Name, Image & Likeness (NIL) & Athlete Brand Protection
NIL deals can create powerful opportunities for college athletes — but the wrong contract can cost you long-term control of your brand. The landscape of college athletics changed dramatically when the NCAA altered its rules in 2021 to allow student-athletes to profit from their name, image, and likeness. Since then, athletes have gained unprecedented opportunities to monetize their personal brands through endorsement deals, social media partnerships, merchandise sales, and other commercial ventures. However, these opportunities come with complex legal challenges involving contract negotiations, compliance with NCAA regulations, intellectual property protection, and tax implications that require experienced legal counsel to navigate correctly.
At The Law Offices of Richard Corey, PLLC, we help athletes, families, and brands structure NIL agreements that protect ownership, compliance, and future earning potential. Managing Attorney Richard P. Corey brings a rare combination of legal expertise and direct entertainment and sports industry experience to every NIL and sports law engagement — having spent years negotiating major label distribution deals, managing recording artists, and advising clients across the entertainment industry. That background translates directly into a strategic advantage for our athlete clients, who benefit from counsel who understands not just the legal documents but the commercial relationships and industry dynamics that drive every negotiation.
Our firm represents college athletes, high school recruits and their families, professional athletes, brands, and NIL collectives throughout Florida and nationwide. Contact us at (954) 789-0461 or legal@rcenterpriselaw.com to schedule a NIL strategy session with a Florida NIL attorney today.
NIL & Sports Law Attorney Fort Lauderdale
Serving Athletes and Sports Industry Clients Throughout South Florida and Beyond
The Law Offices of Richard Corey, PLLC represents college athletes, high school recruits and their families, professional athletes, brands, and NIL collectives throughout:
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NIL Contract Review & Negotiation
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Trademark Registration for Athletes
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NIL Brand Protection & Enforcement
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NIL Eligibility Compliance Advisory
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Endorsement Compliance Advisory
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Group Licensing Review
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Athlete Trademark Portfolio Strategy
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College Athlete NIL Representation
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High School Prospect NIL Planning
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Professional Athlete Legal Advisory
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Sports Business Contracts
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NIL Dispute Resolution
Serving: Fort Lauderdale, Miami, South Florida, and nationally
We handle NIL and sports law matters in Florida state courts statewide and in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
College Athletes
College athletes navigating the NIL marketplace face a unique combination of opportunity and legal complexity. Every deal they sign carries implications not just for their immediate compensation but for their long-term brand equity, their eligibility under applicable NCAA and conference rules, their tax obligations, and their ability to work with other brands in the future. An NIL contract that appears favorable on the surface may contain exclusivity provisions that foreclose future opportunities, confidentiality obligations that restrict the athlete's ability to discuss their own business, or payment structures conditioned on playing time and medical eligibility that create the risk of earning nothing despite performing their obligations under the agreement.
The Law Offices of Richard Corey, PLLC provides comprehensive legal services for college athletes — including NIL contract review and negotiation, brand partnership structuring, trademark protection, and business entity formation to manage NIL income. We analyze every substantive provision of every NIL agreement our clients are asked to sign — including exclusivity clauses, usage rights, payment structure, performance conditions, termination rights, and dispute resolution mechanisms — and negotiate from a position of knowledge to secure terms that protect brand ownership, maximize compensation, and preserve future opportunities. For college athletes who have already signed agreements with unfavorable terms, we advise on available remedies and strategies for renegotiation where possible.
High School Recruits and Families
High school student-athletes occupy a distinct and rapidly evolving position in the NIL landscape. State laws governing NIL activity for high school athletes vary significantly — and the eligibility implications of early NIL activity must be carefully evaluated before any deal is executed. Early decisions about brand development, trademark protection, and NIL structuring can have profound long-term consequences for a recruit's eligibility, their negotiating leverage when they arrive in college, and the strength of the brand equity they have built before signing their first college NIL deal.
The Law Offices of Richard Corey, PLLC advises high school recruits and their families on NIL rule guidance, eligibility considerations, brand development strategy, and early trademark protection. Parents play an important role in helping student-athletes navigate NIL opportunities — and early decisions can impact eligibility, tax exposure, and long-term brand value. We work closely with families to ensure every opportunity is structured responsibly, that the athlete's eligibility is protected at every stage, and that the legal infrastructure necessary to support a successful collegiate and professional career is built from the very beginning. A trademark filed for a high school athlete today is a protected asset that appreciates in value as their career develops — and The Law Offices of Richard Corey, PLLC ensures our young clients start their careers on the strongest possible legal foundation.
