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In the United States, an athlete does not automatically own every image or synthetic likeness that depicts them. Control over an AI-generated face, body, voice or endorsement usually comes from a combination of state right-of-publicity law, contracts, advertising rules and, in limited situations, federal law. The answer depends on the athlete’s state, whether the use is commercial or expressive, how recognizable the person is, who owns the underlying image, and what agreements already license the identity.
The TAKE IT DOWN Act can help with certain nonconsensual intimate AI images, but it is not a general removal law for advertisements, game characters or ordinary deepfakes. A proposed commercial campaign, a sports documentary and a fake intimate image therefore require different legal analyses.
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The four questions that determine an athlete’s rights
Before asking whether an AI image is “legal,” separate the dispute into four questions:
- Was the athlete’s identity used? A recognizable name, face, voice, body movement, jersey number or other identifying feature can matter under publicity law even when the pixels were generated by a model.
- What is the purpose? A paid advertisement or product promotion is treated differently from news, commentary, parody, biography, a documentary or a video game.
- Who owns the source material? Copyright in a photograph, video or recording is separate from the athlete’s personal right to control commercial use of identity.
- What contracts and laws apply? State statutes differ, licenses may give a team, league, sponsor, photographer or agent rights, and special rules may apply to student-athletes.
There is no comprehensive federal right of publicity covering every AI-generated athlete image. The U.S. Copyright Office’s January 2025 report recommended federal legislation addressing unauthorized distribution of realistic digital replicas, but that recommendation is not an enacted nationwide likeness statute.
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Commercial AI advertising is the clearest permission question
When a brand creates a synthetic replica
If a company generates an athlete’s face, body or voice for a paid advertisement, the central issue is usually whether the company obtained permission for that particular commercial use. State publicity laws commonly address commercial use of a person’s name, image, likeness or voice, but the definitions, defenses, duration, postmortem rights and remedies vary by jurisdiction. A license that covers an ordinary photograph does not necessarily authorize a digital replica, voice clone or model trained to produce new performances.
Consent can be written into an endorsement, merchandise, media, collective-bargaining or other licensing agreement. The agreement may permit some uses and reserve others. A campaign that uses an AI-generated athlete to promote a product outside the licensed category, after the term expires or in a territory not covered by the contract can create a different dispute from a campaign that follows the agreement.
When the advertisement uses a real photograph
An authentic photograph raises two separate questions. The photographer, agency or another rights holder may own the copyright in the file, while the athlete may have a publicity claim if the image is used commercially without authorization. Paying for, downloading or licensing a photograph does not automatically grant permission to imply that the athlete endorses a product.
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The reverse is also possible: an athlete may authorize a sponsor to use their identity, but the sponsor still needs a copyright license for a particular photograph or recording. Treat the image copyright and the identity right as separate permissions in every deal.
Expressive works may receive stronger speech protection
Not every unauthorized depiction is an unlawful endorsement. First Amendment defenses may protect satire, parody, criticism, commentary, biography, documentaries, newsworthy reporting and educational works, depending on the work and the governing jurisdiction. A game, film or article can depict a real athlete without becoming a paid endorsement merely because the athlete is recognizable.
The boundary is context-specific. A documentary’s factual use, a comedic sketch and a paid social advertisement can contain similar pixels but have different legal risks. A work that is nominally editorial may still create problems if the athlete’s likeness is used to sell an unrelated product or if the presentation falsely suggests sponsorship. Courts weigh the expressive purpose, the way the identity is used and the applicable state test; there is no rule that every synthetic depiction is either protected or prohibited.
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False AI endorsements involve both publicity and consumer-protection issues
A fake video or image that makes an athlete appear to endorse a product can implicate the athlete’s publicity rights and a separate deception analysis. The Federal Trade Commission’s endorsement resources point to its Endorsement Guides, revised in 2023, and explain disclosure of material connections in influencer and social-media marketing. Those materials do not announce a blanket rule deciding every AI-spokesperson case.
For a real campaign, ask two independent questions: Did the athlete or an authorized licensee approve the endorsement? and Could viewers be misled about the athlete’s participation, support or relationship with the advertiser? A disclosure cannot cure an unauthorized use of an athlete’s identity, and authorization does not eliminate other advertising obligations. Keep records of consent, the exact generated material, the product category, the media, the term and any required disclosure.
What the TAKE IT DOWN Act covers
Public Law 119-12, enacted May 19, 2025, addresses a narrow category of nonconsensual intimate imagery. The statute defines a “digital forgery” as an intimate visual depiction of an identifiable individual created through software, machine learning, artificial intelligence or another technological means, including manipulation of an authentic depiction, that is indistinguishable from an authentic depiction when viewed as a whole by a reasonable person.
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The Act addresses intentional disclosure of covered nonconsensual intimate depictions and requires covered platforms to provide a notice-and-removal process. Its definitions, exceptions and operative requirements control the result. It does not say that every AI image must be removed on request, and it is not a general takedown statute for ordinary advertising, sports commentary, parody or non-intimate deepfakes.
How to seek removal of a qualifying intimate deepfake
- Preserve evidence. Save the page address, account name, timestamps, screenshots, downloaded files and any messages showing publication or threats. Avoid redistributing the intimate image while collecting proof.
- Classify the material. Determine whether it depicts an identifiable person in an intimate context, was created or altered with digital technology, and was disclosed without consent. Ordinary synthetic headshots, fake commercials and non-intimate impersonations fall outside the Act’s defined category.
