A video game company builds an entire product around a famous cricketer, using their face, physique, batting style, and signature celebrations. The game sells millions of copies. The cricketer never signs a contract, never gets a call, and never receives a rupee. That scenario is not hypothetical, and it sits at the center of what image rights actually mean for professional athletes.

Image rights law exists because athletes invest years building a public identity, and that identity has real commercial value. When a third party uses a player's likeness, celebrations, or style to sell products without permission, they are extracting value the athlete created. Protecting those rights is not about vanity; it is about ownership of what you built.

The same principle applies beyond video games, covering advertisements that use a player's likeness without consent, merchandise printed with their image, and AI-generated content that mimics their style. The person whose identity is being commercialized deserves both a say in how it is used and fair compensation when it generates profit.

Published on Subwave

https://subwave.app/@cri9259/post/when-your-face-sells-millions-without-you