About us

While it has been exciting to see student-athletes pursue financial opportunities in this new world of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL), we are quickly seeing many challenges and concerning trends that could negatively impact student-athletes and the integrity of college sports. Athlete Ventures was formed to enable student-athletes to focus on academics and athletics, by simplifying the Name, Image, and Likeness deal lifecycle. The Athlete Ventures platform bridges the gap between student-athletes, sponsors, agencies, and governing bodies into one simple, comprehensive, and intuitive platform. We aim to equip decision-makers with the relevant insight to promote a more competitive and equitable college sports landscape, while bringing structure, clarity, and transparency to the entire NIL market.

Through thorough primary and secondary research methods, Athlete Ventures has architected a valuable, rare, inimitable, and non-substitutable platform strategy to address the major concerns recognized in the Name, Image, and Likeness industry. Detailed below are some of the growing challenges and troubling trends that Dr. Mark Emmert outlined in his testimony before The United States House of Representatives, Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce:

An Increasingly Uneven Playing Field

A patchwork of state laws has left student-athletes subject to different standards than their peers in other states and wondering how they will be assured a fair competitive environment.

These statutes and proposed policies have disparate provisions that, in some cases, attempt to legislate well beyond the issue of NIL and turn student-athletes into paid professional employees of a school. Even those laws and bills that are confined to the topic of NIL have a wide array of often incongruent and conflicting components. Some states regulate the type of NIL activities for which a student-athlete can engage, such as prohibiting endorsements for alcohol, tobacco products, sports wagering, or other categories of endorsement. Other states regulate the parameters around NIL activity, such as limiting when an NIL activity can occur, prohibiting the use of school logos or requiring contractual disclosures, or agent registration. Even those laws that appear to have similar intent are written differently and can be interpreted and enforced differently, depending on the state in which the legislation was introduced or passed.

Lack of Uniform Student-Athlete Protections

Student-athlete protections, including the opportunity to be educated about the basics of contract law and afforded some financial counseling, vary across the patchwork of state laws. Not every student-athlete will be approached by professional service providers and third parties with good intentions. With no uniform standard to educate college athletes or protect them from bad actors or exploitative agreements, many student-athletes will sign projects that are clearly one-sided and perhaps even harmful. With many national companies making NIL offers over social media and direct messaging, student-athletes are often making impulse decisions about binding, and sometimes long-term, contractual agreements without appropriate counsel to evaluate a contract or maximize their earning potential.

Additionally, many student-athletes are likely not aware of the potential tax implications of these arrangements and may find themselves saddled with unanticipated tax bills they may be unable to pay. Other students who receive Pell Grants or other student aid tied to need could unknowingly lose their eligibility for financial assistance because of the income they now receive from NIL. This lack of uniformity has also caused confusion among international student-athletes. Many are apprehension of taking advantage of these new opportunities without clear guidance as to how executing an NIL contract in any given state will impact their visa status. We want student-athletes to have all the information possible at their disposal with access to advisors who have their best interests in mind to ensure they can make informed and educated NIL decisions.

Recruiting Challenges

While college athletes from all sports and all genders have been able to access new financial opportunities by monetizing their NIL, initial data from third-party providers suggest an inequitable distribution of NIL earnings. This data indicates that most reported NIL contracts are being offered to student athletes competing in men’s sports, with football student-athletes capturing nearly 80% of the market share. This skewed distribution of NIL earnings is not simply a result of market behaviors. Anecdotal stories of student-athletes who have made a commitment to one school only to be persuaded to rescind their agreement after a promise of NIL payments are becoming increasingly prevalent and alarming.

Governing bodies have long sought to regulate in this area, putting restrictions around booster and other third-party activity to protect the student-athlete from unscrupulous actors who have no regard for the student’s best academic, cultural, competitive or team fit, but who are incentivized by their own financial interests. We believe that any federal approach should include not only a uniform framework, but also guardrails around recruitment so that third parties and others are not able to have undue influence over a student-athlete’s independent decision about where to attend school.

Lack of Transparency Leading to Threats to the Collegiate Model

While some NIL-related data has been disclosed through third-party service providers, there is no one entity that has a complete picture of the types of projects that have been made or their parameters. Similarly, because no mechanisms that allow for the transparent disclosure of transactions exist, there is no way to know if a transaction is legitimate or if it is simply a pay-for-play scheme disguised as NIL compensation. While quid pro quo is required of NIL agreements, proof of payment for services or activities is rare. Any governance framework must include a transparent clearinghouse mechanism to disclose NIL transactions that ensures privacy, as well as the integrity of the college sports model.

Lack of Enforcement and Governance

We are supporting the efforts of students and schools to best comply with the various state laws. However, there is much confusion surrounding the numerous rules and lack of uniform standard when it comes to enforcement. Historically, the membership has relied on the national office to provide regulatory guidance and has been frustrated by the inability to receive national guidance, particularly when conflicting state laws are present. Even those statutes that use the same or similar language to confer NIL rights have different enforcement mechanisms. In many cases, no enforcement or consumer protection responsibility is articulated at all.

NIL regulations should be enforced uniformly, and federal support is urgently necessary to give students and schools guidance around what they should be expected to do, prevent abuses in the system and ensure all student athletes are provided the same opportunities to succeed.