Estate Planning for Athletes: NIL Deals and Wealth Protection

Do college and pro athletes really need estate planning?

Yes. Two things make athletes different from most people their age: money arrives early, and their name has real market value. Both need protection.

College athletes can now be paid directly. After the House v. NCAA settlement was approved in June 2025, schools began sharing revenue with athletes starting July 1, 2025, under a cap that started near $20.5 million per school for the 2025-26 year and is set to rise over the next decade. On top of that, third-party NIL deals worth more than $600 run through a clearinghouse (NIL Go, administered by Deloitte) that reviews them for fair market value. The result is simple: athletes in their late teens and early twenties are signing contracts, building brands, and holding assets that most people do not see until middle age.

When money and public profile show up early, so does risk. Estate planning is how you stay in control of both.

What estate planning protects for an athlete

Your money, kept private

Probate is the court process that settles an estate when someone dies with only a will or no plan at all. Probate is public. For a high-profile athlete, that means your assets, your beneficiaries, and your family's information can end up in a public file.

A revocable living trust avoids probate for the assets it holds. Your affairs stay private, your family avoids a slow court process, and control passes the way you decided, not the way a court default decides.

Your name, image, and likeness as an asset

Your NIL is not just a revenue stream while you play. In many states, the right of publicity continues after death and can pass to your heirs or be managed by your estate. That means the value of your name and likeness can keep earning, or it can be lost or misused, depending on whether you planned for it.

A good plan addresses who controls your NIL rights, how licensing continues, and how that income flows to the people you choose. This is the part most generic estate plans miss, and it is the part that matters most for an athlete brand.

Decisions if you are injured or incapacitated

Athletes get hurt. A serious injury or medical event can leave you unable to sign contracts, manage accounts, or make medical choices, even temporarily.

A financial power of attorney names someone you trust to handle money and business matters if you cannot. A healthcare power of attorney and advance directive name who makes medical decisions and what you want done. Without these, your family may have to go to court to get authority, at the worst possible time.

Your NIL business structure

Many athletes run NIL income through an LLC or other entity. That entity needs to connect to your estate plan, so ownership passes cleanly and your trust, not a court, controls it if something happens to you. Done right, the entity also creates separation between your business and your personal assets, which helps with both taxes and liability.

Protection from claims, predators, and bad advice

Sudden money attracts lawsuits, hangers-on, and pressure from people who want a piece. Trusts and entity structures, set up correctly, put distance between your wealth and anyone who comes after it. They also let you control how and when younger athletes or family members receive money, instead of handing over a lump sum all at once.

What about estate taxes?

For 2026, the federal estate and gift tax exemption is $15 million per person, or $30 million for a married couple, and it was made permanent under the One Big Beautiful Bill, with annual inflation adjustments. Most athletes will not owe federal estate tax today.

That does not make planning optional. The bigger near-term issues for athletes are income tax planning, multistate tax exposure from playing and earning across state lines, asset protection, and control. And a top athlete's net worth can grow fast, so building the structure early is far easier than retrofitting it later.

The core documents most athletes need

• Revocable living trust to keep assets private and out of probate, and to control how money is managed and distributed.
• Will (often a pour-over will) to cover anything not already in the trust and, if you have children, to name guardians.
• Financial power of attorney so someone you trust can act if you cannot.
• Healthcare power of attorney and advance directive for medical decisions.
• Beneficiary designations on accounts and endorsements, reviewed so they match your plan.
• NIL and entity documents that connect your business to your estate plan.

Common estate planning mistakes athletes make

• Relying only on a will, which means probate and zero privacy.
• Naming a parent or friend on every account without a real plan behind it.
• Letting beneficiary designations contradict the rest of the plan.
• Ignoring NIL rights as a descendible asset.
• Waiting until "after I go pro" or "after the next deal," when an injury or windfall can land at any time.

Key takeaways

• NIL income and revenue sharing mean athletes hold real wealth young, so the planning timeline moved up.
• A trust keeps your money and your family out of the public probate process.
• Your name, image, and likeness can be an asset that survives you, and it needs an owner and a plan.
• Powers of attorney protect you if you are injured and cannot act for yourself.
• Most athletes will not owe federal estate tax in 2026, but control, privacy, and asset protection still matter.

Frequently asked questions