Publication Date

4-2025

Document Type

Article

Abstract

This Essay is written to address a series of questions encompassing name, image, and likeness (NIL) opportunities available to collegiate athletes in sports where the potential is high for head and other career-ending injuries. Sports performance can produce significant economic value through NIL. Decisions made by team physicians, athletic trainers, or other healthcare professionals may affect a collegiate athlete's potential for financial gains expected through NIL. These physicians, athletic trainers, and other healthcare professionals will have to consider whether they could be held personally liable for health care-related decisions affecting financial gains collegiate athletes could potentially experience from NIL.

Part I of this Essay will consider the NCAA's support for collegiate athletes' mental health well-being as part of collegiate athletes' overall health and the NCAA's recognition that mental health well-being affects the quality of academic, athletic, and social interactions, which is reflective of the NCAA's overall concern for the mental health of collegiate athletes.

Part I will also consider obligations imposed on collegiate institutions by the NCAA's constitution to conduct their intercollegiate athletics programs so as to enhance the physical health, mental health, and overall safety of collegiate athletes.

Part II will consider risk mitigation protocols universities should consider to minimize the risk of astronomical damage awards.

Finally, this Essay will conclude by discussing NIL opportunities available to collegiate athletes in sports where the potential is high for head and other career-ending injuries, thus requiring consideration of the consequence of inadequately treating injuries sustained by collegiate athletes. The potential harm collegiate athletes may suffer during competition or practice may impact future NIL earnings of collegiate athletes. Therefore, medical malpractice committed by university-employed medical professionals, sports rehabilitation personnel, and performance personnel will pose enormous risks to universities and to both university-employed medical personnel and those employed outside universities.

Collegiate institutions must also consider their obligations to conduct their intercollegiate athletics programs so as to enhance the physical health, mental health, and safety of collegiate athletes. The consequence of inadequate treatment of injuries sustained by collegiate athletes and the potential liability of university-employed outside physicians, clinical rehabilitative teams, and sports-performance staff for collegiate athletes' loss of future NIL earnings is too enormous to avoid planning for.

Publication Title

Fordham Law Review

Volume

93

Issue

5

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