Murrill jumps in the name, image and likeness game
23rd December 2024 · 0 Comments
By Piper Hutchinson
Contributing Writer
(lailluminator.com) — Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill is launching a youth anti-vaping campaign that will engage athletes at LSU and other colleges in name, image and likeness (NIL) deals.
The campaign, which is the first state-funded NIL deal in Louisiana, will be funded by a settlement from Juul Labs, a company that makes electronic cigarettes. The money is required to be used to reduce vaping among teens and adults under age 21. The funds can be used for research, education and vaping cessation programs, among other things.
According to public records, the state so far has agreed to spend $281,000 on NIL deals with athletes, with $225,000 going to LSU athletes over three years. The rest will be paid to athletes at the University of Louisiana Monroe, Grambling, Northwestern, Southeastern and McNeese.
Louisiana law does not have any restrictions on public funds going toward NIL deals, but a publicly accessible database of state contracts shows no other agencies have entered into deals. The federal government has paid players to promote vaccines, according to Front Office Sports. There are very few examples of similar deals.
The emergence of name, image and likeness in the past few years has changed the landscape of college athletics, allowing players to tap into a multi-billion dollar industry that benefits from their unpaid labor.
NIL has remained extremely controversial, with many fans believing it and the transfer portal, which allows student-athletes to easily switch schools, have changed college sports for the worse.
The money for LSU athletes will be paid to Playfly Sports Properties, a private company that manages the athletic department’s corporate partnerships. The Illuminator and Tiger Rag obtained a copy of the contract through a public records request to the Louisiana Department of Justice. In addition to the $225,000 paid directly to athletes, the state will pay another $125,000 to Playfly for other advertisements at LSU athletics events related to the campaign.
The contract does not detail which athletes will be paid to participate in the campaign. Murrill spokesman Lester Duhé declined to name which LSU athletes would be involved. LSU athletics spokesman Zach Greenwell referred questions to the contracted parties.
Athletes at other Louisiana universities will be paid between $1,000 and $3,000 each.
The money comes from the $10 million settlement of a lawsuit Louisiana brought against Juul by former Attorney General Jeff Landry, who is now governor. Landry alleged the company specifically targeted their products to underaged vapers.
A 2023 survey from Louisiana Campaign for Tobacco-Free Living found 30 percent of high school students and 20 percent of middle schoolers in the state vape. According to the survey, 80 percent of both groups reported they were able to purchase vapes from stores.
Using the Juul settlement to pay college athletes raises concerns for some.
“I just question this approach because while you’re addressing an important issue, opening up a whole other can of worms by paying college athletes with public dollars feels very problematic,” Peter Robins-Brown, executive director of Louisiana Progress, an advocacy group for poor and marginalized people, said in an interview.
Robins-Brown said he would like to see the funds go toward an evidenced-based approach to reduce vaping among young people.
“I’m having a hard time imagining when it would be appropriate to pay college athletes, especially college athletes at state universities, with public dollars, to be a part of any kind of ad campaign,” Robins-Brown added.
The Playfly agreement prohibits LSU athletes involved in the campaign from vaping.
Because Louisiana exempts NIL documents universities obtain on student athlete’s NIL deals from the state’s public records law, the Playfly agreement with a state agency is a rare example of what these deals actually contain.
According to the agreement, signs related to the campaign will be posted at LSU volleyball matches, men’s and women’s basketball games, gymnastic meets and baseball, softball and soccer games. The state will also receive 30-second commercials in all men’s and women’s basketball and baseball broadcasts as well as 500,000 digital ad impressions on LSUsports.net.
The agreement also calls for the opportunity to distribute anti-vaping materials on campus at one football game, three regular season basketball, volleyball or gymnastics matches and two appearances at either a baseball or softball game.
Over the past several years, Louisiana legislators have looked to loosen NIL restrictions in state law to make the state more competitive as NCAA restrictions allow.
A relatively poor state, Louisiana’s NIL activity has lagged behind that of other states like Texas and Florida, where wealthy donors pour in money to secure top recruits.
This article originally published in the December 23, 2024 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
