A process built for sportnot adapted from something else.
FAIR's methodology isn't generic arbitration with a sports logo on it. Every part of it, who hears your case, how fast it moves, and how private it stays, was designed around what actually happens when a conflict hits a team, a program, or a career.
THE COST OF GETTING THIS WRONG
Every month a dispute sitsunresolved, it gets more expensive.
Not just in legal fees. In recruiting, in locker-room trust, in the headlines that show up before the facts do.
Reputational exposure
Months, sometimes years, of delay
Unpredictable legal cost
A relationship that doesn't survive the process
WHAT MAKES FAIR DIFFERENT
Four differences thatchange what a dispute costs you.
Generic litigation and off-the-shelf arbitration weren't built for sport. Ours was: from the neutrals we recruit to the clock we run on.
A five-step arbitration track built to resolve in weeks, not the 18+ months typical of civil litigation, because a season, a roster spot, or a signing window doesn't wait for a court calendar.
Former athletes, general counsel, and arbitrators with real NBA, NFL, and NCAA experience, not generalists learning the terrain of eligibility, NIL, or revenue share on your case.
Ombuds and Mediation stay private by design: most disputes don't need to become public to be resolved, and going public rarely helps either side.
The process is defined in the contract, before any dispute exists, so no one is choosing a forum, a neutral, or a strategy for the first time under pressure.
HOW IT WORKS
Three paths, sequencedto match the moment.
FAIR doesn't force every dispute through the same door. The right path depends on how early you're catching the conflict, and whether a binding decision is actually what's needed.
Ombuds
A confidential, early channel to raise a concern before it escalates: no filing, no record, no risk to standing on the team or in the program.
Mediation
A structured, facilitated conversation aimed at a resolution both sides can live with, private, faster than court, and no ruling imposed on either party.
Arbitration
A fast, final, and binding decision from a sport-specific neutral when a resolution has to be reached and both sides need certainty.
Neutrals who have actuallybeen inside the sport.
Every FAIR neutral has sat where you're sitting, as counsel, as an administrator, or as an athlete. That's what makes a decision land as credible, not just final.
See which pathfits your situation.
Start a case if a conflict has already begun, or talk to our team about putting FAIR in your contracts first.