Major college conferences are pushing for NIL legislation

If you’re a recent lottery jackpot winner looking to start a second career as a college bagman, you may be in some trouble. The most prominent college athletic conferences launched a campaign yesterday calling for new federal legislation that regulates how student-athletes can profit off their name, image, and likeness (NIL).

More specifically, the group of more than two dozen Division 1 conferences – led by the Power Five commissioners – wants federal legislation that:

• Replaces the current patchwork of state NIL laws and establishes uniform oversight and enforcement across the country, creating an even playing field for schools and athletes alike.
• Prevents the use of NIL in the recruiting process, a move conferences say is aimed at reversing the current “pay-to-play” environment where third-party individuals and orgs often use money to influence which schools athletes attend and play for.
• Recognizes the existing requirements of Title IX and ensures that male and female college athletes in all sports have equal opportunities to NIL deals.
• Clearly establishes that college athletes are not university employees, placing the conferences at odds with many athletes and legal advocates who argue they should be eligible for wages and overtime pay.

📸 Big picture: Since the NCAA lifted its long-standing ban preventing athletes from signing sponsorship and endorsement deals in 2021, NIL has grown into an OK Corral-gunslinging, almost-anything-goes booming national industry worth more than $1 billion annually.

And while Congress has held nearly a dozen hearings over the past three years regarding potential NIL regulation in college sports – including one as recently as last month – no such bills have yet made it to the House or Senate floor for debate (the first step in the voting process).