Sports
Volume XVII of the Sector Coverage Series
For professional-league general counsel, team executives, sports-integrity officers, agent-side counsel, and independent investigators retained by leagues, teams, unions, and their insurers.
Professional Reference Material
These playbooks are professional reference material intended for licensed investigators. They are not legal advice. Investigators are responsible for compliance with the laws of their jurisdiction and the specific requirements of their clients and cases.
The TALON Difference
Every playbook in this platform is built against TALON, the proprietary defensive-operations doctrine developed inside The Investigator's Desk over years of federal investigative practice.
Actor-model analysis
Reverse trace
Artifact mapping
evidence econstruction
“Subscribers receive the playbook; the proprietary model that produced it stays inside the platform.”
Sports, At a Glance
118
Investigative Playbooks
26
Categories
$227
Per Month
within 24-36h
Dispatch
The 118 Sports Playbooks
The full catalog is listed below by category. Each entry is a standalone playbook covering the case type named.
01 · Match-Fixing and Betting Integrity
Point-shaving investigation
Spot-fixing (in-game micro-event) investigation
Full-game fix and organized syndicate investigation
Official/referee corruption investigation
Sportsbook-monitor alert workup
Insider information leak investigation
02 · Doping and PED Investigation
Positive-test workup and B-sample protocol
Non-analytical positive (evidence-based) case
Whereabouts violation and missed-test workup
Coach, trainer, and support-personnel doping investigation
Supplement contamination defense
03 · Athlete Off-Field Conduct
Domestic violence and personal conduct investigation
DUI and impaired-driving workup
Sexual assault allegation investigation
Substance abuse and program noncompliance
Weapons and firearms violation
Social media and public-conduct workup
04 · Salary Cap and Roster Integrity
Salary cap circumvention investigation
Undisclosed compensation and inducement
Contract restructuring fraud
Roster manipulation and player-status fraud
05 · Tampering and Free-Agency Violations
Tampering with player under contract
Coaching staff tampering
Free-agency window violations
Executive and front office tampering
06 · Agent and Representative Misconduct
Unregistered agent activity
Runner and recruiter network investigation
Agent embezzlement of athlete funds
Agent conflict of interest workup
Financial advisor and money-manager fraud (athlete victims)
07 · Collegiate NIL and Compliance
NIL collective compliance investigation
Impermissible benefit workup (traditional NCAA)
Recruiting violation investigation
Academic fraud investigation (collegiate)
Booster misconduct investigation
Transfer portal and tampering compliance
08 · High School and Youth Sports
Recruiting violation at prep level
Age fraud investigation
Coach misconduct with minor athletes
Travel-team and club fraud investigation
09 · Franchise and Team Operations Fraud
Ticket revenue fraud investigation
Sponsorship and marketing revenue leakage
Front-office embezzlement
Concessions and merchandise revenue fraud
Payroll and player-services fraud
10 · Venue and Stadium Security
Ticket counterfeiting investigation
Ticket resale and secondary-market fraud
Fan altercation and premises liability workup
Player-fan interaction incident
Terrorism and threat-actor exposure
Field intrusion and unauthorized access
11 · Merchandise and Memorabilia Fraud
Counterfeit apparel and merchandise ring
Autograph and memorabilia authentication fraud
Game-used memorabilia fraud
Trading card fraud and grading manipulation
NFT and digital memorabilia fraud
12 · Sponsorship and Endorsement Disputes
Endorsement contract breach investigation
Ambush marketing investigation
Sponsor category exclusivity dispute
Endorsement termination and buyout workup
13 · Media Rights and Broadcast Fraud
Broadcast rights piracy investigation
Illegal stream and content redistribution
Media credential fraud
RSN and streaming rights dispute workup
14 · Team Purchase and Ownership
Franchise ownership due diligence
Minority owner and investor disputes
Franchise relocation investigation
Ownership divorce and estate disputes
15 · Coaching and Staff Misconduct
Head coach financial misconduct
Assistant coach recruiting violations
Team medical staff misconduct
