This course examines the newly created right of college athletes to access entrepreneurial opportunities based on their common law rights of publicity, often called of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) rights. Until recently, amateurism rules prevented college athletes from accessing these rights, but changes in the rules and policies of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), together with recently enacted state laws, have given college athletes a new ability to use and potentially profit from these rights.  This course will examine the challenges and opportunities arising from this major shift in the world of intercollegiate athletics. Topics covered include a detailed examination of the legal environment surrounding NIL; the NCAA rules still applicable to NIL and the interplay of these rules with state laws; the key contractual terms and provisions that shape NIL transactions; opportunities allowed and limited under current NIL laws and regulation; institutional responsibilities and liabilities created by NIL; strategies for limiting risk in pursuing entrepreneurial opportunities available under NIL; and the range of third-party participants that have sprung up in the NIL space.

Coming 2024