Robert D. Pollock, Esq.
Business Litigation

What is NIL? Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) is a legal concept derived from the Right of Publicity and generally refers to an individual’s right to control and profit from the commercial use of their personal brand.

Historically, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) regulations prohibited intercollegiate student-athletes from monetizing their NIL while maintaining their athletic eligibility. The traditional landscape changed completely in June 2021 with the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in NCAA v. Alston; immediately after which, the NCAA implemented an interim NIL policy allowing student-athletes to capitalize on their NIL without compromising their eligibility.

Despite the introduction of the NCAA’s interim NIL policy, Florida’s NIL law still maintained certain restraints prohibiting schools (and their booster organizations) from causing compensation to be directed to student-athletes for the use of their NIL. This remained the status quo until this past February when the Florida legislature enacted the Intercollegiate Athlete Compensation and Rights Bill (“HB 7-B”), representing a significant paradigm shift within the realm of collegiate sports in the State of Florida.

HB 7-B (embedded within Section 1006.74 of the Florida Statutes) provides that intercollegiate student-athletes must have an equal opportunity to control and profit from the commercial use of their NIL and to be protected from unauthorized misappropriation and commercial exploitation of their right to publicity.

In other words, Florida removed the restriction on schools and their booster organizations from directing NIL deals to student-athletes and paved the way for student-athletes  to take full advantage of their NIL by entering into endorsement deals and promotional activities, monetizing social media presences, and pursuing other commercial ventures without the fear of jeopardizing their athletic eligibility.

Although schools are now permitted to educate student-athletes about potential NIL opportunities and can collaborate with NIL service providers to facilitate a marketplace that connects student-athletes with said opportunities – schools are still prohibited from engaging in negotiations on behalf
of student-athletes or NIL entities to securespecific opportunities.

Therefore it is essential that current and prospective intercollegiate student-athletes seek the proper guidance and representation to adequately negotiate potential deals, protect their legal rights, and ensure compliance with the NCAA Rules, Florida law, and the individual NIL policies of their respective schools.

Contact litigation attorney Robert Pollock at http://mail to:rpollock@blalockwalters.com941.748.0100 or email rpollock@blalockwalters.com.