Training staff and PED involvement
16 · Concussion, Brain Injury, and Medical Exposure
Concussion-protocol violation investigation
CTE and long-term neurological disease claims
Career-ending injury and disability claim
Return-to-play and independent evaluator workup
17 · International and Cross-Border Integrity
International match-fixing and cross-border syndicate
International transfer and third-party ownership investigation
Visa and immigration fraud (foreign athletes)
International event bidding corruption
18 · Sports Betting Operator Investigations
Suspicious betting activity workup
AML and KYC failures at operator
Insider trading on betting information
Bonus abuse and multi-account fraud
19 · Fantasy Sports and DFS Investigations
DFS operator insider misuse of data
Fantasy sports collusion investigation
Underage fantasy participation
Season-long fantasy platform fraud
20 · Esports Integrity
Match-fixing in esports
Player doping (adderall/cognitive PEDs)
Account boosting and smurfing fraud
Team ownership and salary integrity in esports
21 · Combat Sports — Boxing and MMA Integrity
Fight-fixing investigation
Weight-cutting and health violations
Sanctioning-body corruption workup
Promoter and manager misconduct workup
22 · Horse and Greyhound Racing Integrity
Race-fixing investigation
Doping investigation (equine and canine)
Ownership concealment and hidden-interest fraud
Track-employee misconduct
23 · Motorsports Integrity
Technical inspection fraud
Team-orders and race-manipulation investigation
Driver misconduct and licensing investigation
Team ownership and financial workup (motorsports)
24 · Olympic and International Federation
International federation governance investigation
Host-selection corruption
Whereabouts and RTP compliance in Olympic sport
National federation misconduct
Athlete safeguarding and abuse investigation (Olympic)
25 · Player Association and Union Matters
CBA violation investigation
Union misconduct and internal governance workup
Player agent certification workup
Grievance and arbitration support (players’ union)
26 · Emerging Exposure
Deepfake and synthetic-media misuse of athlete likeness
AI-assisted match-fixing detection dispute
Athlete cryptocurrency and Web3 endorsement fraud
Wearable and biometric data fraud workup
AI-officiated call and integrity workup
Where Sports Meets the Rest of the Catalog
Sports investigations frequently cross into aviation, hospitality, education, telecommunications, entertainment, and fine art. The following volumes identify where investigators should look first when a sports matter involves an adjacent sector.
Volume VI · Aviation
Team-charter aircraft investigations and sports-figure private-aviation matters
Volume X · Hospitality
Team-hotel coordination matters, event-venue security, and athlete-property incidents
Volume XIII · Education
NCAA and interscholastic matters, coach misconduct at educational institutions, and recruiting investigations
Volume XVI · Telecommunications
Broadcast-rights piracy and streaming-signal theft involving live sports content
Volume XVIII · Entertainment
Athlete-endorsement matters spanning sports and entertainment, and athlete-media investigations
Volume XXII · Fine Art
Sports-memorabilia provenance disputes, autograph matters, and collectibles authentication
What Ships & How
Two Documents Per Case Request
Operational Playbook
The doctrinal chapter: case overview, business and practice framework, investigative blueprint with step cards covering purpose, actions, output, restrictions, and gates, evidence considerations, interview strategy, report considerations, common mistakes, a tabletop exercise with worked answers, closing take, and the case-specific Client Communication Pack of email templates for every touchpoint from proposal through invoicing.
TALON Brief
The actor model for the case typology, the artifact map, and the reverse-trace sequence. This is the doctrine layer that tells the investigator not just what to do, but why those steps in that order, grounded in how actors in that typology actually operate.
Universal Forms
25 universal forms are provided separately as a one-time subscriber download.
Delivery Framework
Case requests → secure email
Dispatch → within 24–36 hours
Maximum → 3 playbooks / rolling 7 days
Monthly reports → scheduled delivery
Quarterly report → scheduled delivery
On-Demand Reports → separate purchase