For many athletes, Name, Image, & Likeness (NIL) opportunities begin with excitement. A company sees your content, reaches out, and expresses interest in partnering with you. The offer may include free products, payment, or both. Athletes who have spent years training and competing often feel a sense of validation when these opportunities arise. Their hard work has built a platform that companies recognize as valuable.
NIL deals, however, are not simply social media collaborations. These agreements are legal contracts, and they involve something extremely valuable, your brand. Your name, image, and likeness are not just identifiers, they are assets. Companies partner with athletes because those assets help promote products, connect with audiences, and build credibility with consumers.
When an athlete signs an NIL agreement, they are usually giving a company permission to use their identity for marketing. This permission is called a license. A license allows a company to use an athlete’s name, image, voice, or likeness for a specific purpose and period of time.
Some contracts include language allowing companies to use those rights “in perpetuity.”
The phrase “in perpetuity” means forever. A contract that grants NIL rights in perpetuity allows a company to continue using an athlete’s name, image, voice, or likeness indefinitely. The rights may continue even after the contract ends or after the partnership ends. The company may legally continue using the athlete’s identity in advertisements, promotions, or marketing campaigns years later.
Athletes who are new to contracts often overlook this phrase. NIL agreements frequently move quickly, and athletes are understandably focused on the opportunity in front of them. Intellectual property rights, however, are not only about the value of a deal today. They involve protecting the long-term value of an athlete’s brand.
Understanding the risks of permanent NIL licensing is critical for athletes who want to build and protect their personal brands.
1. You Cannot Be Paid Fairly Forever
One of the biggest problems with in-perpetuity clauses is that they disconnect payment from future value. No athlete knows what their brand will be worth in the future, and a deal that feels meaningful today may be extremely small compared to the opportunities that develop later.
Many NIL agreements happen early in an athlete’s career when their platform is still growing. A freshman athlete may have limited exposure and a smaller social media following. Over time, strong performance, media attention, and fan engagement can dramatically increase visibility. One breakout season or viral moment can grow an athlete’s audience quickly and significantly increase the value of their personal brand. If a company receives NIL rights in perpetuity, it gains the ability to continue using the athlete’s name, image, and likeness forever, regardless of how valuable that identity becomes. This creates a clear imbalance. The athlete is paid based on what their brand is worth at the time of the agreement, while the company benefits if that brand grows.
An athlete who becomes a star may later realize that content created early in their career can still be used by the company years later. Because the rights were granted in perpetuity, the company can continue using the athlete’s name, image, and likeness without paying the athlete anything beyond the original deal. Since those rights were given away permanently, the athlete has no ability to renegotiate based on their increased value.
2. Permanent Rights Can Limit Future Opportunities
Another concern with in-perpetuity clauses is the impact they can have on future partnerships. Companies that invest in athlete endorsements want clarity around how an athlete’s name, image, and likeness are being used in the marketplace. Before launching a campaign, brands carefully evaluate potential risks, including whether another company still has rights connected to the same athlete.
Permanent NIL rights can create uncertainty in these situations. If a company still has the legal ability to use an athlete’s content or likeness from a previous deal, new brands may hesitate to enter into a partnership.
For example, a national brand may want to launch a campaign with a particular athlete. During its review process, the company discovers that a smaller brand still has the legal right to use the athlete’s image from an earlier NIL agreement. Even if the original partnership ended years earlier, the company may still be able to use that athlete’s content because the rights were granted in perpetuity.
This creates a problem for the new brand. Companies typically want clear and exclusive marketing campaigns. If another company can still legally use the athlete’s image, content, or likeness, the new brand may view the situation as too complicated or risky. Rather than dealing with those issues, the company may simply choose to work with another athlete whose brand rights are clearer.
A clause signed early in an athlete’s career can unintentionally limit much larger opportunities later on.
3. You Lose Control of Your Personal Brand
Another major concern with in-perpetuity clauses is the loss of control over an athlete’s own brand.
When athletes grant permanent rights to their name, image, and likeness, they may no longer control how that content is used in the future. Even if the partnership ends, the company may still have the legal ability to continue using the athlete’s photos, videos, or other content in advertisements, marketing materials, and promotions.
Over time, this can create situations where an athlete’s image is still being used in ways they no longer support or agree with. A company could continue to run advertisements, repost old content, or feature the athlete in marketing campaigns years after the relationship has ended. The athlete may have moved on, built a different brand identity, or partnered with other companies, but the earlier content can still legally be used.
This loss of control can also affect how an athlete manages their own brand. Athletes often evolve as their careers grow, their interests change, and their public image develops. Permanent rights can lock content from an earlier stage of their career into the marketplace indefinitely.
As a result, an athlete may find their name, image, and likeness connected to messaging, campaigns, or branding decisions that they no longer have the ability to influence or stop.
A small clause in an early NIL agreement now affects the athlete’s brand years later.
Your Brand Is Your Business
Once athletes begin signing brand deals, they are no longer just competitors in their sport. They are operating as a business. Companies partner with athletes because their name, image, and likeness carry value in the marketplace. That value comes from the audience the athlete has built, the reputation they have earned, and the influence they have developed through their platform.
When brand deals enter the picture, protecting that brand becomes a necessity. Businesses protect their intellectual property and control how their identity is used in the marketplace. Athletes should approach NIL in the same way.
Your name, image, and likeness are the core assets of your business. Every NIL agreement involves a company using those assets to promote its products or services. Understanding contract language is essential to protecting that value.
Clauses that grant rights in perpetuity can transfer long-term control of an athlete’s intellectual property to a company in exchange for a short-term payment. Athletes need to be aware of these provisions so they do not give away their intellectual property to a brand without realizing the long-term consequences.