Mason P. Ashe

Biography

Mason Ashe has more than 30 years of experience structuring and negotiating deals related to athlete and entertainer engagement, executive compensation, digital content licensing, and many other agreements associated with the scouting, marketing, management, employment, and commercialization of talent in the sports and entertainment industries globally.

He counsels a diverse range of companies (both publicly traded and privately held), nonprofit organizations, elite athletes (in the NBA, NFL, WNBA, rugby, track & field, ice skating, tennis, golf, and international basketball leagues), award-winning entertainers (such as actors, authors, bands, vocalists, comedians, and magicians), media personalities (such as news and sports anchors), television networks, sports franchises, charitable organizations, colleges, coaches, event promoters, wealth managers, sports and talent agencies, celebrity chefs, restaurant owners, producers of TV and web-based reality shows, as well as a few pioneers of social networking and New Media platforms changing the way digital content is created, published, distributed, and consumed.

His strategic professional experience has been cultivated throughout his career from a variety of business and legal platforms. In November 2004, he launched Ashe Sports & Entertainment Consulting (“ASEC”), focusing on deal making, strategic planning, problem solving, contract negotiating, branding, marketing, and legal and business management services to assist talented individuals and/or their employers within the sports and entertainment industries. In addition to ASEC, he later served as a partner in one of the nation's largest labor and employment law firms where he provided counsel on employment law and regulatory compliance issues. He notably helped clients prevent employment litigation through management and staff training on judicial and legislative developments as well as industry trends, such as the use of social media in the workplace. He also previously served in various C-Suite, general counsel, and leadership positions in sports management companies and boutique firms.

Mason is a frequent guest speaker and panelist at symposiums on sports law hosted by bar associations, colleges, and law schools.

Outside the Firm

Mason enjoys spending time with his family, cooking, listening to live jazz, sampling local cuisines, playing golf with friends, and supporting his alma mater, law school, and organizations that enable youth to participate in sports and the performing arts.

Experience

Mason’s career highlights include the following: 

  • Managed the business and legal affairs of more than 250 pro athletes (including eSports gamers, 1st Rounders, All-Stars, Pro-Bowlers, and Olympians), singer/songwriters, musicians, comedians, actors, models, and influencers.
  • Lead outside counsel for national nonprofit organizations on live and virtual concert fundraisers featuring top performers.
  • Negotiated player contracts for a rookie quarterback and cornerback drafted in the first round of the NFL's annual college draft.
  • Negotiated a rookie contract for an NBA player drafted #2 overall in the league’s annual college draft.
  • Negotiated a contract extension for an NFL Pro Bowl quarterback.
  • Negotiated player contracts for unrestricted free agents in the NBA, WNBA, and NFL.
  • Pitched and negotiated name, image, and likeness marketing deals for professional athletes in the NBA, WNBA, NFL, LPGA, eSports, and World Rugby with a variety of sponsors, including athletic apparel, banking, videogame manufacturers, television networks, retail department store chains, and healthcare providers.
  • Developed strategies to resolve global immigration barriers for pro athletes, such as: secured dual citizenship and negotiated a player contract for a former WNBA American player who subsequently led her team to the foreign league’s championship; and negotiated multiple foreign team contracts for an American player for whom the current Euro-League Top Scorer Trophy is named.
  • Served as industry adviser, designer, and presenter of sports law and talent management curricula tailored for financial advisers on behalf of wealth management companies that launched new sports and entertainment divisions.
  • Consultant and strategic adviser to sports, talent, and modeling agencies from their initial launch through various growth stages, including refinancing, mergers, and acquisitions.
  • Negotiated talent agreements on behalf of concert promoters, event sponsors, and other talent employers with A-List entertainers for tours, special events, and charitable fundraisers.

Recognitions

  • 2022, Wharton Teaching Excellence Award, awarded by The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
  • 2021, Doctor of Humane Letters honorary degree, awarded by Hamilton College
  • 2015, “Sports Lawyer of the Year,” awarded by the National Bar Association
  • 2003, 2004, “101 Most Influential Minorities in Sports,” listed in Sports Illustrated magazine

Affiliations

Professional Activities

Mason serves as an adjunct professor of sports law at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania (2015–present), and Howard University School of Law (2012–present). He served as academic director at the Georgetown University Summer Program for High School Students in Sports Business Management for eight consecutive summers (2015–2022). He previously taught sports law at the DeVos Sport Business Management Graduate Program at the University of Central Florida (2004–2009). In addition, Mason serves on the board of trustees of Hamilton College and the University at Buffalo Foundation as well as serves on the SUNY at Buffalo Law School Dean’s Advisory Council.

Mason also serves as the chairman of the board of directors for the Washington Jazz Arts Institute. He is a member and former board director of the Black Entertainment & Sports Lawyers Association.

Credentials

Admissions

  • District of Columbia
  • North Carolina

Education

  • Hamilton College, BA
  • University at Buffalo Law School, JD