As sponsorship deals in college athletics begin to proliferate with the advent of name, image, and likeness (NIL) agreements, questions arise regarding the intersection of these arrangements with Title IX requirements. The shift toward NIL deal sponsorship began soon after the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) implemented regulations in June 2020, for the first time allowing athletes to benefit financially from their personal brands. This has sparked a wave of fundraising efforts among school alumni and boosters, aiming to provide athletes with monetary resources that range from traditional funding to monthly fan subscriptions.
There are concerns, however, that the ramping up of NIL agreements may intersect with Title IX in complex ways. Andrew G. Hope, a specialised consumer defense litigator with Buchanan, Ingersoll & Rooney, sheds some light on the issue. He notes that while Title IX applies solely to NCAA member institutions and would not directly influence NIL deals between athletes and third parties, the interaction seems unavoidable. In Hope’s assessment, many schools have already intertwined university fundraising endeavours with collectives. This includes policies permitting the licensing of trademarked logos or other intellectual property and endorsing various products and services.
This evolving landscape proves to be a zone of potential conflict, where inconsistent administration of NIL programs may lead to Title IX violations by disproportionately disadvantaging female athletes.
With no uniform federal NIL law currently in place, several states have moved ahead, enacting their own legislation, resulting in varied NIL landscapes across the country. This discrepancy has resulted in state laws contradicting NCAA regulations, such as allowing boosters and collectives to broker deals and protecting in-state schools from NCAA enforcement.
Further complexities arose as some state laws even permit compensating athletes for attending particular institutions, a move that contravenes the NCAA’s prohibition on inducements. This rapidly shifting landscape mandates a continuous review and revision of NIL policies to ensure full adherence to existing legal constraints, including Title IX.