Arbitrator Rules in Favor of College Sports NIL Watchdog in First Appeal

A third-party arbitrator ruled against 18 Nebraska football players in their appeal of the College Sports Commission’s decision to reject NIL (name, image, and likeness) deals, the CSC announced Monday. It’s the first-ever arbitration process to be completed over deals submitted through the NIL Go scrutiny system overseen by the CSC , which was established in the wake of the House v. NCAA settlement .

The third-party arbitrator found that NIL deals submitted for approval by the Nebraska players were correctly rejected because they did not include a “valid business purpose. ” It also found that multimedia rightsholder Playfly, which helped procure deals for players, was subject to the same level of scrutiny as NIL collectives by being deemed what the settlement calls “associated entities. ” The arbitrator found that, in this case, Playfly was an associated entity.

The ruling doesn’t set a formal legal precedent, CEO Bryan Seeley previously told Front Office Sports. But it will likely be used as a guide by athletes, administrators, and third parties as they shape and submit deals they hope will be approved through the CSC process. ”This process shows the system is working as intended: a decision we made was challenged, and a neutral arbitrator assessed the facts to inform a final decision,” Seeley said in a statement.

“We hope and expect that the student-athletes will submit new deals that comply with the rules, so we can promptly review them. ” The athletes will have the opportunity to re-submit the deals for approval based on the arbitrator’s ruling. “I am proud of our football student-athletes and how they represented themselves during this process and the patience they have shown,” Nebraska athletic director Troy Dannen said in a statement.