In Their Corner

The National Collegiate Athletic Association’s 2021 decision to allow college athletes to earn money from endorsement deals that use their name or image has garnered eye-popping payouts for big-name quarterbacks, point guards, and pitchers.

But athletes from lower-profile sports or programs are also inking these name, image, and likeness (NIL) deals, albeit for much smaller payouts — as low as $50 or $100. Even a mid-range deal between $5,000 and $20,000 often isn’t worth the hefty cut taken by the agent or lawyer who brokers it, which can run as high as 30%.

Without representation, though, young athletes are vulnerable.

The Berkeley Center for Law & Technology (BCLT) is stepping up to help through its new NIL Practicum and accompanying seminar, which is being offered for the first time this spring. Under the instruction and supervision of seasoned attorneys with deep experience in the sports arena, students are working with athletes from around California to broker these deals.

“If you have a contract in the $1,000 range, that’s where we want to help, to make sure the money goes into the athlete’s pocket and not the pocket of some corporation,” BCLT Executive Director Wayne Stacy says.

The practicum’s guidance is available across the state, whether it’s a swimmer from Modesto who’s been approached by a local car dealership or a field hockey player from Carlsbad with an offer from a stick manufacturer. The only criteria, Stacy says, is that an athlete be enrolled in a California college or university, is at least 18 years old, and doesn’t already have a lawyer.

“Our target is unrepresented athletes who are being offered these midsize sponsorship packages,” he says. “We want to make it easy, and make sure the money flows to the athletes. We’re here to help athletes and their families.”

Stacy is an instructor for the practicum. So are a team of heavy-hitters in the sports law world, including Richard Brand — managing partner of ArentFox Schiff’s San Francisco office and head of the firm’s sports practice — colleague Zak Welsh ’15, Jade Smith-Williams of Bailey Glasser, and three lawyers from Gunderson Dettmer: Colin D. Chapman, Gina Marek, and Kerry Moller. Powerhouse agent Leigh Steinberg ’73 is an adviser for the program.

Even before the practicum formally began, Stacy says, the team spent time consulting with athletes from programs around the state. UC Irvine, for example, has 10 players considering endorsements — too few for its law school to run its own clinic but a strong indicator that Berkeley Law’s assistance will be useful there and elsewhere.

In addition to the hands-on in-state help, Stacy hopes the program will become a national leader in NIL policy. One early goal for the broader effort is to develop a template agreement for NIL endorsements that could be adapted and used around the country.

“Something both sides can trust would be a huge step forward,” he says. — Gwyneth K. Shaw