NIL Pointers for Student Athletes – Part III

In our final post for this week’s Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) suggestions, below is the third installment of our general pointers for student-athletes to keep in mind when it comes to NIL matters—specifically, negotiating deals:

• NIL deals should be negotiated to give the student-athlete latitude to execute additional deals down the road and enable the student-athlete to continue to promote their own personal brand while not exclusively licensing their personal brand to just one outside NIL sponsor.
• NIL deals should contain clear, understandable language describing what the service or activity the student-athlete will provide in exchange for the stated compensation. It is important that student-athletes understands what is expected of them but also that, after-the-fact, the service can be clearly shown as being provided in accordance with the terms of the NIL deal.
• When negotiating deals, student athletes should consider including reverse morality clauses, which would allow the student-athlete to terminate a contract with a brand in the event the brand takes any actions that severely conflict with the student athlete’s social values.
• NIL deals should ideally be on a year-to-year basis. In the era of “one-and-done” and the transfer portal, it is important to avoid issues of NIL deals not being portable to another institution or limiting student-athletes’ ability to engage in other deals at their next stop.  It is important to have proper legal counsel review and negotiate the terms of any NIL deal to ensure that issues of “pay-for-play” or “pay-for-enrollment” are avoided while still providing student-athletes freedom to make decisions in their own best interests and careers.
• Finally, most large universities have engaged with outside NIL partners to assist with NIL matters and provide a platform for student-athletes to engage in NIL activities and help educate student-athletes on NIL matters. While most of these NIL exchanges have processes in place to review NIL deals and their reporting requirements, student-athletes should not rely on these.  It is important that student-athletes remain diligent in their NIL activities which would include having their NIL deals reviewed by legal counsel as well as independently following up with the school’s NIL reporting department to ensure compliance with state law and school rules.
• Remember, when it comes to receiving NIL compensation, it is the not the amateur status of the NIL exchange or NIL brand-sponsor at stake, it is the student-athlete’s.