NIL BrandingNIL Branding

NIL Branding

Stanford Brand

Please refer to the Use of Marks Imagery Visual Guide for a quick reference of Stanford Branding examples. For further information and clarity, please reference the questions below.

During NIL related activities, may a student-athlete state their affiliation with Stanford?
Yes, students may state they attend Stanford. Further, they may state that they are a Stanford student-athlete, including identification of their sport and sport position.

May a student-athlete use the Stanford brand (e.g., block S, campus landmarks, Cardinal color, etc.) in conjunction with NIL activities?
No. Stanford prohibits the use of institutional trademarks for the personal gain of any of its students, including its student-athletes. Such institutional trademarks include, but are not limited to:

  • The block S
  • Campus landmarks (Memorial Church, Hoover Tower, the Dish)
  • Campus facilities (athletic stadiums, dorm rooms, locker rooms)
  • Cardinal color

Accordingly, Stanford student-athletes are not permitted to use the Stanford brand in any NIL-related activity; this includes but is not limited to any photograph of a student-athlete where a Stanford mark/color/landmark/facility is visible, whether the photo was taken by Stanford Athletics, or an individual not affiliated with Stanford Athletics.

Exception: Student-athletes may receive compensation in exchange for signing a third party’s personal property, even if the third party’s personal property contains Stanford marks. 

  • Do: A family friend takes a black and white image of a student-athlete engaging in practice activities. In the image, no Stanford marks, facilities, campus landmarks, or trademarked colors are visible. 

    The student-athlete may use the image in NIL activities.
     
  • Do: At an off-campus signing event, a fan approaches a student-athlete and asks if the student-athlete can sign the fan’s Stanford hat in exchange for $10. 

    Because the hat is the personal property of the third party, the student-athlete can engage in the NIL activity even though the hat includes a Stanford mark.
     
  • Don’t: A student-athlete found an old headshot photo where they are wearing a Stanford uniform, with the Stanford block S prominently displayed in the middle of the uniform. The student-athlete employs photoshop to blur out the Stanford block S and uses the image in a promotional social media post. 

    This image still uses the Cardinal color and is therefore a violation of Stanford’s branding policy.
     

May student-athletes perform an NIL deal with an existing Stanford licensee?  
Yes. Student-athletes may perform an NIL activity with an existing Stanford licensee. This includes the Fanatics jersey, name, number, and fleece program where athletes may sell and promote products with a Stanford logo in conjunction with their NIL. 

May a student-athlete use a Stanford Athletics produced image in connection with a third party marketplace or platform for NIL business? 
No. Imagery used on a marketplace or in conjunction with sales of services must be in non-branded apparel or utilize an athlete headshot. Please refer to the Use of Marks Imagery Visual Guide for practical examples.

Stanford Policies

May student-athletes conduct NIL-related activities on Stanford’s campus? 
No, per Stanford’s Unrelated Business Activity policy, Stanford students and staff cannot operate a business on campus, this includes engaging in NIL activities, using Stanford facilities. 

  • Do: A student-athlete wants to advertise and provide fee-for-lessons during the Winter quarter. During the December winter closure while at home, the student-athlete created an online sign-up for the fee-for-lesson offerings and filled all open spots. Thereafter, the student-athlete locates a public park in the Palo Alto locale to conduct the lessons. 

    This arrangement is permissible because no Stanford campus facilities (i.e., dorm rooms, athletic facilities, open grass areas, etc.) are being used in the NIL activity.
     
  • Don’t: A student-athlete is walking across campus and decides to do a “day in the life” video on their phone in front of Hoover Tower. The student-athlete shoots the video and posts it in connection with a NIL sponsored post. 
     
  • Don’t: A student-athlete wants to advertise and provide fee-for-lessons on campus during the Spring quarter. The student-athlete prints out fee-for-lesson advertisements in their dorm room to hand out. Thereafter, the student-athlete finds an open grass area on campus and conducts the lesson. 

    This arrangement would violate the university’s policy of operating a business on campus (i.e., utilizing dorm rooms and open grass areas on campus).
     

When posting a NIL activity on social media, may a student-athlete tag the location as Stanford University?
No. Student-athletes may not tag their location as “Stanford University” in NIL-related social media posts. To do so would violate institutional policy about no business activities, including NIL activities, operating on Stanford’s campus.

