SFMA announces Demaurice Smith as 2023 SFMA Conference keynote speaker

The Sports Facility Management Association (SFMA) announced Demaurice Smith, the executive director of the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA), as the keynote speaker for the 2023 SFMA Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah.

In March 2020, Smith successfully negotiated his second long-term Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with the NFL. The eleven-year deal provides players with their highest share of league revenue in history.

Following the ratification of the new CBA, he led the negotiations with the NFL to create comprehensive COVID-19 protections and protocols for his membership, obtained comprehensive testing and opt-out provisions for players and designed the return-to-play agreements that secured NFL players receiving their full salary for the season despite a projected $3 billion revenue shortfall for the NFL in 2020.

Before his post at the NFLPA, Smith was an Assistant United States Attorney in the District of Columbia and was Counsel to then-Deputy Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr.

The Keynote presentation at the 2023 SFMA Conference is “A Safer Field of Play? The NFLPA and Its Advocacy for Player Health and Safety.” It will take place on Wednesday, Jan. 18 at 11 a.m.

In May, the SFMA announced education topics for the conference, set to take place from Jan. 16-19.