Learn how international athletes can license their name, image, voice, likeness, and commercial identity in Turkey. This 2026 guide explains contract clauses, club conflicts, advertising compliance, taxation, personal data, and legal remedies.

The commercial value of a successful athlete often extends far beyond salary, match bonuses, and transfer fees. Professional athletes may generate substantial income by allowing brands, sports clubs, sponsors, broadcasters, video-game companies, and digital platforms to use their name, photograph, voice, signature, personal story, and likeness.

For international athletes working or competing in Turkey, these commercial uses should be regulated through a carefully drafted image rights licensing agreement. Without a clear contract, disputes may arise over the scope of consent, payment obligations, campaign duration, social media content, intellectual property ownership, artificial intelligence, and continued use after the athlete leaves a club.

An athlete’s employment contract does not automatically give the club unlimited authority to exploit the athlete’s identity for every commercial purpose. Similarly, a sponsorship agreement with a club does not necessarily allow the sponsor to use individual players in advertisements.

This guide explains the legal and contractual issues affecting image rights licensing agreements for international athletes in Turkey in 2026.

What Are Athlete Image Rights?

Athlete image rights refer to the legally protected commercial and personal interests connected with an athlete’s identity.

These rights may include the athlete’s:

• name and professional nickname,
• photograph and physical appearance,
• voice and signature,
• biography and personal story,
• shirt number and distinctive celebrations,
• social media identity,
• personal logo,
• recorded performance,
• digital avatar,
• and other recognizable personal characteristics.

Turkish law does not regulate all athlete image rights through a single specialized statute. Protection may arise through personality rights, intellectual property law, personal data protection, contract law, unfair competition rules, and advertising legislation.

The athlete’s photograph is also treated as personal data where it identifies or makes the person identifiable. The Turkish Personal Data Protection Authority has confirmed in its decisions that photographs cannot be used freely merely because they have been obtained during a commercial or professional relationship.

What Is an Image Rights Licensing Agreement?

An image rights licensing agreement allows another party to use specified aspects of an athlete’s identity for agreed commercial purposes.

The athlete does not normally transfer ownership of their personality. Instead, the athlete authorizes defined uses for a particular period, territory, campaign, product category, and media channel.

Potential licensees include:

• sports clubs,
• sponsors,
• sportswear companies,
• broadcasters,
• gaming businesses,
• advertising agencies,
• equipment manufacturers,
• merchandising companies,
• and social media platforms.

The agreement should distinguish between permission to use the athlete’s image and ownership of photographs, videos, graphics, campaign materials, or other creative works produced during the relationship.

Individual Rights and Team Rights

One of the most important issues is the distinction between individual image rights and collective team rights.

A club may commonly use team photographs, match footage, official squad images, or promotional materials connected with its ordinary sporting activities. However, this does not necessarily permit the club to present an individual athlete as personally endorsing a particular product.

A contract should clarify whether the club may use the athlete:

• only as part of the team,
• individually in club promotions,
• in sponsor advertising,
• in merchandise,
• in international campaigns,
• or in paid digital content.

The athlete should also check whether the proposed license conflicts with existing club sponsors. For example, an athlete’s personal footwear sponsor may compete with the club’s official equipment supplier.

Scope of the Licensed Rights

The contract should describe the licensed rights precisely. Broad wording such as “all image rights worldwide forever” may create serious commercial and legal problems.

The scope clause should identify:

• which personal attributes may be used,
• the approved products and services,
• permitted advertising channels,
• geographical territory,
• campaign duration,
• maximum number of appearances,
• and whether the license is exclusive.

The athlete may grant separate rights for television advertising, social media, printed material, stadium displays, merchandise, mobile applications, and video games.

Rights not expressly granted should remain with the athlete.

Territorial and Digital Use

International athletes often participate in campaigns distributed across several countries. A license limited to Turkey may become inadequate where content is published online and accessible worldwide.

The contract should determine whether use is permitted:

• only in Turkey,
• in named countries,
• throughout a region,
• or worldwide.

