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Antitrust partner Steve Medlock will serve as Session Chair and Moderator of the panel “NIL After Alston: Wild West?” at this year’s American Bar Association 73rd Antitrust Spring Meeting in Washington DC.

This year kicked off with several important name, image, and likeness (“NIL”) updates that universities, boosters,¹ and NIL Collectives² would do well to review. Earlier this month, the NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions Panel (the “Committee”) issued a negotiated resolution with Florida State University (“FSU”) following an investigation into alleged impermissible conduct during the recruitment of a football player who was listed in the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (“NCAA”) transfer portal. This resolution comes on the heels of new NCAA disclosure rules and the NCAA President’s letter that proposes allowing universities to enter into NIL agreements with student-athletes.

The IRS recently issued an internal memorandum to the effect that many Name-Image-Likeness (NIL) collectives will not qualify for 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status, including those that had previously obtained tax exemption letters from the IRS.

Last year’s college football offseason drama came to a head with coaches levying allegations that impermissible name, image, and likeness (“NIL”) payments were made to prospective student athletes to persuade them to attend a certain university. The latest NIL saga is similar, but with a twist.

On October 26, 2022, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (“NCAA”) issued new guidance (“the October guidance”) to its Division I member schools regarding the name, image, and likeness (“NIL”) rules’ applicability to institutions and current student athletes. The October guidance clarifies a few areas of refuge for institutions, while also highlighting how institutional involvement with NIL entities — colloquially known as “Collectives” — could violate preexisting NCAA bylaws.

As we approach the one-year anniversary of the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (“NCAA’s) interim guidance on name, image, and likeness (“NIL”), colleges and universities are starting to debut a new position: the Director of NIL Engagement.

On May 9, 2022, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (“NCAA”) issued new guidelines to its Division I member schools on name, image, and likeness (“NIL”).

For over a century, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (“NCAA”) barred student-athletes from monetizing their name, image, and likeness (“NIL”).