Name, image and likeness (NIL) has turned every athlete and creator into a brand — but most NIL deals are signed on speed, not on structure. The money is real; the mistakes are expensive.
Own the persona, license the use
Your publicity rights — your name, image, likeness, voice and persona — are an asset you own. A good NIL agreement licenses a specific, limited use of that asset; it never assigns it away. Watch for broad grants of "all rights in perpetuity," which quietly convert a sponsorship into a giveaway.
The terms that carry the value
- Scope: exactly which platforms, territories and time period the brand may use your likeness.
- Exclusivity: whether you are locked out of competing categories, and for how long.
- Approvals: your right to approve creative before it runs.
- AI and synthetic media: whether the brand may recreate your likeness with AI (see our work on digital twins).
At PARRON LAW we structure NIL and publicity-rights deals so the athlete or creator keeps the asset and captures the upside. New matters start with an online consultation.