One of the biggest questions in the early name, image, and likeness era concerned whether athletes would sign deals with apparel companies that competed with their schools’ sponsors.

The majority of athletes appear to be sticking with their school’s apparel brands: South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston inked a long-term deal with Under Armour; UCLA’s Reilyn Turner signed with Nike; and hundreds of athletes at Adidas schools have begun to work with the company.

But a select few have deviated.

How are they allowed to do so? Some state laws allow schools to prohibit athletes from inking partnerships with their sponsors’ competitors — but others don’t have any such requirements.

As Bill Jula, co-founder and CEO of NIL company Postgame, pointed out to Front Office Sports, there’s an argument to be made that several activewear brands shouldn’t count as direct “competitors” to school sponsor brands, as they aren’t in the business of team contracts. Postgame has helped many athletes sign with activewear brands, and have only run into issues with schools once or twice.