![]() But with no significant movement toward a federal law, state lawmakers continue to set the course. Indeed, new NCAA President Charlie Baker has framed the need for a federal NIL law as one of consumer protection for college athletes. “Independent reviews have found many NIL deals can be exploitive of student-athletes, and with dozens of states now passing different laws governing NIL, the NCAA believes working with Congress is the best way to protect student-athletes’ rights and to set nationwide, uniform rules to modernize college sports,” it said. In a statement to AP, the NCAA also said it has no plans to change its enforcement and investigatory actions because of the latest wave of state NIL laws. “Another state law at this time will exacerbate the growing problem of different states imposing different rules,′ he said. Tim Buckley, the NCAA’s senior vice president for external affairs, called that “the wrong solution at the wrong time for college athletics.” That effort picked up steam in 2019, when California served notice that statehouses were the next battleground over amateur athletics and compensation with its first-in-the-nation NIL law.Ĭalifornia is at it again, with a measure seeking to require college revenue-sharing with athletes. Duke recently named Rachel Baker, a former Nike executive, its first basketball general manager, overseeing NIL opportunities for athletes.Ĭollege sports leaders have been pushing for a federal law to create a uniform standard for NIL that the NCAA cannot. ![]() Minnesota announced in March that former Gophers football player Jeremiah Carter would be shifting from compliance director to a new role as senior associate athletic director for NIL policy and risk management. Texas A&M athletic director Ross Bjork, in a recent interview, said the school is confident it is compliant. The NCAA sent out a memo to its Division I member schools soon after 12th Man+ was launched that said “entities acting on behalf of the institution” cannot pay athletes for NIL. The 12th Man+ Fund is a newly created division within the foundation that operates like a collective, which have become pervasive as the primary source of NIL compensation for college athletes. The 12th Man Foundation is a private organization that raises money to fund scholarships, programs and facilities for Texas A&M athletics. “A lot of them say 501(c)(3) entities in the state, but what they’re really referring to is athletic fundraising foundations that are affiliated with universities.” “And then they’re also affirmatively stating that certain entities can enter into NIL deals with athletes,” Winter said. Lawmakers in Colorado introduced a bill that says institutions can “identify, create, solicit, facilitate and otherwise enable” NIL opportunities for their athletes. Kevin Stitt’s signature and a Texas bill is likely to pass the state House this week. A similar bill in Oklahoma is awaiting Gov. ![]() Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed an amended bill into law April 14. “And so the state laws are just affirmatively saying that schools in these states are allowed to do certain things, despite what the NCAA rules may say.”Īrkansas was out front in this latest leg of the NIL arms race that started in 2021 when the NCAA lifted its ban on athletes being paid for endorsements, sponsorships and appearances. ![]() “The universities want to be more involved in the NIL process and some of the current NCAA rules don’t allow them to do that,” said Mit Winter, a sports business attorney based in Kansas City. The moves could pave the way for schools and their fundraising arms to be directly involved in securing and paying for their athletes’ name, image and likeness endorsement deals while also shielding athletic departments from NCAA enforcement. Lawmakers in Arkansas, Texas and elsewhere are working to remove barriers between college athletes trying to cash in on their fame and the schools for which they play as administrators discover the benefits of moving athlete compensation activities in-house.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |