College Sports Commission Secures First Arbitration Victory

Cleary Gottlieb successfully represented the College Sports Commission (CSC) in a highly anticipated case between the CSC and student-athletes from the University of Nebraska football team.

An arbitrator issued a final, binding decision affirming the CSC’s determination in connection with third-party name, image, and likeness (NIL) agreements between Playfly Sports Properties LLC (Playfly) and 18 student-athletes at the University of Nebraska on May 11, 2026. The arbitrator found that the CSC correctly determined that Playfly is an “associated entity” and that the NIL deals at issue did not comply with NCAA rules based on a lack of a “valid business purpose,” including a violation of the rule against “warehousing” NIL rights.

The Cleary team successfully demonstrated that the CSC correctly applied the NCAA rules established after the House v. NCAA settlement, with the arbitrator ruling in CSC’s favor on the following issues:

• Playfly, Nebraska’s exclusive multimedia rights partner and the purported sponsor of the deals at issue, is an “associated entity” under the NCAA rules.
• The deals did not satisfy the “valid business purpose” rule as they did not include goods or services offered to the general public for profit.
• The deals “warehoused” student-athletes NIL rights and did not include their direct activation as required by the rules.

After the decision, the impacted student-athletes can submit revised third-party NIL deals that comply with the NCAA rules for the CSC’s review.

The CSC is an independent body established in 2025 to oversee and enforce compliance with rules governing student-athlete compensation in college sports, including institutional revenue sharing and third-party NIL agreements. Since its inception, the CSC has cleared over 26,000 third-party NIL deals for student-athletes valued at over $240 million dollars.

This decision demonstrates that the system is working as it was intended. The CSC made a fact-based determination under the NCAA rules and a neutral arbitrator—applying the same rules—assessed the relevant facts to issue a final decision. This process reflects a clear framework for how student-athletes, institutions, and third-party entities involved in NIL deals can continue to navigate this landscape going forward.

For more information, please see the press release and full decision.

The Cleary team was led by partners Chris Kavanaugh and Katie Gonzalez.