante

For this edition of Sports Lawyer In The Spotlight, we interviewed Ricky Volante. As Founder of The Volante Law Firm and Partner at RVIS Media Partners LLC, he operates at the intersection of sports, entertainment, and investment law, advising a client base that spans professional and amateur sports organisations, athletes, coaches and executives through to film producers, private equity firms, family offices, and financial institutions seeking exposure to the sports and media sectors. His transactional and M&A work covers everything from ownership structures and minority investment deals to governance frameworks for newly-formed ventures — the kind of complex, multi-stakeholder transactions where legal judgment and commercial strategy are inseparable.

Ricky is perhaps best known as the co-founder and former Chief Executive Officer of the Professional Collegiate League (PCL), a venture that sought to compensate college athletes years before the NIL era forced the issue into the mainstream. That work brought him into direct dialogue with NBA G-League leadership ahead of the signing of Jalen Green as the first Ignite player, engagement with state and federal legislators on college sports reform, and, more recently, the filing of an amici brief in opposition to the House v. NCAA settlement — a cause he continues to pursue with characteristic tenacity.

Beyond his practice, Ricky has taught as an Adjunct Professor at Baldwin Wallace University, the Harvard Extension School, Case Western Reserve University School of Law, Cleveland State University College of Law, and Lake Erie College, where he has covered courses from Representing the Professional Athlete to Negotiating and Drafting Sports Venue Agreements.

We spoke with Ricky in March 2026. We hope you enjoy the conversation as much as we did.

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