Competing agencies OneTeam Partners and The BrandR Group, who specialize in collegiate group licensing deals, have decided to drop their past disputes against one another, the companies said today. As part of this agreement, The BrandR Group has withdrawn its lawsuit against EA Sports, which was filed earlier this year.
BrandR, which represents more than 50 schools and thousands of college athletes, sued EA Sports in June over the NIL deals that EA was offering to college football players. EA is expected to launch its new version of the college football video game in 2024. The suit alleged that EA was going around BrandR to sign players. A month earlier in May, EA contracted with OneTeam to facilitate players’ NIL rights.
The latest development today indicates that OneTeam and BrandR will be exploring ways to support each other, in terms of their policies to provide the athletes with the best opportunities to make money. However, the two agencies, while owning a shared interest of maximizing NIL values, will continue to operate as separate and independent companies.
