COLUMBUS, Ohio - s4story -- An athlete's value no longer lives only in points, wins, or medals. It's found in their name, image and likeness. Just like businesses, athletes' most valuable asset is their intellectual property.

Artificial intelligence can now clone, manipulate and monetize those assets without a contract, consent or compensation.

NIL has become a major financial engine. Following the House v. NCAA settlement, Division I schools can share up to $20.5 million per school with athletes during the 2025-26 academic year, alongside approximately $2.8 billion in back payments.

The sports IP economy is even broader. The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) reports that from 2016 to 2025, sports generated more than 1.25 million trademark registrations, over 65,700 published sports-technology patent families and roughly 70,000 design filings.

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Yet generative AI is routing around the permission system NIL was designed to create. Deepfake videos can make athletes appear to endorse supplements, financial products or political messages they never approved. Synthetic media can recreate voices, bodies, celebrations and signature movements, threatening sponsorships, eligibility, reputation and long-term brand value before the athlete knows the content exists.

WIPO warns that recognizable human movement can now be generated, manipulated and monetized without an athlete's participation. Fake endorsements can suggest commercial relationships that do not exist, damage legitimate sponsorships and create significant reputational risk.

In response, Instant IP® has launched Protect the Athleteᴵᴾ, a global campaign to help athletes identify, document, protect and leverage the intellectual property and identity assets connected to their careers.

"Athletes train for years to build a name. AI can steal that name in seconds," said Dr. Kary Oberbrunner, founder and CEO of Instant IP®. "An athlete's NIL is not just publicity. It is identity, income, intellectual property and legacy. If someone can clone it, sell it or attach it to a product the athlete never endorsed, athletes need proof that moves as fast as AI."

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Protect the Athleteᴵᴾ urges athletes, families, agents, schools, collectives and sports organizations to protect athlete-owned and created IP. Using Instant IP®, athletes they can protect original content, brand assets, and signature phrases in less than a minute.

"We are not anti-AI. We are pro-athlete," Oberbrunner said. "Athletes deserve consent, attribution, compensation and control over how their identities are used."

Athletes can protect their first asset free at: https://www.instantip.today/athlete

Instant IP® helps athletes and teams win beyond the scoreboard through strategic IP positioning and business training. Athletic success can change with a single injury, but a well-positioned and protected IP portfolio can create income, impact and opportunity long after the final whistle.