Women are rising up the ranks throughout professional football, earning positions of power in a space that for too long was ruled almost exclusively by men. We're seeing more and more women breaking barriers in the sport, but what are the stories beyond the headlines? Who are the women shaping and influencing the NFL today? Answering those questions is the aim of the Next Woman Up series. While the conversational Q&As are edited and condensed for clarity, this is a forum for impactful women to share experiences in their own words. Without further ado, we introduce:
Valeria Williams, Tennessee Titans
Position: Vice President, General Counsel
How did you get your start in a career in football?
I always tell people my career has been a lot of trial and error, a lot of pivoting and making bold moves. My first position in football happened in 2018, when I was living in New York City. It was a Sunday afternoon, and I had just finished serving at church. One of the members who worked at the NFL at the time asked me what I was doing for work, because the NFL was about to have an opening in compliance. I applied and got the role, which ended up being labor arbitration. Two years later, I moved into the compliance role with the league.
That's the premise of my career, trying things and being open to opportunities. It's been important to have the courage to see if it works out. Sometimes it does, and I keep moving on that career journey. If it doesn't, I can always pivot and find something else.
What was the transition like, from working in the league office to joining a franchise?
It's a lot of learning and unlearning. People really don't understand how uniquely different it is working for a league and working for a team. When working for a league, you're approaching it from a governing perspective, looking at what teams can and cannot do based off compliance of league rules and constitution and bylaws of the collective bargaining agreement (CBA). Enforcing rules and making sure the teams are in compliance with them so the integrity of the game isn't impacted is a high priority. When working for a team, there are several goals. The first is you want to generate revenue. The second, you want to win games -- which can help generate revenue. And third, you want to entertain your fans and present a good product.
Joining the Tennessee Titans was completely different. I had to take off that governing hat and put on my team player hat. It almost took a season to adjust, because the role I had with the league was one in which I fined players for policy violations. I was on the other side of the table, representing the NFL against clubs and players. So coming into a team environment, I had to lean into being a team player and have people receive me that way.
You were recently promoted from associate general counsel. What does your current role entail?
It's somewhat the same because there was about a year when my boss was promoted, so I was balancing my responsibilities and filling in that gap of what he wasn't able to do due to his new responsibilities. Now, I'm a generalist (a type of lawyer that handles a wide range of legal issues). When I was associate general counsel, I focused primarily on transactional negotiations with contracts -- whether that was sponsorship agreements or other types of transactional relationships -- helping the parties understand the deal before it was concluded. I then finalized the agreement with the other party's attorney.
My role primarily consists of overseeing the legal department, which serves 20-plus departments, our current stadium, our new stadium, our football team and our foundation. But I also balance the roles of being a legal advisor and business advisor. At times, I am advising departments from a legal perspective, helping them manage and anticipate legal risks. I'm also working with them to meet our business objectives.
You mentioned the Titans’ new stadium. How are you involved in that process?
The process of getting a new stadium started before I was hired, in 2018. There's a lot that goes into it, and I feel fortunate to have arrived after we got the votes and approval to break ground. My role with the new stadium has been a behind-the-scenes-type role, negotiating a lot of the agreements that deal with our timeline, so we can stay on our schedule of being finished on April of 2027. Whatever consultants, construction workers or vendors we need to hire, I look at those agreements and negotiate them to make sure that timeline is met.
What would you say is the most challenging part of your job?
It goes with what I was saying earlier about wearing two hats, and the most challenging part is also the most exciting. I am more than just a lawyer. Learning how to be a business advisor, how to be received as one and having the influence in that space has allowed me to be invited into rooms that most lawyers are not invited into. If we're being honest, people aren't as receptive to having lawyers in the room if you're not working in a law firm. If you're an in-house lawyer in an organization, people often think you are going to tell them they can't do certain things or that you'll crush the deal or impede creative ideas because of the legal perspective. The challenge is to get the organization to receive me as a business advisor and legal advisor. A great deal of that challenge is learning the entire organization from a business standpoint, learning the nature and work goals of each department head and their department so I can be a trusted advisor in every sense.
That makes sense. When you look back on your nearly three years with the Titans, do you have a favorite moment with the team?
In my first season, we used a song by Three 6 Mafia, a hip-hop group from Memphis, Tennessee, for our player introductions on game day. I worked on getting licensing for their music, and that was my first experience with that. We also did a promo video, which I made a cameo in. If you blinked, you would've missed me. That same year, the Titans mascot, T-Rac, received an amazing opportunity to do something with HGTV. That was also my first opportunity to work on a location agreement, and I went to the site and was behind the scenes. I never would've thought that was something a sports lawyer would do. This job has given me the opportunity to work in so many different areas of law that I would never have gotten to do if I wasn't with the Titans.
Now pivoting to mentorship, do you have any mentors? And what advice have you held onto as you've gone through your career?
I have a diverse group of mentors; some have been in their careers for decades, and some are newly minted into their careers. Having a broad group gives me a diverse perspective, and it allows me to be open to other ideas, to be a little more rational about the journey. Listening to others about their journeys and the obstacles they have overcome really helps me put my own journey into perspective and helps me gather new tools for my toolkit.
When I worked at the league office, there was a woman who was the special assistant to the commissioner and had a law degree. She was pivotal for me because she had an open-door policy. Anytime I needed advice or someone to talk to, she was there. Those conversations kept me grounded, and they are part of the reason I am now in my seventh year working in professional sports.
And now paying it forward, what advice do you have for women who want to get into a similar career path?
I did not have a background in sports at all, but my advice is to go for it. Take my journey with a grain of salt, because all journeys are different. But be intentional in what you're pursuing, where you're pursuing it and why you are pursuing it, and you won't regret it, no matter how long it may take.
That's great advice. What is one of the next things you want to accomplish?
I really want to master where I am before I can even consider what's next. I have so many goals for the Titans' legal department that I want to build out. I want to master my responsibilities and be a good steward of them. I want to be able to look back one day and say this is not only something that I was a part of but something I spearheaded. And eventually, I would love to be a president of an NFL team.
Lastly, what are you most proud of?
When I first started my career, I tried different areas of law. I knew I wanted to be a tax lawyer after I got my master's degree, and I moved to New York City with the thought of working for a big law firm to help big incorporations figure out how to monetize deals from a tax perspective. I realized that there weren't a lot of opportunities to do that, and then once with the league, I learned compliance wasn't fulfilling for me. I am most proud that I was able to pivot several times during my career to reach a dream job. So many times I thought being a lawyer might not be meant for me. When this position with the Titans opened, it was a perfect fit for me because I could do law and business. I bet on myself and got the job. I didn't give up.
