The N-I-L Hotline

On this episode of the NIL Hotline, we examine the bill that was put forward by Senators Tuberville and Manchin regarding name, image, and likeness...and whoo boy this one is a doozy. Lots of questionable legal frameworks, and some plain old disingenuousness masquerading as "fixing the system". We discuss the implausibility of some of the bill's highlights, and we talk about whether or not this has any chance at becoming a law down the road.

The last couple of weeks have seen NIL become a hot topic in Washington, as NCAA leadership, college administrators, and coaches descend on Capitol Hill to lobby congressional members for a national NIL law --- one that might supercede the patchwork of state laws that have popped up in the last two years. We discuss the core problems with this approach, highlight how out of step a national NIL law for college athletes would be in relation to other individuals' right of publicity, and suggest some other alternatives for solving the stated problems of university leaders.

On this episode we answer a listener question about how potential transfers in college sports find out about NIL opportunities at new schools. We then discuss the new EA Sports group licensing deal for the upcoming College Football game and talk about how that arrangement came to be, and what the payment of college athletes means. We also look at the type of athletic department job that deals directly with NIL opportunities.

The NCAA and its member institutions are hoping for a federally-mandated solution to their NIL woes. Surely a national right-of-publicity law for college athletes is easy to argue for, right? Well, actually no. On this edition of the NIL Hotline, we delve into New York's new state law proposal, the NCAA and its member schools' peculiar thought processes in terms of congressional action, and the reality of how rights of publicity are handled in the United States today.

On the latest NIL Hotline, we talk about some of the latest headlines in the NIL world, including:

Penn State's local business strategy with NIL

Hunter Dickinson's shockingly low NIL money deal at Michigan

Andy Dalton's plan to give money to all TCU athletes

NIL laws have touched on a variety of unexpected areas, including how high school students are (or are not) allowed to profit off of their rights of publicity. Shifting political realities have led to high schoolers' rights being augmented, removed, or allowed, and we have seen star high school athletes going so far as to move to a different state in order to avoid overly restrictive NIL regulations. What's driving all of this, and how might we look at NIL items related to high school students in the near future?

On this episode, we delve into some of the new NIL deals that have popped up recently, including Arch Manning's $0 in NIL money, Livvy Dunne's partnership with SI, and some others. We also discuss the opportunities for Olympic sport athletes to take advantage of NIL, and the unique business setup of collegiate sports in the USA.

NIL Deals are expensive! So what are companies getting for their money?

The podcast look at NIL valuations and revenues for some selected women's college athletes and talks about the broader implications

A brief episode on the issues athletic departments may face in directing donor cash moving forward