Texas’s biennial legislature is in session, and revamping Texas’ name, image, and likeness (NIL) laws to keep up with the developments across the U.S. seems to be a hot topic. As of the date of this post, state representatives have filed seven bills that would affect NIL in the state and potentially allow Texas high schoolers to benefit from their NIL.

Recently, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia denied a request from a D-1 baseball player for a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the NCAA related to his eligibility, as well as a preliminary injunction for the same. Dylan Goldstein, an outfielder for his school’s baseball team, sought immediate reinstatement for the 2024-2025 academic year after exhausting his eligibility under current NCAA Bylaws.

One major issue underlying the pending House v. NCAA settlement is its impact on international students on F-1 student visas (academic student). As analyzed in a previous episode of Highway to NIL, if approved, the House settlement will allow Division I schools to directly compensate their student-athletes for their name, image, and likeness (NIL) as part of a revenue-sharing system. However, international students may jeopardize their status within the U.S. if they accept this money.

At the end of January, the Ivy League, a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I conference, announced that it is opting out of the settlement reached in House v. NCAA. The settlement, which was reached as a result of negotiations among current and former student-athletes, the Autonomous Five conferences (the Atlantic Coast Conference, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, and Southeastern Conference), and the NCAA, proposes a $2.8 billion resolution of claims against the conferences and NCAA that they unlawfully prevented student-athletes from receiving a share of various revenue streams associated with their athletic participation.

NIL Revolution is a comprehensive blog dedicated to analyzing the ever-evolving legal landscape of college athletics. From breaking news and current events to compliance and enforcement insights, our authors provide in-depth analysis of issues within the college athletics domain, with a particular focus on the regulation of name, image, and likeness (NIL) rights for student-athletes.

The Highway to NIL Podcast analyzes the legal landscape concerning college athletics and the regulation of name, image, and likeness (NIL) rights of student athletes. The podcast provides key insights into the current state of affairs, focusing on the NIL guidance and policies coming directly from the NCAA; the various passed and amended state NIL laws; and NIL enforcement, including how the NCAA, state attorneys general, and other regulators may investigate and punish schools for NIL violations.

Six former East Mississippi Community College football players who appeared in the documentary series Last Chance U have sued the school, Netflix, the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), and the documentary’s executive director in Los Angeles County Superior Court over their portrayal of the athletes. Plaintiffs John Franklin III, Ronald Ollie, C.J. Reavis, Deandre Johnson, Tim Bonner, and Isaiah Wright, all of whom played football at East Mississippi Community College in 2015 and 2016, allege the defendants wrongfully misappropriated their likeness and that they were not compensated for their work. In total, the plaintiffs are seeking $30 million in damages.

Twenty-seven days after the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) of the outgoing Biden administration issued long-awaited Title IX guidance relating to name, image, and likeness (NIL) payments by schools and third-party collectives and/or boosters, the DOE Office for Civil Rights (OCR) under the Trump administration officially rescinded the nine-page guidance document. We addressed and discussed the DOE’s guidance and its implications in a recent episode of Highway to NIL.