Take key steps to protect against breach-of-contract claims

For years, breach-of-contract claims by student-athletes against colleges and universities have been vigorously defended. Although claims in the past were often rejected by the courts based on a variety of legal theories, the tide appears to have turned in the last several years. Now more than ever, courts are recognizing the legal rights and corresponding entitlements that belong to student-athletes. The House, Fontenot, and Johnson cases, and others like them, are paving a new path in this regard while simultaneously focusing national attention on topics ranging from name, image, and likeness rights and payments to the potential employment status of student-athletes.