by Marina M. Speligene
Introduction
Name, image, and likeness (NIL) rights and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are two separate but related topics that have attracted a great deal of attention in the last year, especially in the world of collegiate and professional athletics. Collegiate sports first witnessed the collision of these ostensibly distinct concepts following a June 30, 2021, National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) decision that opened the door for student-athletes to take advantage of name, image, and likeness opportunities—business ventures that would have previously stripped them of their NCAA eligibility.[1] The NCAA’s new policy instructs that all NIL activity be consistent with the law of the state where the college is located or, in the absence or interim of operative state law, the school’s NIL policy.[2] As of today, more than half of states have enacted NIL laws, Louisiana included.[3]