A clause in Nike's contract with the Univ. of Michigan could, in the future, allow the company to "harvest personal data from Michigan athletes through the use of wearable technology like heart-rate monitors, GPS trackers and other devices that log myriad biological activities," according to Marc Tracy of the N.Y. TIMES. Experts said that as debates about athletes’ rights intensify in college sports, the next frontier "could be privacy issues related to wearable tech, which in coming years could expand beyond health trackers like Fitbit and the Apple Watch to so-called smart clothing." The Nike-UM contract "appears to allow for more comprehensive data collection than is typical." Michigan’s contract "stipulates that the data collection be anonymous and comply with 'all applicable laws.'" However, privacy experts said that those stipulations "provide limited security given the threat of hacking and the lack of regulation in this area." The experts also said that the data, "if matched to certain players ... could harm their career prospects and, depending on what is measured, reveal intimate details." Lawyer Tatiana Melnik said, "There’s not a lot of protections for players. ... How does a player know you’re not going to turn around and share this information with the NFL?" Tracy noted the contract "appears to give Michigan a degree of veto power, saying the data 'shall be subject to university approval.'" Michigan Associate AD/External Communications & PR Kurt Svoboda said, "We would evaluate each request on its own merits and utilize our approval rights in the best interests of UM and our student-athletes." Nike Media Relations Dir of North America Josh Benedek said that the company "had not yet collected athlete data" (N.Y. TIMES, 9/11).
