Focus Areas for Institutions of Higher Education to Navigate the Revenue Share and NIL Era

As the landscape of college athletics undergoes fundamental changes, institutions of higher education (“IHEs”) have a myriad of new issues to consider. At Hunton, attorneys in our Higher Education and Private Schools practice are well prepared to advise on these issues and assist on topics including:

Revenue Sharing

• Direct revenue sharing with student athletes brings them into contractual privity with IHEs, requiring careful structuring of revenue share agreements to balance NCAA guidelines, state laws, and competitive and financial considerations. Our team is experienced in structuring and negotiating revenue share agreements to protect IHEs from transfers who breach agreements, disgruntled agents/advisors and advising on compliance concerns arising out of these agreements.

NIL Deals

• The House Settlement brings new NIL regulations that require the reporting of all NIL deals with a value over $600. All NIL deals will be subject to a “market test” administered by Deloitte on behalf of the NCAA. Hunton has partnered with valuation and accounting firms to provide a comprehensive suite of services to vet NIL deals before submitting them to the NCAA.

Title IX

• Revenue sharing and the removal of scholarship limits has introduced additional complexity to IHEs Title IX compliance requirements. Hunton’s IHE team has significant experience working in, with, and in front of, the Department of Education to resolve Title IX matters.

Public-Private Partnerships (P3)

• Hunton has deep P3 experience, including advising on real estate and construction related public private partnerships underpinning significant multi use athletic facilities, and advising on the public financing components of those projects.

Insurance

• As universities respond to the House decision, they will need to assess their insurance coverage needs related to compensating athletes, associated operational costs, and with regard to any new entities formed or restructuring efforts to manage financial changes. Hunton’s team is equipped to conduct these assessments.

Training and Education

• Hunton can provide training to both IHE employees and student athletes on revenue sharing, NIL, taxes, compliance and more.

Please reach out to a Hunton lawyer for guidance on any of these topics.