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    CORNERSTONE GUIDE · PLAYBOOK

    The Athlete Playbook: Revenue Share, NIL, & Post-Career Business

    The action guide for current college athletes and retired pros. What to do — not just what changed. Revenue-share contract review, NIL entity setup, trademarks, post-career business, and estate planning. Fixed fees. No hourly surprises.

    By Drew Jacobs, Esq. — Founder, Jacobs Counsel LLC

    Director, Sports, Entertainment & Gaming Initiatives at Seton Hall Law

    Last reviewed:

    New to the House settlement? Start with the explainer →

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    What does a college athlete need a lawyer for after the House settlement?

    College athletes now need counsel for three things: the revenue-share contract with the school (effective July 1, 2025, capped near $20.5M per school), third-party NIL deals, and the LLC or S-corp that holds the income. Retired pros add business formation, trademarks, and estate planning. We handle all of it on fixed fees.

    What did the House settlement actually change for college athletes?

    Before July 1, 2025, college athletes earned NIL income only from third parties — collectives, brands, camps, and licensing. Direct school pay was prohibited. The House v. NCAA settlement, finally approved on June 6, 2025, ended that restriction and authorized direct revenue sharing from schools to athletes, capped at roughly $20.5 million per school in year one (with the cap rising over the ten-year settlement period).

    The practical effect: a high-profile college football, basketball, or Olympic-sport athlete may now sign a multi-year contract directly with the athletic department — separate from any third-party NIL deal — that includes guaranteed pay, conduct provisions, IP licensing, and performance-tied terms. Third-party NIL deals continue but are subject to fair-market-value review by the new College Sports Commission for payments above $600 from "Associated Entities."

    This is the most fundamental restructuring of college athletics in decades. The contract templates, fallback positions, and tax structures are still being written. Athletes who treat year one as the same as pre-settlement NIL are leaving real money on the table — and signing language they may regret.

    School Revenue-Share Contract

    Direct multi-year agreement between athlete and school. Base pay, guarantees, conduct provisions, NIL licensing, transfer terms, injury and de-enrollment language. Reviewed and negotiated by counsel before signing.

    Third-Party NIL Deals

    Brand deals, collective payments, licensing, appearances, camps. Now subject to fair-market-value review by the College Sports Commission for Associated Entity payments above $600.

    Entity Stack (LLC + S-Corp)

    LLC to receive NIL income, S-corp election once revenue justifies it, operating agreement, and a real chart of accounts. Without this structure, athletes pay maximum personal tax and miss legitimate deductions.

    Trademark & IP Portfolio

    Federal trademark on the athlete's name, signature, and any catch phrase or jersey number/logo combination being commercialized. The priority date locks in at filing — earlier is always cheaper.

    Which revenue-share contract clauses matter most?

    Guarantees vs. Performance Pay

    How much of the total package is guaranteed at signing vs. tied to performance, playing time, or roster status? Guarantees survive a coaching change or injury. Performance bonuses often do not. The mix matters more than the headline number.

    NIL Licensing to the School

    What rights to the athlete's name, image, likeness, and brand is the school getting in exchange? Term, territory, and permitted uses must be defined. Broad perpetual licenses are common in first drafts and almost always negotiable.

    Exclusivity & Third-Party NIL Carve-Outs

    Does the school agreement block competing categories of brand deals (e.g., apparel, beverages)? Make sure the carve-outs preserve the athlete's ability to do meaningful third-party deals — that revenue often exceeds the school payment.

    Conduct & Team Rules Provisions

    Triggers for forfeiture or termination of payment for conduct, social media, or off-field issues. These should be narrow, objective, and tied to actual misconduct — not vague 'school discretion' language.

    Injury & De-enrollment

    What happens to payments if the athlete is injured, leaves school, or transfers? Career-ending injury protection, partial guarantees, and a defined transfer process are critical and frequently missing from first drafts.

    Transfer Portal Language

    Right to transfer should be preserved with reasonable notice. Some school agreements try to claw back signing payments or restrict NIL during a transfer window. Push back hard — eligibility-portability is a core right.

