Gregory Marino on NIL Litigation – 'Schools want to know where the line is, and now everything is in flux'

Foley & Lardner LLP special counsel Gregory Marino shared insight on the growing complexities of college sports in the ABA Journal article, “Money and litigation tangle with recent rules for college athletes’ NIL deals.”

Marino, discussing the third party collectives that have risen in the wake of NCAA v. Alston to attract student athletes, said that these entities are all basically startups.

“These collectives came out of nowhere and have become revenue engines in a very uncertain regulatory environment,” Marino explained. “Schools want to know where the line is, and now everything is in flux.”

Marino, commenting on litigation brought by a student athlete, noted that colleges making promises to talented recruits is nothing new. “Illicit recruiting has been going on since there’s been college sports,” he said. “The only difference now is student-athletes are getting in on the action.”

Looking ahead to a prospective settlement in House v. NCAA that would allow universities to pay college athletes directly, Marino highlighted that if approved by a federal judge, the employment status of student athletes may come into question.

“If schools directly pay student athletes, the athletes can make a strong claim that they are employees,” Marino said. “We don’t know yet.”

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