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Helping Athletes Understand and Protect Their NIL
Name, Image, and Likeness opportunities allow athletes to earn money from their identity, reputation, and personal brand.
Such opportunities include sponsorships, endorsements, social media partnerships, paid appearances, merchandising, and other business relationships.
These relationships are formed by legal agreements. Agreements address how an athlete’s name, image, and likeness may be used, what the athlete is required to do, how much money will be paid, and whether the deal is exclusive.
Levin Papantonio helps athletes and families, institutions, affiliates, and entities understand NIL agreements, protect their rights, and navigate the legal and business issues surrounding Name, Image, and Likeness.
NIL stands for Name, Image, and Likeness and generally refers to an athlete’s ability to use or license aspects of their identity and personal brand.
NIL opportunities can include:
An NIL opportunity may seem straightforward, but the underlying agreement can jeopardize an athlete’s eligibility, reputation, and ability to contract in the future.
An NIL lawyer can help athletes and families, institutions, affiliates, and entities understand and navigate the legal terms of NIL contracts while ensuring compliance with all applicable rules, regulations, and laws.
Depending on the situation, that may include:
The value of an NIL deal involves more than the amount an athlete is being paid.
An agreement may specify how a company may use an athlete’s identity, what promotional work the athlete must perform, whether the athlete may work with competing brands, and how long certain rights remain in effect.
Important terms may include:
Use of Name, Image and Likeness: What parts of the athlete’s identity can the company use, where can they use them, and for how long?
Compensation: How much will the athlete receive, when will payment be made, and what requirements must be completed before payment?
Deliverables: Does the agreement require social media posts, videos, appearances, events, autograph sessions, or other promotional work?
Exclusivity: Does signing the agreement restrict the athlete from working with competing brands or businesses?
Content Ownership: Who owns photographs, videos, advertisements, or other content created during the partnership?
Length of the Agreement: When does the agreement begin and end, and do any rights continue after it expires?
Termination: How can either party end the agreement, and are there continuing obligations or repayment requirements?
Transfers: What happens to the agreement if the athlete changes schools or athletic programs?
Understanding these terms before signing can help athletes and families see the complete agreement rather than focusing only on the compensation being offered.
NIL Agreements and Athlete Sponsorships
NIL opportunities can range from a single sponsored social media post to a long-term relationship with a national brand.
Athletes may also work with local businesses, collectives, apparel companies, restaurants, fitness brands, dealerships, and other organizations interested in using an athlete’s identity or audience to promote their business.
Regardless of the size of the deal, the agreement should clearly explain what each party is expected to provide.
For athletes, that means understanding what they are giving a company in exchange for the compensation being offered.
NIL and the Transfer Portal
Changing schools can create questions about existing NIL relationships.
An athlete may already have agreements with sponsors, businesses, collectives, or other organizations when considering a transfer.
Depending on the contract, transferring may affect:
Athletes should understand how an existing agreement addresses these issues rather than assuming the contract automatically ends when they change schools.
NIL Rights in Florida
Florida law recognizes an intercollegiate athlete’s opportunity to control and profit from the commercial use of their Name, Image, and Likeness.
NIL matters can also involve other areas of law, including contracts, licensing, intellectual property, rights related to the commercial use of a person’s likeness, and laws governing certain athlete-agent relationships.
The rules surrounding NIL and college athletics continue to develop. The applicable requirements may depend on the athlete, school, association, state, type of agreement, and athletic organization involved.
High School Athletes and NIL
NIL opportunities are not limited to college athletes.
High school athletes may also make money through sponsorships, social media, appearances, merchandise, and other uses of their identity.
Additional considerations may arise when the athlete is a minor or when they participate under state or athletic-association rules governing NIL activity.
Parents and guardians should understand the length of an agreement, compensation, use of photographs and video, exclusivity, content ownership, and whether any rights continue after the agreement ends.
An athlete may begin building a valuable personal brand well before college. Agreements signed early in an athletic career can affect opportunities that arise later.
Levin Papantonio’s connection to athletes extends back decades, long before the modern NIL landscape.
Longtime Levin Papantonio attorneys Stanley and Fred Levin became involved in professional boxing through the Pensacola Boys Club, where Stanley met future world champion Roy Jones Jr. Following Jones’ silver-medal performance at the 1988 Summer Olympics, Stanley and Fred encouraged the young Pensacola boxer to continue his career and later managed Jones through the early 2000s.
Under the Levins’ management, Jones became a world champion and one of the most prominent boxers of his generation.
Stanley and Fred received the Rocky Marciano Boxing Manager of the Year in 1994 and were selected co-Managers of the Year by the Boxing Writers Association of America in 1995.
Stanley and Fred went on to manage other boxers such as former WBA Welterweight champion Ike Quartey and WBA featherweight Derrick “Smoke” Gainer. Fred’s son, Martin Levin, carried the torch and provided services to Christy Salters, the first female boxer elected to the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame.
The opportunities available to athletes have changed considerably since then, but the business surrounding sports remains important. Today’s athletes may enter into sponsorship agreements, licensing rights, social media partnerships, endorsements, and other business relationships that involve the value of their identity and reputation.
Understanding Name, Image, and Likeness Rights
Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) opportunities are changing the landscape of student athletics, giving young athletes new ways to benefit from their personal brands. However, these opportunities also raise important questions about contracts, finances, and protecting their futures.
Levin Papantonio shareholder Brenton Goodman recently discussed these topics in two local interviews and will be joining a panel of experts for an upcoming community seminar focused on helping student-athletes and their families better understand NIL.
Brenton joined WKRG’s Red Couch to discuss NIL opportunities, legal considerations, and what student-athletes and parents should know before entering into an agreement.
Brenton also joined Rick Outzen on Rick’s Blog for a conversation about the evolving NIL landscape and important considerations for athletes navigating these opportunities.
NIL stands for Name, Image, and Likeness. It generally refers to the commercial use of an athlete’s identity, including their name, photograph, appearance, voice, and other recognizable characteristics
NIL opportunities may include sponsorships, endorsements, social media promotions, appearances, autograph signings, camps, merchandising, licensing, advertising, and other commercial uses of an athlete’s identity.
Athletes should understand the compensation, required deliverables, licensing rights, exclusivity provisions, contract length, termination terms, content ownership, and any obligations that continue after the agreement ends.
Potentially. Some agreements contain exclusivity provisions that restrict an athlete from working with competing brands or certain categories of businesses. The effect depends on the language of the agreement.
It may be able to, depending on the rights granted by the agreement. The length of the contract and the length of the company’s license to use an athlete’s NIL are not necessarily the same.
That depends on the contract. Transferring does not necessarily terminate an existing agreement. Payment obligations, deliverables, licensing rights, exclusivity provisions, or other terms may continue. Additionally, transferring may activate certain terms, like clawback or liquidated damages clauses.
NIL rules for high school athletes can vary by state and athletic association. Additional contract issues can also arise when the athlete is a minor.
The roles can be different. An agent may help identify or negotiate commercial opportunities, while an attorney can provide legal advice concerning contracts, licensing rights, obligations, negotiations, and disputes.
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