Pac-12 to Allow Athletes to Use Highlights for NIL Deals

The Pac-12 Conference is carving out new ways in which college athletes can profit off of their name, image, and likeness by allowing them to license video footage and highlights.

The first-of-its-kind suite of opportunities comes through the conference’s media licensing partner, Veritone.

The Pac-12, which made $530 million in the 2019 fiscal year, is the first Power Five conference to open up this opportunity.

• Pac-12 owns all footage of games it hosts, no matter which network broadcasts it.
• Athletes can sign directly with sponsors, which would then license footage from the Pac-12 Network, or the sponsor can make a deal with the network and pass on a clearance fee to the athlete.

The move comes on the heels of the conference hiring former MGM Resorts president of sports and entertainment George Kliavkoff as its new commissioner. 

Kliavkoff, who is known for his media rights and entertainment experience, will negotiate new media deals to start when the current 12-year, $3 billion pact with ESPN expires after the 2023-2024 season.

Later this month, the Pac-12, Big Ten, ACC, and SEC are expected to meet to discuss expanding the College Football Playoff. ESPN holds the rights to that tournament on a $5.6 billion deal that runs from 2014-2025.