NIL/Sports Law

Importance of NIL deals

• Empowering Athletes - Athletes can sign endorsement deals, appear in advertisements, and promote products on social media platforms.
• Shift in College Sports - NIL deals have transformed the economics of college sports, aligning the college athletics industry more closely with the professional sports world.
• Future with Sports law - As the legal landscape surrounding NIL deals matures, we may see more collective bargaining efforts to ensure fair compensation for athletes, potentially leading to greater legal protections.

Problem's with NIL

• High-Profile vs. Low-Profile Sports - Athletes in high-profile sports, such as football and basketball (particularly men's basketball), are likely to secure the most lucrative NIL deals due to their visibility and marketability. Conversely, athletes in less popular sports or those at smaller schools may struggle to secure similar opportunities.
• Recruiting concerns - Some of these top sports schools may use NIL deals to influence these players to go to their schools. With NIL deals being so new in college sports, this is where new laws come into play when people learn more.
• An example of this concern is one of the greatest college football coaches of all time stepping away from his position at his school because he didn't like this new idea of paying his football players to come to his school.

Untitled Slide

• One of the difficulties I may encounter is finding sufficient sources due to my new topic.
• Many of my sources will be from the web; very few books exist on NIL deals.
• I learned a lot this semester about where I should go with my topic and the steps I need to take.

Where my research is headed

• With the rapid changes in NIL deals and laws, many aspects of my research could evolve. By next year, there may be a new law regarding the payment of college athletes and the regulations that schools must follow.
• The primary areas of focus will be understanding the legal framework, policy issues, financial issues, and the roles of the agents involved.