Will Deller

I am a partner based in our London office, advising clients on the key commercial agreements that underpin their businesses, with a particular focus on the sport, gaming and media sectors.

My practice is mainly focused on commercial/contractual matters, though I also have experience in advising on league structuring, rule drafting/interpretation and other sports regulatory issues. On the commercial side, I routinely advise on sponsorship and media rights, as well as games publishing and development agreements, but in addition I advise clients from a range of industry sectors on other areas of law, including gambling regulation, advertising and consumer protection.

In my time at Bird & Bird, I have gained experience in working across a number of different sports, including football, rugby, cricket, tennis, horseracing, golf and motor racing. I also have extensive experience client-side through multiple secondments at a Premier League football club and a national football governing body.

In addition, I lead the firm's rapidly expanding esports practice, advising stakeholders from across the industry on issues ranging from sponsorship and player contracts through to rule drafting and brand protection. In 2019 I was awarded the 'Rising Star' award at the Legal Week Innovation Awards for my role in building the firm's esports practice; and in the same year I was commended in the Financial Times Innovative Lawyers Report for my work in helping Intergalactic Gaming to establish its blockchain-based esports tournament platform. I was also ranked as a 'Rising Star' in the 2020 edition of the Legal 500 directory.

• Advised Six Nations Rugby on the agreement appointing Guinness as the title sponsor to the Guinness Six Nations Championship.
• Acted on Arsenal Football Club's latest kit supplier agreement, one of the biggest deals of its kind in football.
• Advised an esports start-up on the launch of an innovative, blockchain based esports platform, including on platform tournament rules, team participation and sponsorship agreements, and on consumer-facing documentation such as the platform terms of use and privacy policy.
• Advise Celtic Rugby on a range of commercial and regulatory issues, including its latest round of media rights agreements and the agreements expanding the Guinness PRO14 to include teams from South Africa.
• Advised The Football Association on the sale of its international media rights for The FA Cup.