May a student-athlete engage in a NIL deal using Stanford-issued gear, apparel, or awards? 
No. NCAA rules stipulate that student-athletes may not sell or exchange for another item of value Stanford Athletics issued apparel, gear, or awards until after the student-athlete has exhausted their intercollegiate athletic eligibility. This prohibition is not limited to NIL deals only but is a general NCAA prohibition.

  • Do: A booster wants a signed student-athlete jersey. The student-athlete offers to purchase a jersey from the bookstore, sign it, and then sell it to the booster for twice the cost of the original jersey. 

    This is permissible as the jersey sold was not issued to the student-athlete from Stanford Athletics. 
     
  • Do: A booster sees a student-athlete after the conclusion of a home game and asks them to sign the booster’s hat for $50. The student-athlete signs the hat and accepts the $50 from the booster. Following the game, the student-athlete notifies the Stanford Athletics Compliance Office of the NIL activity by logging the deal in the INFLCR Verified app.

    This is permissible as the hat was the property of the booster, and therefore not issued to the student-athlete from Stanford Athletics. 
     
  • Don’t: A booster offers to pay a student-athlete to sign and sell them their game-worn jersey after a big game. 

    This is Stanford-issued gear; therefore, it would be impermissible for the student-athlete to sell or exchange the jersey.
     

What if a NIL agreement conflicts with an existing Stanford Athletics contract?
When engaged in Official Team Activities, student-athletes may not engage in NIL-related activities. This includes any agreement that may conflict with an existing Stanford contract. Existing contracts that could be in conflict include, but are not limited to, those related to the following industries: athletic apparel, athletic equipment, and/or sports drinks and beverages.

  • Do: A student-athlete signs a NIL deal with an athletic beverage company (“Company #1”) that is not the Stanford-sanctioned athletics beverage company (“Company #2). The NIL agreement stipulates that the student-athlete will only consume Company #1’s product during all competition; however, the contract includes a clause noting the terms of the agreement do not apply during Stanford Official Team Activities. 

    As a result, the student-athlete is permitted to, and possibly limited to, consuming Company #2’s product during Stanford Official Team Activities. Outside of Stanford Official Team Activities, the student-athlete can be held responsible to fulfilling all other terms of the NIL agreement with Company #1.
     
  • Don’t: A student-athlete signs a NIL deal with an athletic equipment company (“Company #1”) that is not the Stanford-sanctioned athletics equipment company (“Company #2). The student-athlete informs the coach that they no longer wish to use the athletic equipment provided by Stanford, but instead wishes to use the equipment provided by Company #1. 

    A NIL agreement written in this manner would conflict with an existing Stanford Athletics contract (in this case with Company #2) and would therefore be prohibited. Student-athletes are encouraged to speak with the Athletics Compliance Office prior to entering into any agreement that could possibly conflict to discuss ways in which a permissible agreement could be structured. 
     

Will the Stanford Athletics Compliance Office review student-athlete NIL agreements in advance of signing?
Yes. However, Stanford Athletics Compliance will provide feedback as to whether the agreement complies with California law, NCAA rules and regulations, and Stanford policies only. Stanford will not provide feedback as to any other terms of the agreement. Moreover, Stanford is only permitted to provide feedback directly to the student-athlete and/or their parent(s) (i.e., not other parties including agents, businesses, boosters, etc.). Stanford Athletics recommends that all third parties seeking to enter into a deal with a student-athlete draft the NIL agreement language and send it to the student-athlete and the Athletics Compliance Office for review. The Stanford Athletics Office will then work with the student-athlete on any questions or issues identified. 

Student Obligations

May a student-athlete miss Stanford Official Team Activities to engage in NIL related activity?
No, student-athletes may not miss any Official Team Activities, defined under the Stanford NIL Policy to include all Countable Athletically Related Activities (“CARA”) and Required Athletically Related Activities (“RARA”), for the purpose of NIL-related activities. 

  • Examples of CARA include, but are not limited to: 
    • Practice
    • Competition
    • Strength Training 
    • Film review
    • Team meetings
  • Examples of RARA include, but are not limited to: 
    • Athletics related meetings (compliance, academics, etc.)
    • Recruiting-activities
    • Press conferences
    • Travel to and from away competitions


May a student-athlete engage in NIL activities during Stanford Official Team Activities?
No. Per Stanford policy, and in adherence with California law, student-athletes are not permitted to engage in NIL activities during Official Team Activities.

  • Do: An electronics company thinks it would be great exposure to have a student-athlete wear their headphones during athletic activities. The company extends a NIL agreement to the student-athlete offering $200 for every non-Stanford affiliated post showing the student-athlete wearing the headphones. 

    So long as this arrangement is done outside of Official Team Activities and adheres to Stanford Branding & Policies (noted below), this would be permissible.
     
  • Don’t: An electronics company thinks it would be great exposure to have a student-athlete wear their headphones during Stanford pre-game warms up. Toward that end, the company extends a NIL agreement to the student-athlete offering $200 for every Stanford pre-game warm up that the student-athlete wears the headphones. 

    This arrangement would constitute an impermissible arrangement of NIL activities during Official Team Activities.
     

Stanford Athletic Staff Involvement

May Stanford coaches and staff recommend, assess, facilitate, or arrange an NIL agreement between a student-athlete and a third party or booster?
No. Stanford policy prohibits coaches and staff from recommending, assessing, facilitating, or arranging an NIL agreement between a student-athlete and any third party or booster. For questions on a specific NIL opportunity, student-athletes should reach out to DASH for assistance.

If a third party is interested in simply discussing a potential NIL agreement with a student-athlete, may a Stanford coach or staff member engage in the discussion?
No. Stanford policy prohibits coaches and staff from recommending, assessing, facilitating, or arranging an NIL agreement between a student-athlete and any third party or booster.  As such, coaches and staff are not permitted to engage in NIL discussions with a business, booster, or third party. 

Can a Stanford coach or staff member provide an individual or third party with a student-athlete’s contact information for NIL purposes?
No. Stanford policy prohibits coaches and staff from facilitating or arranging any NIL deals. As such, coaches and staff are not permitted to provide student-athlete contact information for purposes of NIL opportunities. 

Are coaches and staff permitted to pass along written inbound NIL inquiries they receive from a third party or booster to student-athletes? 
Yes. Coaches and staff may forward along a written inbound NIL inquiry to student-athletes. This is the case whether the inbound inquiry is specifying a desire to work with a specific student-athlete, a subset of student-athletes, or all student-athletes. Coaches and staff are not permitted to engage in verbal conversations with outside parties to collect NIL inbound inquiry information. However, in forwarding the inquiry to student-athletes, coaches and staff must include the templated email created by DAPER. This email language notes that in forwarding along the inquiry, Stanford Athletics is not signifying an endorsement of the third party or booster. Further, the language notes that Stanford neither encourages or discourages student-athletes from engaging in any NIL activities. 

Exception: if a student-athlete has previously indicated to the coach and staff that they do not wish to be forwarded written inbound NIL inquiries, the coach and staff members will not engage in such practices.

Note: The email template language is included in DAPER’s internal NIL G:Drive. For any written inbound NIL inquiries, please include the following email address on the communication:  athleticsnil@stanford.edu.

  • Do: A Stanford dietician receives an email from a vendor that sells electrolytes stating they would like to work with a specific student-athlete to perform a NIL deal to promote their product. The dietician accesses the template language for forwarding written inbound NIL inquiries, adds the necessary language at the top of the email, and forwards it along to the respective student-athlete. All future communications between the vendor and the student-athlete do not include the Stanford dietician. 

    This would constitute a permissible passing along of information, as the Stanford dietician did not engage in any manner with the vendor. As such, this would not be considered facilitating or arranging a NIL deal on the part of the Stanford dietician. 
     
  • Don’t: A Stanford coach receives a call from a booster noting they would like to work with a specific student-athlete to perform a NIL deal to promote a charitable organization. The coach says they’d be happy to help pass along the information. The coach takes notes on the details of the deal and the contact information for the booster.

    The coach then writes up the details discussed in an email, adding the required template language at the top, and sends it along to the student-athlete. 

    Due to the fact that there was discussion between the booster and the coach about the possible deal, there is an automatic presumption that assessment, facilitation, or arrangement of the NIL deal occurred. Unfortunately, this scenario would violate institutional policy.