From Privacy to Profit: The Evolution of Name, Image, and Likeness Rights and the Revolution in College Athletics toward Collegiate Capitalism

Authors

• Donald M. Remy

Abstract

The story of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) rights in American law is one of adaptation, transformation, and ultimately, revolution. What began as a modest recognition of personal dignity in the late 19th century has evolved into a multibillion-dollar framework that has fundamentally altered the landscape of college athletics. The journey from Samuel Warren and Louis Brandeis’s seminal articulation of the “right to be let alone” to the June 2025 approval of the House v. NCAA¹ settlement represents not merely a doctrinal evolution but a profound shift in how American society conceptualizes the relationship between identity, commerce, and fair compensation. To understand the current NIL landscape in college athletics, one must trace the intellectual and legal lineage that enabled this transformation. The path winds through landmark cases involving baseball cards and bubble gum, human cannonballs and automobile commercials, voice impersonations and video games.² Each contributed building blocks to a legal edifice that, over time, would support the proposition that college athletes deserve compensation for the commercial exploitation of their identities. But legal doctrines alone did not produce this transformation. External pressures from courts, prosecutors, politicians, public opinion, athletes, and social media attacked systemic vulnerabilities that the amateur model could not withstand once examined honestly. This Article examines that comprehensive evolution, demonstrating how converging legal doctrines, accumulated external pressures, and commercial realities, all combined to dismantle a century of amateurism mythology and usher in an era of what I call “Collegiate Capitalism.” I coined the term “Collegiate Capitalism” to describe the fundamental restructuring of how college sports operate, are financed, and will be governed. Collegiate Capitalism is not simply about paying athletes or allowing NIL deals. It represents a complete transformation in which the new model fundamentally reshapes the relationship between universities, athletes, investors, and fans, creating an industry that looks less like traditional college athletics and more like a marriage between professional sports and entertainment conglomerates. The architecture of this system rests on four foundational pillars: private investment replacing traditional university and donor funding; athletes treated as unionized employees rather than students; intellectual property licensing that maximizes revenue streams; and facility leasing arrangements that separate ownership from operations. Together, these elements create a market-driven ecosystem in which financial performance, not the educational mission, drives decision-making^.3

Recommended Citation

Donald M. Remy, From Privacy to Profit: The Evolution of Name, Image, and Likeness Rights and the Revolution in College Athletics toward Collegiate Capitalism, 130 Dick. L. Rev. 801 (2025).
Available at: https://insight.dickinsonlaw.psu.edu/dlr/vol130/iss3/2