IP Assignment

An intellectual-property (IP) assignment clause transfers ownership of intellectual property — typically the content the athlete creates under the deal — from the athlete to the brand. The most aggressive form is a "work-for-hire" clause, which treats every piece of content as if the brand authored it from the start; the next-most-aggressive form is a present assignment of all rights including copyright; the most athlete-favourable form is a non-exclusive license for a defined use case. Athletes should resist work-for-hire for content created on the athlete's own platforms (their social posts are their own copyrights), and should retain at least the right to repost, archive, and reference their own work in future portfolios. The clause should also clearly carve out background IP — things the athlete created before the deal — and pre-existing NIL.