Brands and NIL Collectives
For brands and collectives seeking to partner with college athletes, the NIL agreement is not just a marketing document — it is a legally binding contract that must be carefully structured to ensure the brand's investment is protected, the athlete's deliverables are clearly defined, and the arrangement complies with applicable NCAA and conference rules governing third-party NIL deals. A collective that fails to structure its NIL agreements in compliance with current NCAA rules risks not just the unenforceability of its contracts but potential enforcement action that threatens the eligibility of every athlete it has contracted with.
The Law Offices of Richard Corey, PLLC advises brands and NIL collectives on NIL agreement drafting, licensing arrangements, influencer partnerships, and compliance guidance throughout the rapidly evolving college athletic regulatory environment. We draft NIL contracts that clearly define the scope of rights granted, the athlete's deliverables, payment structure, exclusivity limitations, termination rights, and the dispute resolution mechanism that will govern disagreements — ensuring every party's interests are protected and every arrangement is structured to survive regulatory scrutiny. For brands and collectives facing disputes arising from NIL agreements — including breach of contract claims, failure to perform, or intellectual property disputes — we provide the full range of litigation representation that our civil litigation practice affords.
NIL Contract Review and Negotiation
A Name, Image, and Likeness contract is one of the most consequential documents a college athlete will sign, and the terms negotiated at the outset determine not just immediate compensation but long-term control of the athlete's brand and future earning potential. NIL contracts frequently contain provisions that limit an athlete's ability to work with competing brands, impose broad confidentiality obligations, condition payment on playing time or medical eligibility, and grant sponsors far-reaching rights to the athlete's name and image that extend well beyond the scope of the deal itself. Signing without experienced legal counsel is one of the most common and costly mistakes college athletes make.
The Law Offices of Richard Corey, PLLC reviews and negotiates NIL contracts for athletes, families, and brands throughout Florida and nationwide. We analyze every substantive provision — exclusivity clauses, usage rights, payment structure, performance conditions, termination rights, and dispute resolution mechanisms — and negotiate to secure terms that protect the athlete's brand ownership, maximize compensation, and preserve future opportunities. NIL contracts generally address duration, usage rights, exclusivity, compensation type, termination clauses, damages, and dispute resolution — each carrying distinct legal implications that must be addressed before any agreement is executed. No NIL deal should be signed without an attorney reviewing every line.
Athlete Brand Development and Trademark Protection
An athlete's personal brand is an intellectual property asset — and protecting it requires the same legal infrastructure that any valuable commercial brand demands. The name, likeness, logo, nickname, and signature of an athlete can be registered as a trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, giving the athlete exclusive nationwide rights to control the commercial use of those identifiers. Without federal trademark registration, an athlete has no legal mechanism to prevent others from using their name and likeness commercially — a vulnerability that becomes increasingly consequential as their public profile grows and their NIL value increases.
The Law Offices of Richard Corey, PLLC handles trademark registration, brand protection, and licensing strategy for athletes at every stage of their career — from high school prospects building early brand equity to college athletes with established sponsorship portfolios to professional athletes managing complex multi-brand licensing arrangements. We conduct trademark clearance searches before any brand investment is made, file USPTO applications covering all relevant classes of goods and services applicable to the athlete's commercial activities, and monitor for infringing uses of the athlete's brand across commercial and digital platforms. For athletes whose brands have already been infringed — through unauthorized use of their name, image, or likeness — we pursue enforcement through cease and desist demands and federal court litigation when necessary to protect what they have built.
Business Entity Formation for NIL Income
A college athlete who receives NIL income as an individual — without a properly structured business entity — faces the full exposure of self-employment taxation, unlimited personal liability, and no separation between their personal finances and their commercial activities. Forming a limited liability company or other appropriate business entity to receive and manage NIL income creates liability protection, tax planning opportunities, and a professional infrastructure that serves the athlete both during their athletic career and after it ends. For high school recruits anticipating significant NIL activity in college, early entity formation is one of the most important legal steps they can take.
The Law Offices of Richard Corey, PLLC forms and structures business entities for college athletes and professional athletes managing NIL income throughout Florida. We advise on the optimal entity structure for each athlete's specific circumstances — taking into account the nature of their NIL activities, the volume of income involved, their family situation, and their long-term financial objectives. We draft the foundational operating agreements and governance documents that govern the entity, ensure the entity is properly maintained to preserve its liability protection, and coordinate with the athlete's financial and tax advisors to ensure the overall structure achieves their goals efficiently. A properly structured entity transforms NIL income from individual earnings into a managed commercial operation — the foundation of long-term financial success for any athlete building a brand.
