NIL Update – Should Student Athletes Seek Professional Advice?

On July 1, 2021, several state laws allowing student athletes to profit from their name, image and likeness ("NIL") went into effect. The NCAA also adopted an interim NIL policy allowing student athletes in any State to receive monetary compensation for their NIL. For a brief discussion regarding state NIL laws, please see our July 2 article, Kentucky Joins Growing Number of States Allowing Student-Athletes to Receive Name, Image, Likeness (NIL) Compensation - Stites & Harbison.

Most recently, the NCAA announced that it would hold a constitutional convention to "explore proposals for a new system of governance and rules enforcement that examines the role of the NCAA's national oversight." It is unclear what changes the NCAA will make, but they will likely be far-reaching. It will be important to learn how, after months of unregulated NIL dealings, the NCAA will enforce NIL-specific rules. It will also be interesting to see how the States and Congress react to