NFL Players Create Website to License Off their Images & Autographs

National Football League (NFL) players have created an online website to simplify licensing, cough including use of their images and autographs.

The Playmark website, scheduled to launch today, is the first of its kind in a major U.S. sport to allow software developers and T-shirt makers to go through an online process to secure the likenesses and marks of more than 2,000 players, said Keith Gordon, president of NFL Players Inc., the licensing arm of the NFL Players Association. NFL Players Inc. licensing totaled $78 million last year.

Gordon said: “We really wanted to make the licensing process streamlined and accessible for people no matter what your resources are. This space is really ripe for something that demystifies intellectual property rights and licensing.”

Seattle-based Playmark Inc. operates the clearinghouse as the exclusive broker for the players, Gordon said. Product or software developers can submit proposals online to purchase the rights to images, signatures or even three-dimensional likenesses.

Pricing is based on higher upfront fees yielding lower royalty payments, Gordon said. The website then allows developers to submit their finished work for approval by NFL Players Inc., which should take days instead of weeks. The simplified system may help cut down on illicit use of the marks.

“Nothing happens without our approval,” Gordon said. “We have complete control over who has access and once they have access, nothing gets released without our approval.”

By making it easier for emerging or existing businesses to obtain licensing, Gordon said he hopes to spur growth in products that use NFL players. The website doesn’t cover retired players.

The new system also will help players who aren’t among the league’s most-popular to earn more licensing money, by allowing makers room to develop products aimed at smaller niches, Gordon said.

He added: “We just really wanted to create something where we could tap into the creativity, enthusiasm and inspiration of the young entrepreneurs out there with great products, who don’t necessarily know how to leverage the assets available to them.”