Revenue Sharing and the House v. NCAA Settlement
The House v. NCAA antitrust settlement received final approval in June 2025, ending the NCAA's 119-year amateurism model and opening the door for colleges to share revenue directly with student-athletes for the first time in history. Beginning July 1, 2025, participating schools may share up to $20.5 million annually with their student-athletes — an amount that will increase by at least four percent each year during the ten-year agreement. This settlement fundamentally changed the legal and financial landscape of college athletics, and the revenue-sharing agreements being executed under the new framework carry complex contractual implications that every college athlete should understand before signing.
Eligible current and former NCAA Division I student-athletes will also receive a share of a $2.576 billion settlement fund over ten years as back-pay for lost financial opportunities during their collegiate careers. The Law Offices of Richard Corey, PLLC advises current and former college athletes on their rights under the House v. NCAA settlement — including eligibility for back-pay distributions, the terms of revenue-sharing agreements being offered by schools, and the legal implications of accepting direct institutional compensation under the new framework. This is one of the most rapidly evolving areas of sports law in the country, and every college athlete navigating the new revenue-sharing model deserves counsel who is current on the law as it actually exists today, not as it existed before the landmark settlement changed everything.
Professional Athlete Representation and Sports Contracts
Sports law extends well beyond the NIL context. Professional athletes — including those competing in the NFL, NBA, MLB, MLS, and other major leagues — face complex contract negotiations, endorsement deals, licensing arrangements, and business disputes that require experienced legal counsel who understands both the law and the sports industry. Professional player contracts involve salary structures, guaranteed money provisions, performance incentives, roster bonuses, and no-trade or no-cut clauses that must be analyzed and negotiated with precision. Endorsement agreements for professional athletes carry their own distinct legal complexity — including exclusivity provisions, morals clauses, image rights, and post-career licensing arrangements that can generate income long after an athlete's playing days are over.
The Law Offices of Richard Corey, PLLC represents professional athletes and sports industry professionals in contract review and negotiation, endorsement deal structuring, licensing arrangements, and business disputes. Managing Attorney Richard P. Corey's background in entertainment law — including direct experience negotiating major label distribution deals involving platinum recording artists and Grammy award winners — gives our sports law clients a genuine strategic advantage. The commercial dynamics of a professional athlete's endorsement portfolio are not fundamentally different from those of a major recording artist's licensing and distribution relationships — and Richard brings that direct, insider perspective to every professional athlete engagement. We represent athletes not just as legal counsel but as strategic advisors invested in the long-term success of everything they are building.
Post-career image rights and licensing provisions are among the most consequential and most frequently overlooked dimensions of professional athlete representation. An athlete's name, likeness, and image do not stop generating commercial value when their playing career ends — licensing agreements, memorabilia deals, autograph appearances, broadcast rights, and brand endorsements can produce significant income for decades after retirement. The contractual provisions negotiated during an active career that govern post-career image rights — including the duration of any exclusivity obligations, the scope of the sponsor's right to use the athlete's likeness after the contract term ends, and the athlete's right to participate in legacy licensing programs — determine the financial landscape of an athlete's post-career brand. The Law Offices of Richard Corey, PLLC advises professional athletes on post-career image rights planning — ensuring every active contract is negotiated with the athlete's long-term commercial interests in mind and that no provision inadvertently forfeits rights that will prove valuable long after the final game is played.
NIL and Sports Dispute Resolution and Litigation
When sports relationships break down — when an NIL deal is breached, a sponsor fails to pay, a collective misappropriates funds, or an institutional revenue-sharing agreement is violated — litigation becomes the mechanism for enforcing rights and recovering what is owed. NIL contracts are frequently framed as licensing agreements, and because college athletes are not classified as employees, these deals resemble independent contractor arrangements — which complicates enforcement and makes quantifying damages particularly challenging. The rapidly evolving regulatory framework governing college athletics adds additional complexity, as disputes may involve not just contract law but NCAA compliance issues, intellectual property rights, and the emerging body of case law developing around revenue sharing and athlete compensation.
