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Today’s Case

A flurry of NIL bills were presented in Congress recently; what will be the outcome?

While the NCAA aggressively pushes for federal NIL legislation, two days of NIL meetings concluded Wednesday afternoon at NCAA headquarters without the announcement of a new policy to govern the ever-evolving NIL space.

In all, seven NIL-related bills were brought forth. These bills are worth following as the process intensifies:

• College Athlete Economic Freedom Act

  • Sponsors: Senators Chris Murphy (D-CT), Lori Trahan (D-MA)

  • Highlight: Focused on protecting student-athlete NIL rights

• Ted Cruz’s NIL legislation (Unnamed)

  • Sponsor: Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX)

  • Highlight: Stricter version of NIL; athletes are not employees

• Protecting Athletes, Schools and Sports Act of 2023

  • Sponsors: Senators Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), Joe Manchin (D-WV)

  • Highlight: Athletes would be prohibited from entering the transfer portal during their first three years of eligibility

• College Athletes Protection and Compensation Act of 2023

  • Sponsors: Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Jerry Moran (R-KS)

  • Highlight: Regulate NIL deals; offer medical protections

• The College Sports NIL Clearinghouse Act of 2023

  • Sponsor: Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC)

  • Highlight: Establish NIL clearinghouse to oversee activity

• The Fairness, Accountability, and Integrity in Representation (FAIR) of College Sports Act

  • Sponsor: Representative Gus Bilirakis (R-FL)

  • Highlight: Protect rights of student-athletes to make money; establish commission to oversee process

• The Student-Athlete Level Playing Field Act

  • Sponsors: Initially Representatives Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-MO), Anthony Gonzalez (R-OH)

  • Highlight: Create an FTC clearinghouse for each endorsement deal that exceeds $500.

The Verdict:

• While progress to creating a unified NIL model is being made, I don’t see any singular bill that will pass

  • The focus seems to be too great on protecting the NCAA while hindering the student-athlete.

    • NIL is, and will always be, for the student-athlete. Any blocking of athletes allowed to maximize their name, image and likeness goes against the very core of NIL.

• Are student-athletes deemed employees or not?

  • This is arguably the most hotly contested item

    • The NCAA does not want this, whereas the athletes do want this, to an extent.

      • Two major advantages for classifying athletes as employees are it allows them to unionize and provides workers’ compensation for work-related (ie., games and practices) activities.

• Which is the best bill as-is?

  • If I had to select one bill, I would go with the College Athlete Economic Freedom Act from Senators Chris Murphy (D-CT) & Lori Trahan (D-MA) for three reasons:

    • It puts the interest of the student-athlete first.

    • Student-athletes were consulted on this proposed bill.

    • International student-athletes would be allowed to monetize their NIL in the US without jeopardizing their visa status.

I’m hosting an NIL for Parents Webinar on Wednesday, August 16!

Topics include (but not limited to) What is NIL, what parents should ask schools, and how to get started.

Register here (early bird pricing through August 6th) and please share with anyone who would be interested in this webinar!

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<sup>I discuss insights and news related to name, image and likeness in 3 minutes or less every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 12p ET/9a PT.

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Court is adjourned. Go be great!!