Legal Defense Strategies | The Legal Edge: NIL
Issue Date: October 24, 2025 | Issue #18
A Quick Welcome from the Founder
Welcome to this week's Legal Defense Strategy deep dive!
This week, we're shifting focus from contract specifics to the broader, systemic issues left unaddressed by the House v. NCAA settlement. While the settlement dramatically changed the financial life for athletes, it also failed to clarify critical aspects of athlete protection, particularly the Duty of Care owed by institutions and healthcare professionals.
This omission leaves a dangerous legal gap, exposing both athletes to potential harm and institutions to significant liability.
Let's dive into what House didn't fix.
Sincerely,
Rebekah Ballard, 3L
This Week’s Strategic Insight
The Elephant in the Room: Duty of Care & Post-House Gaps
The House settlement, while great for NIL compensation, skillfully sidestepped critical legal and ethical issues concerning athlete welfare, most notably the Duty of Care owed by universities and their healthcare professionals. This creates significant unaddressed legal liabilities for institutions and leaves athletes vulnerable to inconsistent standards of medical treatment, long-term health neglect, and inadequate post-career support.
The House Settlement: A Financial Fix, Not a Welfare Solution
The House settlement primarily focused on the economic relationship between athletes and institutions, opening the door for direct revenue sharing and solidifying NIL rights. However, it offered no new legal frameworks or clarity regarding athlete health and safety.
What House Did: Addressed compensation, anti-trust claims, and the structure of NIL.
What House Didn't Do: It failed to establish universal standards for medical care, long-term injury management, mental health support, or comprehensive insurance for athletes, effectively maintaining the status quo of a fragmented, inconsistent system.
The Duty of Care: A Looming Legal Battleground
"Duty of Care" in a medical context refers to the legal obligation of healthcare professionals to act in the best interests of their patients, providing a standard of care that a reasonably prudent professional would offer in similar circumstances. For collegiate athletes, this duty is fraught with unique conflicts.
Dual Loyalty Conflict: Team physicians and trainers often face a conflict between the athlete's immediate health needs and the team's competitive interests. This can lead to pressure to return to play prematurely or to downplay injuries.
Lack of Independent Oversight: Unlike professional sports, college athletics often lacks independent medical oversight, leaving critical health decisions potentially influenced by coaching staff or athletic department priorities.
Unclear Post-Career Obligations: What happens when an athlete sustains a career-ending injury? House provided no clarity on the institution's ongoing financial or medical responsibility.
Unaddressed Gaps: Beyond the Medical Field
The failure of House to address duty of care is indicative of broader systemic omissions:
Athlete Long-Term Health & Insurance: Many athletes are left without adequate coverage for chronic conditions or injuries sustained during their collegiate careers once their eligibility ends.
Mental Health Services: While improving, access and quality of mental health support vary wildly, with no federal standard mandated by the settlement.
Academic Protection: The settlement did not fortify protections against academic exploitation or ensure truly independent academic advising, particularly for high-profile athletes.
Why This Matters?
The House v. NCAA settlement has inadvertently highlighted a critical unaddressed legal liability. Institutions face an escalating risk of lawsuits from former athletes claiming negligence or breach of duty of care, as the financial benefits to athletes increase without increases in their health and welfare protections. Proactive legal review and institutional policy changes are now imperative to address these risks.
Justice delayed is justice denied.
The Athlete Playbook
What You Can Do Today
Establish Independent Medical Authority: Implement clear policies ensuring team physicians and trainers report solely to medical directors, free from coaching or athletic department pressure.
Comprehensive Injury Tracking & Follow-up: Mandate robust, long-term tracking of all injuries, including mental health, and establish clear post-eligibility care pathways for chronic conditions.
Mandatory Independent Second Opinions: For significant injuries or conditions, require or strongly encourage athletes to seek an independent medical opinion outside the athletic department.
Review & Enhance Insurance Policies: Ensure current insurance policies adequately cover long-term health consequences, disability, and post-career medical needs related to collegiate athletic participation.
NIL Quick Hits
New Ohio NIL Legal Precedent
An Ohio judge granted a temporary restraining order allowing high school athletes to profit from NIL deals, reflecting a growing legal consensus for wider NIL opportunities at younger ages
Read the full story here: https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/high-school-athletes-nil-deals-ohio/
Pro Sports Betting
The NCAA announced that college athletes and staff can now legally bet on professional sports, provided they do not bet on college or amateur athletics. This alters compliance risks for athletes and raises issues about conflicts of interest and integrity for schools and law practitioners advising them
Read the full story here: https://abc45.com/news/nation-world/ncaa-allows-college-athletes-to-bet-on-pro-sports-sparking-debate
Court Filings Are In
Arguments against several objections to the House Settlement have been filed including Title IX claims, adequacy of the notice process, and more.
Clinics Are Appearing At Schools for Athletes
The legal field in NIL is expanding rapidly: law school clinics and sports law firms are actively recruiting students to support athletes, draft contracts, and assist with compliance filings.
Read the full story here: https://businessofcollegesports.com/law-school-clinics-offering-nil-assistance-to-student-athletes/
The Breakdown
The Unreported Concussion
A star player sustains a head injury during a game but feels pressured to "shake it off" and return to play in a critical moment. No formal concussion protocol is initiated until days later, resulting in prolonged symptoms and potential long-term neurological damage.
The Legal Edge’s Take
This is a prime example of breach of duty of care and potential institutional negligence. The conflict of interest between athletic performance and athlete well-being is clear. The absence of a robust, independent medical protocol, uninfluenced by school staff, directly exposes the institution to significant liability for the athlete's short-term injury mismanagement and potential long-term health consequences.
Legal Lingo Explained
What is ‘Duty of Care and Negligence’?
Duty of Care is a legal obligation requiring individuals or organizations to adhere to a standard of reasonable care while performing any acts that could foreseeably harm others. In a medical context, it means providing appropriate professional medical services.
Negligence is the failure to exercise the standard of care that a reasonably prudent person (or professional) would have exercised in a similar situation, leading to injury or damage.
Why Does This Matters?
Without clear mandates and independent medical oversight, institutions face increasing legal exposure. Athletes, now aware of their economic value and less likely to tolerate perceived medical negligence. A successful lawsuit for breach of duty of care can result in millions in damages, reputational harm, and increased scrutiny from regulators and the public.
Your Toolkit
Athlete Pro Tip
For institutions, a delayed or inadequate response to an athlete's health concerns is a direct path to legal liability. Proactive and documented duty of care is the only defense in this post-House landscape.
What’s Next?
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Next week, we are covering: The Shifting Landscape of Recruiting: Inducement vs. NIL
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Disclaimer: This newsletter provides educational insights and general information related to the legal side of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL). It does not constitute legal, financial, or professional advice, and should not be relied upon as such. This content is for informational purposes only, and you should always consult with a qualified professionals for advice tailored to your specific situation.
NIL laws are constantly evolving, and the information provided might not be the most current at all times.