Abstract
With modern advancements in wearable technologies and analytics, player motion data has transformed how the National Football League (“NFL”) approaches player health, scouting, and evaluation. Although the use cases for biometric data have increased, the federal laws that govern player privacy and data ownership have lagged. Professional athletes’ biometric data, especially relating to performance-related information, is not directly addressed by any current federal employment or health information laws. Instead, safeguarding professional athletes’ privacy has been left primarily to player unions and collective bargaining agreements (“CBAs”). The unfettered collection of and access to player biometric databases presents alarming threats to athlete privacy and autonomy. This paper examines current international, federal, state, and league-specific privacy regulations to identify the important considerations the NFL must make to expand the use of player motion data. This paper focuses on the role of CBAs, borrowing concepts from other regulatory bodies, arguing that players must have an opportunity to exercise ownership rights over their motion data, data use must depend on player consent, and data collection is limited and transparent. While the federal legal landscape continues to develop, professional sports leagues, like the NFL, have the opportunity to lay the foundation for a framework that protects player privacy, promotes transparency, and respects professional athletes’ autonomy and commercialization rights.