June 30, 2021
Kansas City – Seigfreid Bingham’s Sports and Entertainment Law Group announced on Wednesday a new service aimed at assisting NCAA conferences and/or their member institutions in navigating the rapidly changing rules and laws regulating student-athlete name, image and likeness. The service will focus on providing a centralized source for guidance and legal advice that conferences and/or their member institutions can utilize on an as-needed basis, as well as assistance in educating student-athletes on various topics.
“We have been closely monitoring the debate over name, image and likeness and the evolving legal landscape over the past 20 months,” said attorney Greg Whiston. “In doing so, we recognized that conferences and institutions were going to need help, and we have been consulting with conference leaders and others in the industry on the best ways to deliver that help.”
The service, which Seigfreid Bingham has titled “Empower U”, will offer services to conferences and/or their member institutions on two fronts. One will be a centralized help desk/hotline through which conferences and their institutions can obtain guidance on specific issues and applicable rules in their respective states, as well as periodic bulletins and alerts regarding new developments. This will also include, among other items, the development of compliance forms and other resources, including documentation that can be used by conferences and/or institutions to track agreements entered into by their student-athletes. The other will focus on assisting conferences and/or institutions in educating student-athletes on issues associated with the business side of name, image and likeness, including contracts, other legal issues, insurance and financial issues through both Seigfreid Bingham’s own resources (which includes a wide-ranging practice) and partnerships with professionals in other industries.
“As a former Division I football player, I understand the excitement over name, image and likeness and the earning potential this could provide to many student-athletes,” said attorney Curry Sexton. “As a lawyer, I also understand the legal pitfalls that will necessarily exist.” “Our goal is to offer our clients resources to help them and their student-athletes to avoid these pitfalls and empower institutions and student-athletes to maximize the benefits under the new name, image and likeness laws and regulations.”
If you are a conference or institution interested in discussing the Empower U program and services offered by Seigfreid Bingham, please contact Greg Whiston or Curry Sexton at 816-421-4460.