NIL Fraud: How to Avoid It

NIL fraud is an underreported, but often common practice that has resulted as a side effect of student-athletes being allowed to profit off of their own name, image, and likeness. There have been constant reports and incidents since the NCAA first announced the new NIL rules of student-athletes being taken advantage of or outright not being paid the money that they were promised. Whether it’s multi-million-dollar NIL deals that are allegedly reneged upon, such as what happened to Florida QB recruit Jaden Rashada, or NIL offers for only a few hundred dollars, NIL fraud is currently skyrocketing. Luckily, there are several things student-athletes can do to help avoid getting scammed.

1.      Research Anyone Who Reaches Out With An Offer: If you’re an athlete who is drawing enough attention that you are being offered NIL deals, you are probably also often faced with solicitors. You absolutely MUST do your research into any person or company who comes calling offering you money.

2.      If It’s Too Good to Be True…It Might Be: If an offer seems like it’s too good to be true and it dwarfs anything else that you have seen up to this point, I would advise you to be careful. Oftentimes scammers will present a great offer and trick a student-athlete into agreeing to terms of a deal without actually seeing a proper offer. Any real company offering you an NIL deal is unlikely to present you with a large upfront offer.

3.      Hire Good Representation: The absolute most important thing you can do to protect yourself is hire good representation. Hiring a Sports Law Agency that specializes in NIL, such as our own, is the best path forward to avoid fraud. Our firm will review any contract offer you are presented with and ensure the terms are fair and that you won’t be taken advantage of. -Hunter DeSantis, 3L