ABSTRACT
Student-athletes being able to use their name, image, and likeness to endorse brands creates another opportunity for sponsors to reach and engage with the college sports audience. Implementing name, image, and likeness policy is complex, with the NCAA offering limited guidelines, laws being enacted by some state governments, and multiple pieces of legislation introduced in the United States Congress. Understanding the sponsorship practice provides insight into what the name, image, and likeness policy provisions need to include. Sponsorship benefits such as product category exclusivity, brand association, and activation need to be examined so that student-athletes can maximize their earning potential through name, image, and likeness usage and so that it is appealing for sponsors to use student-athletes to achieve their marketing objectives.
