Understanding NIL Agreements and Athlete Rights with Mit Winter

The ability for athletes to profit from their Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) has opened new opportunities—but also new risks.

How can young athletes protect themselves from bad contracts? What legal changes are shaping the future of college sports?

In this episode of Mitlin Money Mindset®, Larry Sprung interviews Mit Winter, Attorney at Kennyhertz Perry, about the evolving NIL landscape, the risks athletes face, and how legal shifts could impact college and high school sports. Mit shares insights on contract pitfalls, NCAA policy changes, and the potential for athletes to be classified as employees.

Mit discusses:

• The importance of reviewing NIL contracts carefully and how some athletes have been taken advantage of
• The NCAA’s recent settlement that removes scholarship limits in favor of roster limits, affecting different sports in various ways
• How the transfer portal and NIL deals have transformed college athlete recruitment into a financial negotiation
• The potential classification of college athletes as employees and the legal battles shaping this shift
• High school athletes profiting from NIL deals, the challenges of financial oversight, and concerns about protecting young athletes’ earnings
• And more!

Resources:

• Mitlin Financial  
• The JOY and Productivity Journal by Lawrence Sprung 
• Download Your Free Copy of the Couple’s JOYful Money Guide

Connect with Larry Sprung: 

• LinkedIn: Larry Sprung
• Instagram: Larry Sprung
• Facebook: Larry Sprung
• X (Twitter): Larry Sprung

Connect with Mit Winter: 

• X: @WinterSportsLaw
• Instagram: @mitwinter40
• LinkedIn: Mit Winter

About our Guest:

Mit is a college sports attorney based in Kansas City. He currently represents numerous universities, NIL collectives, businesses, athletes, and agents in NIL and other college sports related matters, and is often sought out by the media and others for his expertise in those areas. Previously, he represented the NCAA and conferences such as the Big 12 in a number of legal matters, including a number of cases related to college athlete compensation. He has been recognized numerous times by his peers as a Super Lawyer in the sports and entertainment law category and in the past two editions of Best Lawyers in America for his work in sports law. Mit was also recently named to the Missouri Lawy