James Acho, often credited as Jim Acho, is an American attorney, and sports law professor. Acho is a frequent guest on sports talk radio shows on a national level, and in the Detroit area. Acho is cited on air and in print as an authority on labor issues as applied to professional and collegiate sports unions and leagues.

Biography

Acho has been publicly credited by numerous retired

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

and

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

players for improved benefits and has represented current and retired players in litigation. Acho is a professor of sports law at

Madonna University Madonna University is a private Catholic university in Livonia, Michigan, United States. It was founded as the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Junior College by the Felician Sisters in 1937. It became Madonna College in 1947 and Mado ...

. In January, 2015 Acho announced he'd accepted the nomination of retired NFL players to run for

NFL Players Association The National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) is the labor union representing National Football League (NFL) players. The NFLPA, which has headquarters in Washington, D.C., is led by executive director Lloyd Howell Jr. and president J ...

executive director. Acho lost the election to then-incumbent executive director

DeMaurice Smith DeMaurice F. "De" Smith (born February 3, 1964) is the former executive director of the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA). He was elected unanimously on March 15, 2009. As executive director of the NFLPA during the 2011 NFL lo ...

. In 2019 and 2020, Acho made national news when he won the NFL concussion cases on behalf of

Pro Football Hall of Famer The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, 1963, the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players ...

Gale Sayers Gale Eugene Sayers (May 30, 1943 – September 23, 2020) was an American professional football halfback and return specialist in the National Football League (NFL). Sayers played for the Chicago Bears from 1965 to 1971, though injuries effec ...

and broadcast legend

Pat Summerall George Allen "Pat" Summerall (May 10, 1930 – April 16, 2013) was an American professional American football, football player and television sportscaster who worked for CBS Sports, CBS, Fox Sports (USA), Fox, and ESPN Sunday Night Football, ESP ...

. In 2024, James Acho filed a lawsuit on behalf of former Michigan players against the NCAA and Big Ten Network, alleging they were denied earnings from the use of their name, image, and likeness.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Acho, James Living people Michigan lawyers Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American lawyers American legal scholars 21st-century American sportsmen