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About Christopher Batts

By Christopher Batts

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Christopher Batts is a Florida corporate attorney with experience negotiating name, image, and likeness ("NIL") contracts.

Email: cbatts@shuffieldlowman.com

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Governor DeSantis Signs Amendment to Florida's NIL Law

By: Christopher Batts This week, Governor DeSantis signed an amendment to Florida's NIL law, officially changing the language of one of the first state NIL laws in the country. Our prior post describes some of the key changes. Overall, the amendment lifts restrictions on what was an overcomplicated law (especially when compared to the simplicity of the NCAA's interim guidance on NIL). One of the biggest changes is with respect to universities' and coaches' involvement in NIL negotiations. Under the prior version of the law, universities and coaches were rightfully nervous to touch anything related to student-athlete NIL negotiations. The amendment frees up this restriction, but universities and coaches will still need to comply with NCAA rules on the subject. The goal of the amendment is to put Florida's universities on level playing ground with other states' universities. Time will tell if the amendment accomplishes this goal.

Florida's NIL Law to Be Amended: Coaches and Universities Should Be Prepared for Changes

By: Christopher Batts Florida's NIL law is likely going to be amended in the next week or two. The proposed changes are significant, lifting a lot of restrictions that are currently in place as of the date of this post. One of the biggest changes is the removal of language prohibiting universities and their employees from "caus[ing] compensation to be directed to a current or prospective intercollegiate athlete." Florida Senate Bill No. SB 200 . The implications of this change are that universities and coaches can have some involvement in NIL negotiations. The extent of this involvement will still be limited, however, by the NCAA's bylaws. For example, NCAA Division I Bylaw 11.1.3 restricts universities and coaches with regard to representing a student athlete or prospective student athlete in trying to market the student athlete. This puts university athletics departments and coaches in a unique position with regard to NIL negotiations. Universities and coaches wil...

Why Protecting Your Name, Image, and Likeness Matters

By: Christopher Batts Name, image, and likeness (“NIL”) is both bigger and smaller than most people think. Sure, some top college athletes are inking deals for millions of dollars, but most people don’t realize the sheer number of student athletes (with names you might never hear on TV) that are also signing deals for substantial amounts of money. These deals may not be for millions of dollars, but they’re oftentimes enough to buy a new car or house. That’s not an exaggeration. The “small” deals you don’t hear about can be extremely lucrative. So, what does a student athlete have to lose? If a company or collective puts a contract in front of a college student and offers to pay them six figures for one year during which they have to post on Instagram 10 times and participate in 1 live interview, is there any legitimate reason not to sign? The short answer is: It depends on the contract. There could be a lot of reasons not to sign any given contract (or at least to try to negotiate...

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