More than 200 ASU student-athletes have gotten NIL deals since 2021
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More than 200 student-athletes at Arizona State University have filed name, image, likeness (NIL) paperwork with the school since the NCAA lifted its longstanding ban on endorsement and sponsorship deals by collegiate athletes in 2021.
State of play: According to data provided by ASU in late July, athletes from its football, baseball, softball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's swimming, and numerous other teams have inked NIL deals.
- Over 1,300 of those deals involved football players, while more than 150 involved men's and women's swimmers.
- Some athletes have numerous NIL deals.
Zoom out: ASU was the only one of Arizona's three public universities that provided Axios Phoenix with details about student-athletes' NIL deals.
- UofA said it doesn't have any information pertaining to student's NIL deals.
- NAU said it doesn't have that information and instead referred us to a company called INFLCR.
Zoom in: Compensation for NIL deals ranges from free products to thousands of dollars.
- Many of the deals revolved around social media activity, ASU said.
- The school didn't provide information on how much its student-athletes collectively received.
Details: Student-athletes must file NIL activity disclosure forms with ASU within 10 days of reaching any agreement.
- ASU keeps data on student-athletes and brands involved in the deals, as well as the terms of compensation and types of products received.
Yes, but: The school doesn't release the identities of the student-athletes, the individual agreements or other details "that can be a path to identifying" the athletes when combined with other available information, such as their social media and other NIL-related activity.
- Because student records are protected by the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), the school said, ASU releases only general summaries.
Catch up quick: The NCAA enacted NIL policies allowing student-athletes to sign endorsement and sponsorship deals after the U.S. Supreme Court in 2021 unanimously ruled it was violating federal antitrust law by limiting academic-related benefits schools could provide to them.
- NIL doesn't permit athletes to be paid for athletic performance.
Between the lines: The NCAA doesn't require disclosure of information and instead they "kick the can" to states and individual schools, which have varying policies and laws, said Darren Heitner, a Florida attorney who specializes in sports law and represents brands involved in NIL deals.
- Some states have laws requiring disclosure, while some schools have pro-disclosure policies, regardless of state law.
- Colleges and universities aren't parties to NIL deals, but most contract with outside organizations that provide those services to student-athletes, he said. NAU, for example, uses INFLCR, a client of Heitner's.
What he's saying: Heitner is opposed to disclosure requirements for NIL deals, telling Axios Phoenix: "To the extent that it is required, I don't think that this really falls in the scope of educational-related material. I think it's more so business-trade secret information."
The big picture: While ASU said student-athletes' NIL data is confidential under federal law, it's an open question as to whether FERPA actually prohibits disclosure.
