On July 1, several members of the Iowa football team shared a post by YOKE Gaming on their Instagram stories, which claimed that it would pay all college athletes for sharing its post.
The app, which says it “enables you to play video games with your favorite athletes,” is one of many private companies that seeks to aid athletes in profiting off of their name, image and likeness by providing fans the opportunity to connect with their favorite athletes for a price.
It’s also one of the companies Dan Lust, a sports attorney and professor at New York Law School who appears regularly on ESPN, CBS and FOX Sports, says sparks immediate concern about athletes partnering with brands too quickly.
