Front Office Sports published a profile of my practice today, and I am grateful for the recognition, though the work itself is what keeps me at it.
The article traces how my involvement in college sports law grew from advising Florida legislators on what became the first wave of state NIL bills, to being involved in the Duke transfer dispute concerning Darian Mensah, to currently representing a group of former Florida State men’s basketball players suing Coach Leonard Hamilton over promised NIL payments that were never made. It also covers the Charles Bediako eligibility fight, the trademark and agency work I do, and how my practice has expanded to address the full range of issues that arise at the intersection of sports, entertainment, and the law.
A few things I said in the piece are worth repeating here, because they reflect how I actually think about this work.
The question of whether college athletes should be considered employees remains unsettled. Eligibility disputes that once were resolved quietly inside the NCAA are now being litigated in court. NIL license agreements provided by schools, revenue-sharing frameworks established under the House v. NCAA settlement, and collective agreements are generating legal issues that athletes and the people around them are frequently not equipped to navigate without counsel.
I have been doing this for more than fifteen years, and the volume and complexity of what crosses my desk now is unlike anything I saw even five years ago. Athletes have a narrow window to capitalize on their commercial value, and mistakes made during that window, whether in a poorly drafted NIL agreement, a revenue-sharing arrangement with ambiguous terms, or a transfer situation that triggers litigation, can be costly and sometimes irreversible.
If you are a college athlete, a family member, a coach, a collective, or anyone operating in this space who has questions about NIL agreements, eligibility matters, trademark protection, or any related issue, I am available to help. Reach me directly at Darren@HeitnerLegal.com.
You can read the full Front Office Sports profile here.