The Law Offices of Richard Corey, PLLC represents athletes, families, brands, and collectives in NIL disputes, contract breach claims, intellectual property infringement actions, and business disputes arising from sports industry relationships throughout Florida state and federal courts. If disputes arise involving NIL agreements, endorsements, or intellectual property rights, we represent clients in negotiation and litigation when necessary. Richard P. Corey's civil litigation background — including complex fraud litigation and contract dispute representation across multiple industries — provides the trial-ready foundation that effective sports dispute resolution requires. Whether your matter involves a single breached endorsement agreement or a complex multi-party dispute involving a collective, a school, and multiple sponsors, The Law Offices of Richard Corey, PLLC pursues your rights with the full force of our litigation practice.
Why Choose The Law Offices of Richard Corey, PLLC as Your NIL & Sports Law Attorney in Fort Lauderdale?
Most NIL attorneys understand contracts. Few understand the sports and entertainment industry from the inside. Managing Attorney Richard P. Corey has spent years operating at the intersection of law and entertainment — negotiating major label distribution deals involving platinum recording artists, managing creative talent, and advising clients across the full spectrum of the entertainment and sports industries. That direct industry experience is not a marketing talking point — it is the foundation of every NIL and sports law engagement at The Law Offices of Richard Corey, PLLC, and it is what gives our athlete clients a genuine strategic advantage that purely transactional attorneys cannot provide.
Richard P. Corey has been recognized by Super Lawyers as a Rising Star in civil litigation and business law for three consecutive years — a distinction awarded to fewer than 2.5% of attorneys in Florida — and has been featured in USA Today, Yahoo News, and Influencive. He is a Member of the Bar of the Supreme Court of the United States and is admitted to practice in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida — giving our sports law clients access to both state and federal court representation when litigation becomes necessary. His TEDx talk on the application of legal and systems thinking to business transformation reflects the same strategic, blueprint-driven approach he brings to every client engagement.
Our firm is boutique by design. Every NIL and sports law client works directly with Richard — receiving the senior-level attention and genuine strategic investment that athletes building careers and brands deserve. We do not treat athlete representation as a volume business. We approach every engagement as a long-term partnership — invested in the success of what our clients are building at every stage of their career.
Schedule a Consultation With a Florida Sports Law Attorney
Whether you are a college athlete reviewing your first NIL deal, a high school recruit building your brand before you arrive on campus, a professional athlete negotiating a contract, or a brand seeking to structure compliant athlete partnerships, The Law Offices of Richard Corey, PLLC is ready to provide the strategic, experienced legal counsel your athletic career and brand deserve. Contact us today to schedule a NIL strategy session.
The Law Offices of Richard Corey, PLLC
915 Middle River Drive, Suite 408
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304
Phone: (954) 789-0461
Email: legal@rcenterpriselaw.com
Website: rcenterpriselaw.com
Who We Help
What Is NIL and Why Does Legal Counsel Matter?
Name, Image, and Likeness rights allow college athletes to earn compensation for the use of their personal brand. NIL opportunities can include brand endorsements, licensing deals, social media promotions, appearances, and partnerships with companies or collectives. While NIL creates exciting opportunities, it also introduces complex legal and business considerations involving contracts, intellectual property, compliance rules, and tax implications that can have long-term consequences for an athlete's career, eligibility, and financial security.
The NIL landscape has changed more rapidly than any other area of sports law in recent history. What started in 2021 as a framework allowing athletes to profit from endorsements has evolved into a full commercial ecosystem — and the June 2025 approval of the House v. NCAA antitrust settlement fundamentally changed the landscape further, authorizing schools to share revenue directly with student-athletes for the first time in the NCAA's 119-year history. Navigating this environment without experienced legal counsel creates real eligibility, financial, and contractual risk. Our role is to help athletes and families navigate these opportunities strategically while protecting long-term brand value.
The legal issues that arise in the NIL and sports law context draw from multiple disciplines simultaneously — contract law governs endorsement agreements and revenue-sharing arrangements, intellectual property law protects the trademarks and publicity rights that represent an athlete's most valuable assets, corporate law structures the business entities through which NIL income flows, and civil litigation becomes necessary when contracts are breached or rights are infringed. The Law Offices of Richard Corey, PLLC provides the full spectrum of NIL and sports law services under one roof — giving our clients integrated, strategic counsel across every legal dimension of their athletic career.
Related Practice Areas
NIL agreements frequently involve entertainment law considerations including licensing, brand partnerships, and media rights. Visit our entertainment law practice for comprehensive representation in this space. For trademark registration and intellectual property protection of your personal brand, our intellectual property attorneys provide dedicated counsel. For business structuring and entity formation to manage NIL income, explore our corporate law services.