Abstract
Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) agreements have created significant financial opportunities for amateur and collegiate athletes while also introducing complex legal, ethical, and strategic decision-making challenges. This decision-focused teaching case places students in the role of trusted advisors to Archie Stafford, a highly recruited high school athlete who must evaluate and compare multiple NIL contract offers connected to his preferred college options. By analyzing NIL agreements, students assess contract enforceability, identify key legal and business risks, weigh legal, contractual, ethical, and reputational disclosure obligations, and formulate a reasoned recommendation aligned with Archie’s academic, athletic, financial, and long-term career goals. The case is designed for undergraduate and graduate courses in sport management, business law, sport law, and ethics, and emphasizes applied learning, critical thinking, contract analysis, disclosure judgment, and professional decision-making in the evolving NIL landscape.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Kight, J., Faircloth, M., Mikl, L., & Silverman, R. (2026). NIL and Contract Law: Advising a Prospective College Athlete Through Competing Name, Image, and Likeness Agreements. The COSMA Journal. Retrieved from https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/cosma/vol3/iss1/13Included in
Contracts Commons, Curriculum and Instruction Commons, Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons, Intellectual Property Law Commons, Sports Management Commons, Sports Studies Commons