Congress will introduce a bill on NIL this week that covers several issues regarding NCAA athletics, namely:
That third bullet runs counter to a pending lawsuit and a NLRB ruling issued last week that said that SA's in football, men's basketball, and women's basketball should be classified as employees. That case will go before an administrative law judge in November, but can be appealed and could take a lot more time to resolve.
There are significant hurdles in Congress as well, as the bill itself has yet to be filed - there's a bill in the Senate that also is in development and there are several different attitudes - even within parties - as to what should these bills truly cover.
The bottom line is that within the next two years (maybe even in the next 12 months) we could have a major showdown on how college athletes are classified and how major college sports will run.
- Safeguards “from retaliation by an institution of higher education for student-athletes who have signed a NIL deal.”
- The creation of a “new regulatory body tasked with establishing and enforcing rules pertaining to collectives, boosters, and student-athlete endorsement contracts. Student-athletes who enter into a contract will be required to report their agreement to this new body and their university within a specified period.” Collectives are booster- and business-driven groups that have formed to pool resources and provide NIL opportunities for athletes at schools since the NCAA has made rule changes substantially enhancing athletes’ ability to make money not only from endorsements, but also from personal appearances, autograph signings and other activities.
- A provision “clarifying that student-athletes are not eligible for employee status.”
- Language “providing liability protection to protect institutions from frivolous litigation.”
NIL bill expected in House would provide legal help sought by NCAA, letter says
A bill that is expected to be drafted in the House would create a "new regulatory body" to enforce rules pertaining to collectives and boosters.
www.usatoday.com
That third bullet runs counter to a pending lawsuit and a NLRB ruling issued last week that said that SA's in football, men's basketball, and women's basketball should be classified as employees. That case will go before an administrative law judge in November, but can be appealed and could take a lot more time to resolve.
Southern California, NCAA, Pac-12 face complaint from National Labor Relations Board
NLRB alleges that Southern California, the Pac-12 and NCAA have unlawfully misclassified college athletes as “student-athletes” rather than employees.
www.usatoday.com
There are significant hurdles in Congress as well, as the bill itself has yet to be filed - there's a bill in the Senate that also is in development and there are several different attitudes - even within parties - as to what should these bills truly cover.
The bottom line is that within the next two years (maybe even in the next 12 months) we could have a major showdown on how college athletes are classified and how major college sports will run.
