Contracts & Coffee: Episode 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.

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Published: 

November 3, 2025

Updated: 

November 3, 2025

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.

About the author

Tom Dunlop

CEO and Founder

Tom is the CEO and Founder of Summize. As an accomplished commercial and technology lawyer, Tom's experience with reviewing contracts was the catalyst that led to Summize. Prior to this, he worked as a Global Legal Director for several fast-growth technology companies.

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