Beyond NIL: Athlete Rights and Revenue in the House v. NCAA Era

Jeremy M. Evans, CEO and Managing Attorney | California Sports Lawyer

Jeremy M. Evans is an award-winning attorney and industry leader based in Los Angeles and Newport Beach, California. Mr. Evans is an expert in best practices and negotiations in entertainment, media, sports, and intellectual property. He represents companies, creators, and talent in transactional matters with a focus on dealmaking. His clients range from Fortune 500 corporations to entrepreneurs, advertising and production companies, studios, agencies, talent, and more. Mr. Evans is the CEO of California Sports Lawyer. He writes a weekly column and hosts the California Sports Lawyer Podcast with Jeremy Evans on the Bleav Network, which focuses on the latest topics and most interesting legal angles in entertainment, media, and sports law.

• Education & Credentials

Mr. Evans received his Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Political Science from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and his Juris Doctor (J.D.) from Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego, California. He also holds a Master of Laws (LL.M) in Entertainment, Media, and Sports Law from Pepperdine University’s Rick J. Caruso School of Law, and a Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) in Entertainment, Media and Sports Management from Pepperdine University’s George L. Graziadio School of Business and Management.

• Recognition & Leadership

Mr. Evans has been recognized by Chambers and Partners (Spotlight California) in Sports Law (2026); by Super Lawyers in Entertainment & Sports, Business & Corporate, and Intellectual Property law (2024 to present); and by Super Lawyers Rising Stars in the same practice areas (2015 to 2023). He received the Sports Lawyers Association “Regional Captain of the Year” Award (2018), the CALI Award in Sports Law from Pepperdine University Caruso School of Law (2018), and the A. Thomas Golden Alumnus of the Year Award from Thomas Jefferson School of Law (2014). He previously served as President of the California Lawyers Association (2021 to 2023), one of the largest voluntary bar associations in the world, as President of the California Lawyers Foundation (2023 to 2025), the non-profit arm of CLA, and as Chair of CLA’s Task Force on Artificial Intelligence (2023 to 2024).

• Professional Involvement

Mr. Evans is a Member of the American Bar Association Standing Committee for the Forum on the Entertainment and Sports Industries, Sports Division (2025 to 2027), and previously served as Special Advisor to the ABA Standing Committee on Bar Leadership (2024 to 2025) and as a contributing writer for Entertainment and Sports Lawyer (2014 to 2023). He served on the Executive Council of the National Conference of Bar Presidents (2022 to 2025) and chaired its Non-Dues Revenue Committee. He serves as Chair and Member-at-Large of the San Diego County Bar Association Entertainment and Sports Law Section (2012 to present). He is also Host and Executive Producer of The California Sports Lawyer Podcast on the Bleav Network (2019 to present), writes a weekly column for California Sports Lawyer, and is an advisor and guest contributor at Front Office Sports.

• Experience

Mr. Evans leads California Sports Lawyer, providing premium dealmaking counsel for entertainment, media, sports, intellectual property, technology, and creator economy matters for companies, creators, and talent. He currently serves as Chief Legal Officer (Fractional) and Head of International Legal Affairs for SLASH International, Inc. (2025 to present); Fractional CLO and Head of Business & Legal Affairs for Swish Cultures, LLC (2021 to present); and Fractional CLO and Head of Business & Legal Affairs for Locomotive Content, Ltd. (2022 to present). Prior in-house and counsel roles include Senior Counsel, Global Intellectual Property at iHerb, LLC (2024 to 2025); Production Counsel, North America at MediaMonks (2021 to 2022); CLO at Where the Buffalo Roam (2018 to 2021); Counsel, Manager of Business Legal Affairs at INNOCEAN USA (2020); and Business & Legal Affairs LLM Internship at Lionsgate (2018). He is on the faculty of law in the Graduate Program in Sport Management at California State University, Long Beach (2020 to present), is a Member of the Board of Advisors for the Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation, and formerly served as an advisor to entrepreneurs in entertainment, media, and sports for the U.S. Small Business Administration.

SESSION 1 — NIL Legal Foundations and the Current Regulatory Framework | 1:00pm – 1:10pm

Review the foundations of name, image, and likeness rights under state statutes and NCAA interim policy, examine the patchwork of disclosure and registration requirements, and establish the regulatory baseline that frames every subsequent compensation issue.

SESSION 2 — The House v. NCAA Settlement and Athlete Revenue Sharing | 1:10pm – 1:25pm

Examine the terms of the House v. NCAA settlement, the back-pay structure, the new athlete revenue-sharing pool, the roster and scholarship adjustments, and the open enforcement questions institutions and athletes face during the rollout.

SESSION 3 — Contract Drafting, Licensing, and Athlete Representation | 1:25pm – 1:40pm

Work through the contract drafting issues unique to athlete representation, including NIL agreement structures, brand licensing terms, exclusivity and morality clauses, and the agent and collective relationships that shape negotiating posture and execution risk.

SESSION 4 — Ethics, Compliance, and Risk Management | 1:40pm – 1:50pm

Identify the ethics, compliance, and risk management obligations confronting counsel for athletes, universities, brands, and collectives, including conflicts of interest, recruiting inducement boundaries, Title IX exposure, and tax treatment of compensation streams.

SESSION 5 — Future Trends: Unionization Efforts and Federal Legislation | 1:50pm – 2:00pm

Trace the unionization petitions before the NLRB, the federal preemption legislation pending in Congress, the antitrust litigation pipeline, and the structural trends pushing college athletics toward an openly professional compensation model.