For Athletes and their agents the most important form of intellectual property is the athlete. His or her name, likeness and brand is extremely valuable. Publicity and performance for athletes results in endorsement opportunities. From pitching a product in a television commercial or endorsing an event by being present, athletes allow companies to use their name and likeness in advertising. The NFL in particular negotiates league wide deals with sponsors such as Verizon and Pepsi. These deals offer both exclusivity and the ability to use NFL players in advertising campaigns.
While these deals are negotiated between businesses and the NFL, the NFLPA is the representing body of NFL players. If the current NFL collective bargaining agreement (CBA) expires, so will the current endorsement deals agreed to by the NFL and its corporate sponsors. No relationship between the NFL and NFLPA means no relationship between the NFL’s sponsors and NFL players, at least not within the current agreements.
“In the absence of a CBA, players will have total freedom to endorse any company or product” (Carpenter, 2010). For example, the NFL has an exclusive deal with Pepsi, but with no collective bargaining agreement, a player could do a commercial ad for Coca-Cola if he wanted too. Also, if Pepsi wants to continue using NFL players outside of a CBA, it will have to negotiate a new and separate deal with the players themselves.
According to AOL News, the NFLPA has attempted to reach an agreement with the NFL that would extend the current sponsorship agreement outside of a CBA (2011). So far they have been denied. For NFL sponsors this whole process is coming as unwelcome news. Many sponsors have current deals with the NFL that go up until 2014, such as Proctor & Gamble, whom witch uses the NFL and its players to help pitch as many as 13 of its own products (Business Courrier). Some have already paid the NFL for these rights, and will be understandably upset if they do not receive their return in the form of NFL and player advertising.
In terms of intellectual property, what this boils down to is that with no agreement between the NFL and NFLPA, the player’s have complete freedom to do what they choose with their name and likeness. Many players could take advantage of this opportunity to create income in the case of a lockout and no football season.
AOL News, 2011 - http://www.aolnews.com/2011/02/16/nflpa-could-deal-directly-with-sponsors-in-event-of-lockout
Business Courrier - http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2009/08/03/daily27.html
Carpenter, 2010 - http://www.examiner.com/human-resources-in-jackson/the-upcoming-labor-dispute-the-nfl
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