Should College Athletes Have an Attorney Negotiate NIL Contracts?

 Posted on September 05, 2026 in Sports, Entertainment & Gaming Law

By Ira Rainess, Sports, Entertainment, and Gaming Law Attorney

If you are a student athlete getting ready to go to college, you have probably heard the term "NIL" a lot lately. NIL stands for Name, Image, and Likeness. It is a legal concept that gives athletes the right to profit from their personal brand, identity, social media presence, and even their autograph.

Although student athletes can now benefit from their NIL and negotiate contracts with the NCAA, there are many risks. Students are often taken advantage of because they simply don’t understand the contracts they’re signing. Months or years later, this can expose them to real legal risk. 

Even students who begin their college athletic career with solid legal advice find things changing rapidly over the course of their college years. Our Maryland NIL sports law attorneys work with students and their families to watch out for the students’ best interests over the years. 

If your child is being recruited to play college sports, consider contacting an attorney sooner rather than later. 

How House v. NCAA Changed the Face of College Athletics

Before July 1, 2021, NCAA athletes were not allowed to earn money from their NIL. That meant no sponsorship deals, no paid appearances, and no monetizing social media. Despite this, schools, conferences, and the NCAA made billions from the athletes’ performances and publicity.

That all changed with a landmark legal case called House v. NCAA. Former college athletes sued the NCAA and major athletic conferences for failing to compensate them for the use of their NIL. After years of litigation, the NCAA agreed to a 2.8 billion dollar settlement. 

This means college athletes will receive fairer compensation. Instead of just receiving scholarships, athletes will start getting a cut of the money they help generate. Nevertheless, there are strict rules around payments, recruitment, and contracts. The laws around NIL are different in every state. University policies differ as well. 

In the years since House v. NCAA, how – and how much – college athletes are paid has changed considerably. These changes will only continue as the legal and cultural landscape around NIL and NCAA contracts evolves. 

Students and their families dealing with the university athletics system should make sure they have an experienced attorney watching out for their interests and helping them understand the law. What looks like easy money can have long-term consequences. 

How Can Silverman Thompson Help Student Athletes Negotiate NCAA and NIL Contracts? 

NIL policy and practices are changing all the time. Direct school payments, sponsorship patches, and recruitment standards are just a few areas where NIL rules have changed over the last year alone. 

Understanding these changes is difficult for families preparing to send their students to play university sports for the first time. How can parents make sure their children aren’t taken advantage of? What kind of issues do parents need to bring up in negotiations? Who pays for certain expenses, and what happens if a student athlete wants to get out of a contract? 

These are important questions that need to be answered carefully with the help of an experienced attorney. Attorney Ira Rainess leads Silverman Thompson’s Sports, Entertainment, and Gaming Law practice. With more than 25 years of experience, he is well-known in NIL and sports law. 

Our team gives student athletes and their families excellent legal counsel, explaining confusing contract terms in plain language. We help with issues such as: 

• What to do if an NIL deal is unpaid 

• What happens when a student accused of breaching exclusivity

• What a student should do if they are at a school facing regulatory investigations

• What kind of red flags families should look out for (e.g., long-term exclusivity, hidden fees, overbroad rights)

• How to make sure a deal aligns with the athlete’s goals

• How to protect a student’s eligibility and future opportunities

NIL has reshaped college sports, and for schools like Maryland, it’s both an opportunity and a challenge – one Silverman Thompson is here to help with. 

Call a Maryland NIL Contract and Endorsement Attorney for College Athletes

The NCAA is a large, extremely well-resourced organization. Student athletes and their parents deserve excellent legal representation as they approach Name, Image, Likeness contracts, especially for the first time. 

At Silverman Thompson, our Maryland sports law attorneys represent student athletes as they negotiate endorsement agreements and other NIL-related issues. Whether you are a student athlete, parent, coach, or administrator, the goal is simple: to provide you with a clear roadmap through the new era of college sports. 

Contact us at 410-385-2225 today to schedule a consultation.