Fact-Checked: Why Trust Rittgers Rittgers & Nakajima Whether you love or hate how it has changed sports, college athletes are now being paid—and paid handsomely. They are being paid to play in college and, in some cases, also in high school. They are being paid whether they end up being great college players or not (see Arch Manning). Colleges, in other words, are placing bets on future athletes based in part on their high school accomplishments and in part on their name and reputation (again, see Arch Manning).
While college athletes on the verge of entering professional sports may get an insurance policy to protect them against any injury during the transition, what happens if a promising high school athlete is injured such that the athlete’s future ability to play at the same, or any, paid college level is jeopardized?
Proving Lost Future Income in the NIL Era
The law allows a person that is negligently injured by another person or entity to recover future lost income. To be eligible to recover, however, you will likely need an expert witness or witnesses to testify that, more likely than not (51%), the given athlete was on track to participate in college athletics at a paid level.
An expert will also need to have knowledge of the relevant market for the relevant sport, and then must have sufficient knowledge, education, training or experience to testify that the athlete, again more likely than not, will with “reasonable certainty,” Torres v. Concrete Designs, 2019-Ohio-1342, ¶ 65 (8th Dist.), earn less (or no) college “NIL” money as a result of the injury. The law does not require an expert to give an opinion to an exact dollar figure, but the expert should at least be able to provide an informed range for the judge or jury. Austin v. Chukwuani, 2017-Ohio-106, ¶ 21 (8th Dist.).
Building a Strong Case for the Injured Athlete
What kind of information will be helpful is making an athlete’s case for lost future NIL income? Documentation of awards that the athlete had earned along with testimony from coaches, players, or scouts would be a good starting point. If a high school athlete was being actively recruited by colleges or, better yet, being offered actual deals prior to the injury that would also be extremely persuasive evidence.
The marketplace dynamics of college-athlete pay are rapidly evolving. Athletes are being paid more, and earlier. Actual and proposed legislation must also be considered. While the legal principles behind future lost income are well established, the NIL world is not because the field is still brand new. That means that a law firm with experience taking on this type of case is rare—-at Rittgers Rittgers & Nakajima, we just happen to be one of them.
Have you or someone you know had a promising collegiate athletic career derailed by the negligence of someone else? Contact us for a free case evaluation.