    Coaching Change Protection

    If the head coach who recruited the athlete leaves, what happens? Some schools agree to immediate-release or coach-out clauses; many do not. Worth asking, especially for impact athletes.

    Dispute Resolution & Venue

    Most school agreements default to school-friendly arbitration in the school's home county. Push for neutral venue, AAA rules, and fee-shifting in clear breach scenarios.

    What legal planning do retired pro athletes need?

    The retired-athlete chapter is where good planning compounds — and where bad planning gets exposed. The athletes who keep and grow their wealth treat the transition like founding a company. Brand. Business. Investments. Estate. In that order.

    Most retired athletes already have a recognizable name, an existing social audience, and access to capital. What they often do not have is a clean entity structure, a registered trademark portfolio, IP assignments from the people working with them, or an estate plan that reflects post-career net worth. Jacobs Counsel builds all of that on fixed fees — typically over a 30 to 90 day Career Transition Package.

    Brand Protection

    Federal trademark on the athlete's name and signature, defensive domain and handle registration, DMCA enforcement workflow for impersonators and counterfeit merch.

    Business Setup

    LLC and S-corp structure for the new venture (apparel, training, media, agency, restaurant), operating agreement, contractor IP assignments, vendor contracts, and customer-facing terms.

    Investment & Real Estate Vehicles

    Holding company for passive investments, separate real estate LLC, and (where relevant) family-office structure for athletes managing inheritance, family payroll, or charitable giving.

    Estate Planning

    Revocable living trust, advance directives, and irrevocable trusts for asset protection and (for high-net-worth athletes) estate-tax planning. Done before liabilities arise — much harder after.

    Endorsement & Speaking Contracts

    Standard endorsement, appearance, speaking, and licensing template so the athlete is not negotiating from someone else's paper every time. Quick turnaround on inbound deals.

    Foundation & Charitable

    501(c)(3) foundation or donor-advised fund setup for athletes who want a structured giving vehicle, plus governance and compliance support so the foundation actually runs.

    Why does AI-native counsel matter for athletes?

    Athletes operate on tight windows. NIL deals close in days. Revenue-share contracts get presented with a signing deadline. Coaching changes happen in hours. Hourly billing on this kind of work is a tax on speed — athletes either rush a review they cannot afford or sign without one.

    Jacobs Counsel uses AI-augmented contract review with full attorney oversight to deliver 24–48 hour turnaround on NIL deals, structured Foundation packages on fixed fees, and ongoing monthly retainers that cover the full pipeline. Substantively, the firm tracks the House settlement, College Sports Commission rule-making, and state NIL law in real time — this is a moving target and generalist firms will not keep up.

    What Athletes Get

    • School revenue-share contract review and redlines
    • LLC + S-corp setup with operating agreement
    • Federal trademark filings on name, signature, signature mark
    • NIL deal redlines on 24–48 hour turnaround
    • Career Transition Package for retiring pros (business + IP + estate)
    • Fixed fees and monthly retainers — no hourly bills

    What are the most common legal mistakes athletes make?

    Patterns we see across college and retired athletes on first review.

    Signing the school's first-draft revenue-share contract without legal review
    Taking NIL income personally with no LLC — paying maximum personal tax and missing deductions
    Granting the school broad perpetual NIL licensing without term or territory limits
    No federal trademark on the athlete's name — copycats and counterfeit merch run free
    Exclusivity in third-party NIL deals that quietly blocks the school agreement (or vice versa)
    No injury or transfer protection in revenue-share contracts
    Conduct clauses with vague 'school discretion' triggers and no cure period
    Retired athletes launching businesses with no entity, no operating agreement, no IP assignments
    Estate plans that have not been updated since the athlete made real money
    No tax planning around residency when relocating from a high-tax state post-career

    Talk to Athlete Counsel

    30-minute strategy call to scope your athlete legal stack — school revenue-share contract review, NIL pipeline, business setup, or post-career planning. Licensed in New York, New Jersey, and Ohio.

