Sponsorship agreement review checklist
Sponsorship agreements grant valuable brand association rights but carry reputational, financial, and IP risks. This checklist ensures a thorough legal review before commitment.
This is a 12-step checklist for reviewing a sponsorship agreement before execution. It covers sponsorship rights, fee structures, intellectual property licensing, exclusivity, morality clauses, and termination provisions.
The checklist
Define the sponsorship rights
Confirm the specific rights granted — naming rights, logo placement, hospitality, digital presence, and any category exclusivity.
Review the fee structure
Review sponsorship fees, payment milestones, and whether fees are fixed, performance-based, or a combination.
Check exclusivity provisions
Confirm the scope of category exclusivity and whether it prevents competitors from also sponsoring the same property.
Review IP licence terms
Check the IP licence grant — which marks, logos, and content can be used, by whom, in what media, and for how long.
Assess morality and reputation clauses
Review morality clauses that allow termination if either party engages in conduct that damages the other's reputation.
Check ambush marketing protections
Review provisions addressing ambush marketing and the sponsor's remedies if the rights-holder does not prevent it.
Confirm deliverables and KPIs
List all deliverables the rights-holder must provide and confirm how performance is measured and reported.
Review insurance requirements
Confirm insurance requirements for both parties — public liability, event cancellation, and professional indemnity.
Assess termination rights
Review termination provisions — for convenience, breach, insolvency, force majeure, and the consequences of early termination.
Check GST and withholding tax
Confirm whether sponsorship fees attract GST and, for cross-border deals, whether withholding tax applies.
Review renewal and first refusal rights
Check whether the agreement includes renewal options, rights of first refusal, or matching rights for future terms.
Confirm regulatory compliance
Verify the sponsorship complies with any industry-specific advertising and sponsorship restrictions — alcohol, gambling, tobacco, or health.
When this checklist applies
Use this checklist when reviewing any sponsorship agreement, whether the client is the sponsor or the rights-holder.
Common pitfalls
- Failing to define category exclusivity with enough precision, leaving gaps for competitors
- Not including a morality clause that provides a termination right
- Overlooking ambush marketing risk at major events
- Accepting vague deliverable descriptions that are hard to enforce
- Not addressing what happens to prepaid fees on early termination
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This checklist is a general guide. Sponsorship terms vary widely by industry and property — obtain specific legal advice before execution.
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