Digital content requires additional detail because social media posts can remain searchable after a campaign ends. The parties should agree whether old posts may remain online as historical content or must be removed after expiration.

Paid advertising, reposting, content boosting, platform licensing, and use by affiliated companies should also be addressed separately.

Exclusivity and Conflicting Sponsorships

Exclusivity is commercially valuable but should be limited to a clearly defined category.

A clause stating that an athlete cannot work with any competing company may be too uncertain. The agreement should identify the restricted category, such as:

• sportswear,
• footwear,
• energy drinks,
• banking,
• telecommunications,
• insurance,
• or automotive products.

The athlete should retain the right to work with businesses outside the agreed category.

The contract should also explain how conflicts with club, federation, league, national team, and event sponsors will be handled. Failure to examine those relationships before signing may expose the athlete to multiple breach claims.

Approval of Advertising Content

Athletes should not allow unrestricted editing or publication of their image.

An approval clause may require the licensee to obtain written consent before publishing:

• advertising copy,
• photographs,
• videos,
• translations,
• edited material,
• political or social messaging,
• and product claims attributed to the athlete.

The athlete should be able to reject content that is misleading, defamatory, offensive, inconsistent with professional values, or likely to create regulatory risk.

Silence should not automatically be treated as approval unless the contract contains a reasonable and clearly defined review period.

Social Media and Influencer Compliance

Where the athlete publishes sponsored content through personal social media accounts, the commercial nature of the communication must be clearly identifiable.

The Ministry of Trade’s influencer advertising guidance applies to commercial communications intended to promote products or services and sets expectations concerning transparent advertising disclosures.

The contract should specify:

• required advertising disclosures,
• number and timing of posts,
• platform and content format,
• approval procedure,
• minimum availability period,
• reporting obligations,
• and responsibility for regulatory violations.

Turkey’s 2026 advertising framework also strengthened rules affecting influencer promotions, targeted advertising, and AI-generated commercial content.

Personal Data and Consent

Photographs, videos, voice recordings, and other identifying information may fall within Turkish personal data protection rules.

The athlete should receive information concerning:

• who processes the data,
• why it is processed,
• the applicable legal basis,
• recipients and service providers,
• retention periods,
• international transfers,
• security measures,
• and data-subject rights.

Consent, where used as the legal basis, must be specific, informed, and freely given. The Personal Data Protection Authority also recognizes that consent may be withdrawn, although withdrawal generally affects future processing rather than automatically invalidating lawful past use.

Contractual authorization and data protection consent should be coordinated but not treated as identical legal concepts.

Payment and Royalty Structure

Image rights compensation may be structured as:

• a fixed licensing fee,
• monthly payments,
• royalties based on sales,
• bonuses based on campaign performance,
• appearance fees,
• free products or services,
• or a combination of these methods.

Royalty agreements should contain clear definitions of gross sales, net sales, permitted deductions, returns, taxes, currency conversion, and accounting periods.

Athletes should also obtain audit rights where payment depends on sales or revenue figures. Without access to records, it may be difficult to verify whether royalties have been calculated correctly.

Taxes and Cross-Border Payments

Payments to foreign athletes may create Turkish tax, withholding, invoicing, residency, and double-tax treaty issues.

The parties should determine:

• who is responsible for withholding,
• whether amounts are gross or net,
• which entity will issue invoices,
• how foreign-currency payments will be made,
• and whether the athlete acts personally or through an image-rights company.

The legal characterization of the payment should reflect the actual arrangement. Artificially labeling salary as image-rights income may create tax and employment disputes.

Artificial Intelligence and Digital Replicas

Modern agreements should address the use of artificial intelligence.

A conventional image license should not automatically authorize the licensee to:

• generate a digital replica,
• clone the athlete’s voice,
• create synthetic advertisements,
• alter statements or movements,
• develop a virtual avatar,
• or train an AI system using the athlete’s content.

AI rights should be granted only through express language defining the permitted technology, purpose, duration, approval process, and deletion obligations.

The athlete should retain control over content that could falsely suggest actions, opinions, or endorsements.

