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NFLPA Warns College Athletes About Pathways NIL Deal for Video Game Licensing

The NFLPA warns that the new offering may jeopardize future NFL players ability to enter into the NFLPA's group licensing program.

Noah Henderson

A commercial for the College Football 25 video game, featuring Texas Football quarterback Quinn Ewers plays during the fifth inning of the Longhorns' baseball game against the Kansas Jayhawks, Thursday, May 16, 2024 at UFCU Disch-Falk Field in Austin.
A commercial for the College Football 25 video game, featuring Texas Football quarterback Quinn Ewers plays during the fifth inning of the Longhorns' baseball game against the Kansas Jayhawks, Thursday, May 16, 2024 at UFCU Disch-Falk Field in Austin. / Sara Diggins/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK

This week, Pathways made headlines for offering up-front payments to student-athletes for the licensing rights for upcoming video games.

On Feb. 10, the company struck its first deals with football players at the University of Illinois and the University of Alabama. 

The company is offering athletes $1,500 in exchange for the exclusive grant of rights to negotiate their future NIL licensing to sports video games at both the collegiate and professional level –– the company aims to negotiate a royalty structure they believe can earn athletes roughly four times their $600 payout from EA Sport’s College Football 25 video game. 

Quickly following the announcement of the Pathways offering, the NFLPA released a statement advising college athletes to be careful when entering into their agreement.

The NFLPA warns that “Accepting the terms of the Pathway agreement as drafted could present risks or complications for potential NFL player clients, including but not limited to, not being able to comply with the grant of rights outlined in the standard NFL Player Contract and exclusion from the NFLPA's group licensing program, which includes opportunities far beyond video games.” 

According to the NFLPA, under the terms of the standard NFL Player Contract, every player must enter into a group licensing agreement with the Player’s Association. This group licensing covers the monetization of athletes NIL in trading cards, jerseys, video games and more. 

The NFLPA is concerned about the contract language in the Pathways deal, which states, "If/when [Player] becomes a professional football player, Pathway will have the first option and right of first refusal to license [Player's] name, image, and likeness in connection with any professional Video Games(s)."

Since the arrival of the Techmo Super Bowl in 1991, the NFLPA has been the licensing entity for NFL players who appear in video games.

In 2005, the NFL and NFLPA have entered into an exclusive agreement with EA Sports to provide NFL Intellectual Properties and active NFL players’ NIL rights to the game. This agreement effectively grants EA Sports a monopoly on any NFL-style video game. The Pathways agreement has the potential to undermine this longstanding relationship. 

Beyond the concerns expressly laid out by the NFLPA, sports law figures who have seen the contract raise alarm at the lack of termination rights held by athletes in the Pathways deal. 

Pathways President and Founder Partner Casey Schwab quickly responded to the NFLPA’s messaging, denying any conflict with the CBA and any assertion that the contract could jeopardize athletes’ ability to monetize their NIL through other NFLPA-provided outlets, such as jerseys and merchandise.

The battle between Pathways and the NFLPA is only beginning.

While some athletes have already entered the Pathways deal, with more players and schools expected to be pursued shortly, the strong rhetoric from the NFLPA may make many athletes, agents, and administrators pause before diving into the new company’s offerings. 

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Noah Henderson
NOAH HENDERSON

Professor Noah Henderson teaches in the sport management department at Loyola University Chicago. Outside the classroom, he advises companies, schools, and collectives on Name, Image, and Likeness best practices. His academic research focuses on the intersection of law, economics, and social consequences regarding college athletics, NIL, and sports gambling. Before teaching, Prof. Henderson was part of a team that amended Illinois NIL legislation and managed NIL collectives at the nation’s most prominent athletic institutions while working for industry leader Student Athlete NIL. He holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Illinois College of Law in Urbana-Champaign and a Bachelor of Economics from Saint Joseph’s University, where he was a four-year letter winner on the golf team. Prof. Henderson is a native of San Diego, California, and a former golf CIF state champion with Torrey Pines High School. Outside of athletics, he enjoys playing guitar, hanging out with dogs, and eating California burritos. You can follow him on Twitter: @NoahImgLikeness. 

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