Utah judge dismisses case over making NIL contracts public

A judge has sided with five public universities in Utah that challenged a State Records Committee decision requiring the schools to make college athletes’ name, image and likeness contracts public.

Third District Judge Amber Mettler agreed with the University of Utah, Utah State, Weber State, Utah Valley and Southern Utah universities that a law the Utah Legislature passed earlier this year shielding NIL agreements from the state’s open records law applies retroactively. Lawmakers passed the statute in response to a Deseret News attempt to obtain the contracts through Utah’s Government Records Access and Management Act or GRAMA.

Mettler found that even though the new law doesn’t use the word “retroactive,” it is “clear that it applies to all NIL agreements and related material, including those created before the effective date of the statute,” which took effect May 1, 2024. Mettler wrote that she was not persuaded that the word retroactive or similar wording is required. The Deseret News first sought the records in July 2023.

“While we respect the court’s decision, we strongly disagree with it. At the time the Deseret News filed its GRAMA request, no law existed putting student-athlete NIL agreements and related compliance records off limits to the public,” said Jeff Hunt, an attorney representing the Deseret News.

Read the full story and more from Dennis Romboy on deseret.com.