NIL Zone

The recent elimination of NCAA athletics at Sonoma State University is just the beginning of the NIL fallout. As the college sports landscape shifts, many programs face financial challenges, leading to tough decisions like cutting athletics. This is a wake-up call for universities and athletes to adapt to the changing dynamics of college sports. The future will demand innovative solutions to balance financial sustainability with athletic opportunities. At NIL Zone, we're committed to helping athletes navigate these changes. We provide the tools and resources necessary to maximize Name, Image, and Likeness opportunities, empowering athletes to enhance their personal brand and secure their financial future. Partner with NIL Zone to confidently navigate your athletic journey using our patented solutions. As the impact of NIL continues to unfold, our innovative approach ensures you have the support and guidance needed every step of the way. https://lnkd.in/g2mHfeSm

I’ve been representing Albion Soccer Club Silicon Valley, Albion SC SV Redwood City and Albion SC SV San Mateo for months in a US Soccer Bylaws Grievance under the Amateur Sports Act to help them attain league membership and other remedies for their soccer teams and players. On Christmas Eve, all parties settled and I’m very pleased my clients achieved the appropriate redress. Congrats to club leaders Hugo Perez Jr, Eric Rivas and other club leaders. Back in March 2024, a congressional task force looking into Olympic Sports issued critical scrutiny of the oversight of grassroots sports; yet, from our experience under modified U.S. Soccer Federation procedures, it appears positive changes are occurring within the ecosystem of national governing bodies (NGB). The USSF Grievance process has undergone changes, and our kudos go out to the USSF mediation team Anna Lavis and Majd Steitieh, and leadership Greg Fike and Shari Summers for a much-improved process. #youthsoccer #sportslaw #governance #SportsAct USOPC NGB Council Photo: Hugo and I meeting in April 2024 for first time. Planning for victory!

The NCAA D1 roster cap aspect of the House proposed settlement is problematic and warrants further scrutiny. My article with Brandon Leopoldus in Sports Illustrated highlights the harm being caused to nonrevenue athletes on D1 campuses. Coach James Franklin at Penn State University was quoted over the weekend about walk-on athletes like Dom DeLuca losing out in the future if the roster cap provision goes into effect. D1 athletics are starting to express concern for this under-exposed issue. #SportsBusiness #NIL #sports #CollegeSports #NCAA #SportsLaw

Ohio joins the list of states where schools can now make direct #NIL payments to college athletes, after Governor Mike DeWine signed an executive order yesterday allowing it. https://lnkd.in/guqN-d_G Schools know that they have to directly pay their athletes, but they don’t want to wait around for the House settlement to potentially be approved. At this point, schools in all states should strongly consider funding NIL payments to their athletes. And at this point, with states taking the lead, the House settlement isn’t really even necessary to allow schools to make NIL payments. It’s only function now (with respect to the forward looking NIL rev-share payments) will be to place a cap on the NIL payments schools can make. #nameimagelikeness #ncaa #collegeathletics #sportslaw

Today at #NCS in Huntsville I'll be speaking about #dataownership as a transformational #cybersecurity strategy. This proposes a property enforcement modality that is much more scalable. The talk: Cybersecurity via Data Ownership: A Scalable Solution https://lnkd.in/gZ6BsfeN

Bring on the due diligence, risk, and insolvency litigation. #duediligence #AML #sovereignwealth

Excited to announce that I'm partnering with US Performance Academy - the online school for elite athletes - to do something truly unique. While I've done much in providing NIL education for high school athletic associations and leagues, USPA will be the first high school to offer a for-credit NIL class directly from the school. Read more about USPA at https://gouspa.org/ NIL continues to grow at the high school level and by offering this course, USPA continues to play an incredibly important role in the lives of young athletes. #nil #nameimagelikeness #nileducation

My quick and early thoughts on #NCAA Division I Proposal - 2024-3 and the new institutional guidance (Memo) it offered on #NIL: ·        Managing fairness: helping 1 v. all; the haves and have-nots, and; Title IX discrimination. ·        Burden on the institutional internal NIL teams or TPAs managing same; athletes will increasingly look to these assets as free player-agents and media consultants, which is a misnomer. ·        Creating an environment rife with communication problems, unrealistic or unstated expectations, confusion, and potential deceit. ·        Conflicts and unhappy sponsors where the gray areas will be expanded, not reduced, with "on-call" permissive activities.