Three U.S. Senators introduced a new bill on Monday that marks the next step in student-athletes’ Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) legislation in the world of college sports.
Senators Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) introduced the Student Athlete Fairness and Enforcement (SAFE) Act, which codifies athletes’ rights and protections in law and creates a uniform national framework to replace patchwork state laws.
In addition to NIL protections, which include establishing uniform health and safety standards, protecting scholarships, and requiring student-athletes’ agents to register with a state and follow strict compensation rules, the Act also introduces the pooling of media rights deals, protects Olympic and women’s sports, and ensures local market access to football and basketball broadcasts.
The NIL protections include:
- A 10-year scholarship guarantee.
- For Division 1 schools, 5 years of post-eligibility medical coverage for sports-related injuries.
- Safety standards for heat exertion, brain injury, sickle cell trait and asthma; enforced by independent officers.
- NIL contract requirements that protect student athletes; contracts must include key terms like what the athlete must do under the contract and how much they will be paid.
- Endorsement rights for athletes so schools cannot restrict athlete NIL endorsement deals, except during organized team activities.
- Whistleblower protections for those who report violations.
- An Office of Athlete Ombuds at the NCAA to provide independent information and advice to student athletes and assist them to resolve disputes with schools and conferences.
“This legislation is a path through the new world of NIL,” said Sen. Cantwell. “This bill will protect athlete rights, preserve women’s and Olympic sports, and help smaller schools compete. It is a fair shake for everyone, instead of the biggest, richest schools.”
The Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 will be amended, allowing schools to collectively negotiate their media rights deals, while non-revenue-generating and women’s sports will be supported with the extra revenue.
Schools must use the increased media rights revenues to retain the same number of scholarships and roster spots for non-revenue generating and women’s sports as provided during the 2023-24 academic year.
The SAFE Act comes in response to the Student Compensation and Opportunity through Rights and Endorsements (SCORE) Act, which empowers the NCAA’s College Sports Commission and limits athletes’ legal leverage.
Cantwell had previously expressed “deep concerns” with the SCORE Act, which includes antitrust exemptions that would allow the NCAA to make operational changes to things such as eligibility and transfers that have come under legal scrutiny in recent years.
The SCORE Act was initially set to be voted on by the House floor in September, but it was put on hold due to a lack of support.
“The SAFE Act empowers athletes and strengthens protections for their health, safety, and education,” said Sen. Booker. “In stark contrast to harmful legislation being considered in the House, our bill preserves athletes’ rights to advocate for themselves and ensures meaningful avenues for accountability. Playing college football was one of the great gifts of my life—and it instilled in me a lasting conviction to fight for justice and fairness for athletes today and into the future.”
The Act also includes streaming media utilization rights, cracking down on bad actor agents, laying out clear-cut transfer rules, requiring transparency for NIL deals, and establishing new tools for the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general to enforce the new rules in court. It also “does not touch” the 22 percent revenue share cap in the House settlement.
“Those closest to college sports — including student-athletes and leaders of America’s colleges and universities at all levels — have consistently called on Congress to take action and address the actual threats facing college athletics,” NCAA senior vice president for external affairs Tim Buckley said in a statement, according to USA Today.
“This includes protecting student-athletes from being forced to become employees, and ensuring academic standards and other commonsense rules can be applied consistently. There has never been more momentum in Congress to address these challenges and the NCAA will continue to work with all lawmakers to maximize opportunities for America’s 500,000-plus student-athletes.”
Both bills are premature. It’s not a good idea to try to regulate the changes taking place in college sport until we see how these changes settle. I am in agreement with those who claim that some sort of federal intervention will eventually be necessary to keep the changing college sport landscape under control, but I think it is far too early to do this. Also, given our present political divide it is unlikely that either bill will gain any real traction.