Structuring Student-Athlete NIL Agreements: Recent Decisions, Regulations, and Key Developments

Mr. Boland’s practice centers on collegiate and professional sports, including NIL matters, where he helps clients navigate the often-confusing web of NCAA rules and various state laws to earn compensation for the use of their personas in areas such as advertising and social media. With over 25 years of specialized experience, he is uniquely qualified to advise clients in this new NIL space and other emerging issues in the rapidly changing field of college athletics. Prior to joining the firm, he served as the Athletics Integrity Officer (a first-of-its-kind role where he worked to ensure that intercollegiate sports were conducted ethically and with integrity) at Penn State University, where he oversaw one of the nation’s largest athletic departments as it emerged from a period of crisis in integrity matters that included Title IX, employee issues, and investigations, along with the legalization of sports betting and NIL. Mr. Boland also held teaching appointments at Penn State Law and in its School of Labor and Employment Relations. His time in academia, which includes leading sports management and sports law programs at New York University and Ohio University, also led him to develop an NIL course that is currently being taught at Boston College. In his legal practice, Mr. Boland was an active player agent for over a decade and negotiated more than 100 player and endorsement agreements across a variety of sports. He also advised a range of teams and players as the Principal of Boland Sports Practice Group LLC, where his former clients include franchise acquisition groups bidding for NFL teams such as the Buffalo Bills and the Jacksonville Jaguars. In his consulting work, Mr. Boland led two college conference realignment reviews for a league and an institution.

Mr. Evrard represents colleges and universities nationwide in NCAA compliance, infractions and legal matters and has represented and consulted with members of the Southeastern, Atlantic Coast, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, Big East, American Athletic, Big West and Big South conferences and Conference USA. He also works with collegiate coaches and administrators and conference commissioners. Mr. Evrard educates university athletic staffs and other attorneys through a series of presentations and panel discussions, speaking to groups like the National Association of College Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and the National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA). Before joining the firm, he was an NCAA staffer, serving first as an enforcement representative and then as director of legislative services. He also functioned as NCAA staff liaison to many committees and groups including the NCAA Recruiting Committee, Student-Athlete Committee, Interpretations Committee, Professional Sports Liaison Committee and the Faculty Athletics Representative Association.

Mr. Edel is a recognized leader in sports and colleges and universities, teams, and leagues regularly seek his advice. He also advises and represents companies, boards, and C-Suite officers on employment, antitrust, licensing matters and disputes, intellectual property matters, and other contractual disputes and has successfully tried and arbitrated dozens of cases. Mr. Edel is a highly sought-after speaker on sports issues and also writes on sports issues, including NIL, gambling, gender equity, discrimination, antitrust, and labor issues. He teaches Sports Law at Columbia Law School and Antitrust law at Brooklyn Law School.