A general manager departing a professional sports organization with three years of deferred compensation on the books, an accrual schedule that did not match the operating budget, a change-of-control provision that had almost tripped on a prior ownership sale, and a departure timeline of sixty days. We reconciled the numbers and closed the exit clean.
The internal accounting had recorded the deferrals under two separate general-ledger categories over the years, and the aggregate number the organization believed it owed differed from the number he believed he was owed by a meaningful percentage.
Neither side wanted litigation. Neither side wanted to leave the number ambiguous going into a departure.
We reconciled the deferred compensation against the employment agreement's actual language, the team's performance record year by year, and the accrual schedule as written. We identified the accounting misclassification, calculated the correct aggregate against a defined line-by-line worksheet, and produced a written reconciliation both sides signed against.
We negotiated the change-of-control posture forward to close any residual risk from the prior partial sale, structured the payout as an installment schedule tied to the organization's cash flow, and secured the deferred amounts with a defined UCC filing.
We drafted the departure release, the confidentiality tail, and the non-disparagement provision in a single, closed package that both sides executed inside the sixty-day window.
"Two sets of numbers. One right answer. Brandon found it and closed the door."
— Departing General Manager
Deferred compensation accrues quietly over years, often recorded inconsistently as bookkeeping systems and finance staff change. By the time a departure forces a real accounting, both sides can genuinely believe different numbers without either one acting in bad faith. The fix is a line-by-line reconciliation against the actual contract language, not a negotiation from two competing spreadsheets.
A change-of-control provision that almost tripped once carries residual risk into every future transaction unless someone closes it forward as part of the departure, rather than leaving it live for the next ownership event.
We reconcile deferred compensation and structure clean departures for executives leaving professional sports organizations, closing every open risk in one package rather than leaving loose ends for later.
Most engagements are flat fee, quoted before the work begins — and most matters resolve without litigation. Start with a free consultation.