- Use the platform’s designated notice channel. Submit the information and statements the platform and statute require, identify the specific locations of the material and state that the disclosure was nonconsensual. Follow the platform’s instructions exactly and retain the submission confirmation.
- Escalate when necessary. If the material remains available, is being used for extortion or involves immediate safety concerns, contact a lawyer and appropriate law-enforcement or victim-support resources. Other state or federal laws may apply even when the Act does not.
- Secure related accounts. Change passwords, enable multifactor authentication and warn trusted contacts about impersonation attempts. Keep a log of every report and response.
The Act’s platform process is only one remedy. It does not decide who owns a photograph, whether a brand violated an endorsement license or whether an athlete is entitled to damages under a state publicity statute.
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“AI rights” are not transferred automatically by a generic clause. The legal effect depends on the wording, the governing law and the surrounding agreement. Before signing or challenging a license, have counsel review at least these points:
- Identity material: Does the grant cover still images, moving images, voice, body motion, biometric data, a digital replica or only supplied files?
- Purpose and category: Is the use limited to a named endorsement, a product category, a game, social posts, an archive, event promotion or training a generative system?
- Media, territory and term: Are television, websites, apps, synthetic audio, in-store displays and future media included? When does the license end, and what happens to already-generated assets?
- Editing and generation rights: May the licensee edit, synthesize, combine, alter age or appearance, create new performances, sublicense the material or train a model on it?
- Approval and disclosure: Does the athlete receive notice, pre-approval, takedown rights, disclosure language or an audit of where replicas appear?
- Exclusivity and compensation: Which competing products are restricted, how is payment calculated, and are there residuals or reuse fees for synthetic versions?
- Exit events: What happens after termination, injury, retirement, death, a change in team or a finding that the use harms reputation?
- Other rights holders: Does a school, team, league, players’ association, union, agent, photographer or prior sponsor control a related right or impose a conflicting restriction?
A contract may authorize one commercial use while leaving other uses unlicensed. Do not assume that a broad reference to “likeness” permits unlimited future model outputs, voice cloning or training data.
Student-athlete NIL rights have a separate, dated context
On April 1, 2025, the NCAA described a consent judgment involving Tennessee, New York, Florida, Virginia and the District of Columbia. The notice says prospective and transferring student-athletes may discuss, negotiate and enter contracts for commercial name, image and likeness opportunities with third parties before enrolling at a Division I NCAA institution. It describes commercial opportunities in which athletes are paid to promote or endorse goods or services available to the general public.
The same notice says the judgment does not address compensation for athletic performance, athletic achievement or work that has not and will never be performed; those forms remain prohibited under NCAA rules as described in that notice. This is a dated account of a particular consent judgment, not a complete statement of every current NCAA rule, state law, school policy or conference requirement. A student-athlete should check the school’s disclosure and approval process and obtain advice before granting AI, voice or likeness rights.
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The Copyright Office’s January 29, 2025 position distinguishes human creativity from machine-determined expression. Copyright protection is not barred when AI assistance or AI-generated material appears inside a larger human-generated work. U.S. Register of Copyrights and Copyright Office Director Shira Perlmutter said: “Where that creativity is expressed through the use of AI systems, it continues to enjoy protection.”
The Office also stated: “Extending protection to material whose expressive elements are determined by a machine, however, would undermine rather than further the constitutional goals of copyright.” The Office found that the case had not been made for new copyright protection for AI-generated outputs by themselves. Thus, a photographer, designer or filmmaker may own copyright in a human-created composition that incorporates AI elements, while the athlete’s publicity rights remain a separate question. Copyright ownership does not itself authorize commercial use of the person depicted.
A practical decision framework
| Situation | Primary issues | What not to assume |
|---|---|---|
| Paid ad using an AI face or voice | State publicity law, contract scope, false endorsement and advertising disclosures | That a photo license covers a new synthetic performance |
| Authentic athlete photograph in an ad | Photograph copyright plus publicity and endorsement permission | That owning or obtaining the file grants identity rights |
| Game, documentary, news report or parody | Expressive-use and First Amendment defenses, jurisdiction and context | That every unauthorized depiction is unlawful |
| Fake product endorsement | Publicity rights, consumer deception and FTC disclosure principles | That a disclosure alone makes an invented endorsement permissible |
| Nonconsensual intimate AI image | TAKE IT DOWN Act coverage, platform process and other possible laws | That the Act covers every deepfake or guarantees removal of every image |
| Prospective or transferring Division I athlete | Specific NIL contract, school policy and the April 1, 2025 consent-judgment context | That the NCAA notice governs all athletes or all compensation |
| Deceased athlete | State postmortem publicity rules, contract terms and estate rights | That a publicity right has the same duration or remedy in every state |
What to do before a dispute becomes expensive
- Identify every use: image, video, voice, avatar, text prompt, product, platform and audience.
- Preserve the original files and metadata, but do not amplify harmful material by reposting it.
- Collect all relevant agreements, amendments, union or league rules and prior approvals.
- Record whether the use is commercial, editorial, fictional, educational, intimate or presented as an endorsement.
- Check the athlete’s state, the advertiser’s location, the platform’s terms and the contract’s governing-law clause.
- Send a focused notice through the relevant platform, advertiser or licensee channel, and keep proof of delivery.
- Get advice from a lawyer experienced in publicity, advertising, sports or NIL agreements before signing a release or making a public accusation.
Because state law is not uniform, a lawyer must assess the controlling jurisdiction and the exact contract. The general framework above can identify the right questions, but it cannot predict a particular court’s result or replace legal advice.
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