Morality and Reputation Clauses

Brands often request termination rights where an athlete becomes involved in doping, match-fixing, criminal, discriminatory, or reputational controversies.

Athletes should ensure that morality clauses are not entirely subjective. The clause should identify objective triggers, require credible evidence, and distinguish allegations from final findings.

Athletes may also seek reciprocal protection where the sponsor becomes associated with corruption, sanctions violations, unlawful advertising, insolvency, or reputational misconduct.

Termination and Post-Termination Use

The agreement should specify when either party may terminate for:

• non-payment,
• unauthorized use,
• regulatory violations,
• breach of exclusivity,
• reputational harm,
• insolvency,
• or material contractual breach.

Post-termination provisions should explain:

• when new use must stop,
• whether remaining products may be sold,
• whether social media content must be removed,
• how stored data will be handled,
• and whether campaign archives may be retained.

Continuing to use an athlete’s image after the license expires may result in removal, compensation, and other legal claims.

Legal Remedies and Appeal Process

Where an athlete’s image is used without authorization or beyond the agreed scope, available remedies may include:

1. sending a formal cease-and-desist notice;
2. requesting immediate removal of the content;
3. applying for interim injunctive protection;
4. claiming unpaid licensing fees or royalties;
5. seeking compensation for material and moral damage;
6. terminating the licensing agreement;
7. pursuing personality-rights claims;
8. filing intellectual property or unfair competition proceedings;
9. applying to the Personal Data Protection Authority after completing the required application process;
10. challenging misleading or unauthorized advertising before the competent authorities.

The Personal Data Protection Authority has previously required the removal and deletion of unlawfully used photographs and ordered that they not be used through other channels.

The appropriate court, authority, and procedure depend on the legal basis of the claim and the parties’ dispute-resolution agreement.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Does a Turkish club automatically own a foreign athlete’s image rights?

No. The scope of the club’s rights depends on the employment, transfer, collective-rights, and licensing agreements.

2. Can a club sponsor use an athlete individually?

Not automatically. Individual commercial use may require separate authorization from the athlete.

3. Should image rights agreements be in writing?

Yes. A detailed written agreement provides essential evidence concerning scope, payment, consent, duration, and permitted use.

4. Can an athlete license image rights to several brands?

Yes, provided the agreements do not contain conflicting exclusivity obligations.

5. Can a license include worldwide social media use?

Yes, but the territory, platforms, paid advertising, reposting, and post-expiration treatment should be expressly defined.

6. Can an athlete withdraw data protection consent?

Consent may generally be withdrawn for future processing, but the contractual and financial consequences must be evaluated separately.

7. Can the athlete’s voice be cloned using AI?

Only where the relevant authorization clearly covers voice cloning or digital-replica use. Ordinary image-rights language should not be assumed to permit it.

8. What happens if royalties are underreported?

The athlete may request records, exercise contractual audit rights, claim unpaid amounts, and pursue legal proceedings where necessary.

9. Can unauthorized image use lead to compensation?

Yes. Depending on the circumstances, the athlete may claim financial losses, licensing value, moral damages, and removal of the content.

Client-Focused Legal Support

Image rights agreements should protect both the athlete’s commercial value and personal identity. International athletes should not rely on broad standard clauses prepared solely for clubs, agencies, or sponsors.

Lawyer Fırat Fesih Kaya and Fırat Fesih Kaya Law Office advise international athletes, agents, clubs, sponsors, and sports brands on image rights licensing, sponsorship agreements, influencer campaigns, personal data protection, unauthorized commercial use, royalties, and sports-related disputes in Turkey.

Phone: +90 312 434 22 22
Mobile: +90 532 769 22 22
Email: info@firatfesihkaya.av.tr

Address: Mevlana Boulevard No:221, Yıldırım Tower No:148, 06520 Balgat, Çankaya, Ankara, Turkey

Legal Disclaimer: This article is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Image-rights disputes depend on the wording of the relevant agreements, the purpose and medium of use, employment and sponsorship relationships, personal data rules, tax considerations, and the specific circumstances of each case.