Five Top Tips To Understand Football Image Rights Deals

1. What are Image Rights (IR) and why are they relevant to the football industry?

   From a variety of commercial deals I have advised on a player's image can include a player's name, nicknames, likeness, image, photograph, signature, autograph, initials, statements, endorsement, physical details, voice and other personal characteristics. The idea is that the above descriptions include everything that may form part of that player's image for the player and/or his club to then market accordingly.

   Although practically speaking there is no such thing as a specific image right (I'll save the legal detail for another day!), a club and/or brand will be paying a player to endorse and promote a number of specific commercial deals.

   As commercial drivers push football into the entertainment and brand space, clubs are looking for a variety of ways to 'monetise' and grow their revenue base. As such, clubs are entering into a multitude of commercial partnerships whereby brands want to be associated with clubs and their high-profile players.

2. How do IR agreements work in practice?

   Under, for example, the standard Premier League employment contract that each Premier League player enters into with his club, certain provisions allow for a club to use a number of its players to promote the club's sponsors. It is however quite limited in scope (for example, the contract typically states "the Club's use of the Player's Image must not be greater than the average for all first team players" ).

   So if a club does not have a separate image rights agreement in place with its star players it would be difficult to use, say Daniel Sturridge's image with the majority of the club's commercial partners because that is not generally permitted under a player's standard employment contract. And more importantly, the club's commercial partners would probably want to use Daniel's image more than perhaps one of the first team squad players who would be less recognisable in other markets. So the reality is if Liverpool want to use the image across a range of sponsorship opportunities, then it becomes pretty vital for the club to contract separately with the player through an image rights deal to have control of those rights to endorse particular products and services - and if the player owns his image through a company, the club will need to contract with that company.

3. Why do Clubs and players enter into IR Deals?

   Football players are taxed through HMRC's pay as you earn scheme...