--- title: "Estate Planning for Athletes: NIL Deals and Wealth Protection" description: "NIL income changed the game for college and pro athletes. Here is how estate planning protects your money, your name, image, and likeness, and your family." lang: en json-ld: | [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "LegalService", "@id": "https://jacobslegacycounsel.com/#legalservice", "name": "Jacobs Legacy Counsel", "alternateName": [ "Legacy Counsel by Jacobs Counsel", "Jacobs Legacy" ], "url": "https://jacobslegacycounsel.com", "description": "Fixed-fee estate planning for high-net-worth families, founders, executives, and professional athletes. 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Here is how estate planning protects your money, your name, image, and likeness, and your family.", "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Drew Jacobs, Esq." }, "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Legacy Counsel by Jacobs Counsel LLC" }, "datePublished": "2026-06-28", "dateModified": "2026-06-28", "mainEntityOfPage": { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://jacobslegacycounsel.com/estate-planning-for-athletes-nil" } }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "FAQPage", "mainEntity": [ { "@type": "Question", "name": "At what age should an athlete set up an estate plan?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "As soon as you are 18 and earning, or about to earn. Once you are a legal adult, your parents no longer have automatic authority over your money or medical decisions, so powers of attorney alone are worth putting in place right away." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Does NIL income change my estate plan?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Yes. NIL income often runs through an entity, your name carries ongoing market value, and your earnings can be significant. All of that should be reflected in how your plan is structured." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Can my name, image, and likeness pass to my family after I die?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "In many states, the right of publicity continues after death and can be inherited or managed by your estate. The rules vary by state, so this is worth confirming for where you live." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Do I need a trust, or is a will enough?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "A will alone goes through probate, which is public and slow. For an athlete who values privacy and wants real control, a revocable living trust is usually the better foundation." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "What happens if I get injured and cannot manage my own affairs?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Without powers of attorney, your family may have to ask a court for authority. With them, the people you chose can step in immediately." } } ] } ], { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://jacobslegacycounsel.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Estate Planning For Athletes NIL", "item": "https://jacobslegacycounsel.com/estate-planning-for-athletes-nil" } ] } ] --- A Practice of [Jacobs Counsel LLC](https://jacobscounsellaw.com) Serving NY · NJ · OH — Vol. 2026 [Legacy Counsel ](/) Firm Resources Estate Planning Trusts [Probate & Admin](/probate-trust-administration)[Pricing](/pricing)[Book Call](https://cal.com/drewjacobs/estate-planning)[Start Intake](/get-started) Menu 1. [Home](/) 2. Estate Planning For Athletes NIL 1. [Home](/) 2. [Blog](/blog) 3. Estate Planning for Athletes: NIL Deals and Wealth Protection Estate Planning · Athletes & NIL # Estate Planning for Athletes: NIL Deals and Wealth Protection Quick answer If you earn NIL income or a pro salary, you need an estate plan now, not later. A plan keeps your money private, protects your name, image, and likeness as an asset, names who makes decisions if you are injured, and makes sure your family is taken care of if something happens to you. For young athletes with real money coming in, the basics are a will, a revocable living trust, financial and healthcare powers of attorney, and a clear structure for your NIL business. Drew Jacobs, Esq. Legacy Counsel by Jacobs Counsel LLC Published June 28, 2026 Last updated June 28, 2026 9 min read ## 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. ### Earning NIL income now? We help athletes structure NIL income, protect their name and likeness, and keep ownership in the family. [Start your estate plan](/get-started)[Email us →](mailto:drew@jacobscounsellaw.com) ### 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. ### Build a plan that protects your money and your name. We build estate plans for athletes, founders, and creators who are earning early and want to stay in control. [Start your estate plan](/get-started)[Email us →](mailto:drew@jacobscounsellaw.com) ## Frequently asked questions ### At what age should an athlete set up an estate plan? As soon as you are 18 and earning, or about to earn. Once you are a legal adult, your parents no longer have automatic authority over your money or medical decisions, so powers of attorney alone are worth putting in place right away. ### Does NIL income change my estate plan? ### Can my name, image, and likeness pass to my family after I die? ### Do I need a trust, or is a will enough? ### What happens if I get injured and cannot manage my own affairs? On this page 1. [Do college and pro athletes really need estate planning?](#do-athletes-need-it) 2. [What estate planning protects for an athlete](#what-it-protects) 3. [What about estate taxes?](#estate-taxes) 4. [The core documents most athletes need](#core-documents) 5. [Common estate planning mistakes athletes make](#common-mistakes) 6. [Key takeaways](#key-takeaways) 7. [Frequently asked questions](#faq) This article is educational and not legal advice. Estate planning, right of publicity, and tax rules vary by state and change over time. Confirm how the law applies to your situation with a qualified attorney before acting. Estate Planning & Legacy Counsel Legacy Counsel by Jacobs Counsel. Fixed-fee estate planning, trusts, wills, and generational wealth strategy for high-net-worth families. 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