NIL = Nobody Is Listening: The Overlooked Crisis in Athlete Health Data

In a timely and provocative episode of Apinions, Michael Dersham (“Dersh”), founder and CEO of Apierion, sat down with two leading sports law experts to tackle a question that has long been overlooked in the name, image, and likeness (NIL) era: What about athlete health?

With billions of dollars flowing through sponsorship deals and transfer portal negotiations, the health records of student-athletes remain fragmented, opaque, and often inaccessible. The result? A system that leaves athletes, parents, universities, and even professional teams playing in the dark.

A Legal Lens on NIL and Health

Joining Dersh were Josie Leinart, a sports law attorney recognized for her work in NIL, and Marco Robertson, a corporate attorney and key figure at We Are NIL. Together, they unpacked the tangled web of compliance, incentives, and responsibilities shaping athlete health data.

Leinart pointed to the increasingly chaotic movement of athletes between schools. “We’re seeing kids transfer four or five times in as many years,” she explained. “Universities are investing millions in players, yet medical histories are incomplete or lost in the shuffle. It’s a glaring gap in risk management.”

Robertson added that universities often have a disincentive to disclose full health information. “Draft stock is a recruiting tool. Compliance officers may lean toward revealing the minimum, not the full picture,” he said.

The Human Cost of Data Gaps

The conversation turned serious when addressing the all-too-familiar headlines of young athletes collapsing on courts and fields. Preexisting conditions, often undetected or undisclosed, have led to preventable tragedies.

Leinart shared the sobering reality: “Sometimes parents don’t even want testing done, fearing it will hurt their child’s scholarship chances. But when we see these deaths framed as one-offs in the media, it hides the systemic failures that make them possible.”

Robertson emphasized that athletes are caught in what he called a “regulatory Bermuda triangle” — where HIPAA, FERPA, and NCAA bylaws overlap but fail to deliver continuity of care. “These laws shield athletes from outsiders but also deprive them of access to their own vital health data,” he said.

Blockchain and Athlete-Owned Health

Looking forward, both guests highlighted the potential of technology — and athlete empowerment — as solutions.

“Putting the keys in the hands of athletes with a blockchain-based medical record would be a game changer,” Robertson argued. “Right now, a seven-figure athlete’s health history is a PDF being faxed across state lines. That’s unacceptable.”

Leinart echoed the call for a standardized, interoperable system. “Universities, leagues, and regulators all need alignment. And athletes should be the ones controlling their records — with full visibility into who’s accessing them.”

Shifting the Mindset

Underlying the debate is a cultural challenge: athletes’ own perception of health. “At 18, you feel invincible,” said Leinart. “But the truth is, your health is your career. Tom Brady’s longevity wasn’t luck — it was prioritizing health from the start.”

Dersh noted that this shift could ripple beyond sports: “If we can solve this problem in athletics — a space everyone cares about — we can build a blueprint for healthcare transformation more broadly.”

What’s Next

As NIL reshapes the economics of college sports, the panel agreed that systemic reform is needed to safeguard the very athletes driving this multibillion-dollar ecosystem.

“It’s going to take collaboration — NCAA, federal policymakers, parents, innovators,” said Leinart. “But the status quo isn’t sustainable.”

For Dersh and the Apinions audience, the takeaway was clear: athlete health data must evolve from a fragmented afterthought to a connected, portable, athlete-owned system.

“Football may be back, but so are the risks. Without portable health data, we’re asking athletes and schools to play blind. With the right framework, we can flip this into a win — for compliance, for competition, and most importantly, for the health of athletes themselves.