    College Athletes & Retired Pros — FAQ

    What is the House v. NCAA settlement and how does it change athlete pay?
    The House v. NCAA settlement was approved on June 6, 2025 and took effect July 1, 2025. It allows Division I schools to pay athletes directly through a revenue-sharing model, with a first-year cap of approximately $20.5 million per school across all sports. This is in addition to existing third-party NIL deals. For the first time, the school itself becomes a paying counterparty — and that fundamentally changes the contract, tax, and planning conversation for college athletes.

    What does a revenue-share agreement with a school actually look like?
    Most schools are using a multi-year contract that combines a base revenue-share payment with NIL licensing terms. Common provisions include: payment schedule and guarantees, conduct and team-rules clauses, IP licensing of the athlete's name/image/likeness for school use, exclusivity carve-outs that interact with third-party NIL deals, transfer/portal language, injury and de-enrollment terms, and dispute resolution. Many first drafts heavily favor the school. Athletes (and families) need counsel reviewing before signing — the standard fallback positions are still being established.

    Are revenue-share payments and NIL income taxable?
    Yes. Direct revenue-share payments from a school are taxable as ordinary income (typically reported on a 1099 or W-2 depending on classification). Third-party NIL deals are also taxable. Most college athletes earning meaningful income should form an LLC or S-corp to receive NIL payments, deduct legitimate business expenses (training, travel, equipment, agent fees), and plan estimated taxes. Without structure, athletes often discover six-figure tax surprises in April.

    How do third-party NIL deals interact with the House settlement cap?
    Under the settlement, third-party NIL deals from 'Associated Entities' over $600 are reviewed by the College Sports Commission for fair-market-value clearance. Pure third-party deals (genuine national brands, not collective passthroughs) generally do not count against a school's $20.5M cap. The line between school-affiliated collective payments (cap-counted/regulated) and arms-length brand deals (not cap-counted) is the most actively litigated and evolving area of the rule set.

    Can a college athlete have an agent and an attorney?
    Yes. Under current NCAA rules and the House framework, college athletes can engage agents, marketing reps, and attorneys for NIL and revenue-share matters without losing eligibility. The roles are distinct: an agent finds and negotiates commercial deals (commission-based), an attorney provides legal review and structure (fee-based). Most serious NIL athletes have both. Jacobs Counsel works alongside agents — reviewing what they bring you, structuring the entity, and protecting the athlete's long-term interests.

    What should retired athletes do with their NIL and career earnings?
    The post-career playbook has four parts: (1) protect the brand — file federal trademarks on the athlete's name, signature, and likely product lines before someone else does; (2) build the business stack — LLC, operating agreement, S-corp election, contractor IP assignments for any people on the payroll; (3) deploy the capital — investment vehicle, real estate entity, and a real estate plan with trusts; and (4) plan the tax exit — including residency planning if relocating from a high-tax state. The retired athletes who keep their wealth treat the post-career years like founding a company.

    How do trusts and estate planning work for high-earning athletes?
    Athletes earning seven figures should have an estate plan that includes a revocable living trust, advance directives, and (depending on net worth) irrevocable trust structures for asset protection and estate tax planning. Common structures: an LLC holding company for business and IP, a separate real estate LLC, an irrevocable trust for legacy assets, and life insurance held outside the estate. The goal is asset protection during the career and tax efficiency at exit — and it gets much harder once liabilities or claims have already arisen.

    How does Jacobs Counsel work with college athletes and retired pros?
    For college athletes: a fixed-fee 'NIL & Revenue Share Foundation' that includes LLC formation, operating agreement, basic trademark filing, and review of the school revenue-share contract — plus a monthly retainer covering ongoing NIL deal review. For retired athletes: a 'Career Transition Package' covering business formation, trademark portfolio, contracts for any new venture, estate planning, and ongoing outside counsel. Everything is fixed-fee or fixed monthly retainer — no hourly bills.