U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy and Massachusetts Rep. Lori Trahan relaunched their legislation to aid college student-athletes in their name, image and likeness endeavors by widening the opportunities available.
The College Athlete Economic Freedom Act was announced Wednesday morning. The bill includes provisions to allow international student-athletes to engage in NIL activity without losing their student visa status, encourage negotiation between athletes and their colleges for the use of athletes’ NIL for promotion and media rights deals, and will ensure colleges and collectives do not discriminate on the basis of gender, race, or participating sports in the facilitation of NIL deals.
“Giving college athletes the ability to make money off their name, image, and likeness was long overdue, and the past two years have transformed college sports for the better. The NCAA spent decades arguing against athletes’ right to their own NIL, so it should come as no surprise that colleges and athletic associations are now focused on how to take back control, hoping Congress will do it for them. This legislation would enshrine unrestricted NIL rights into federal law and ensure athletes are treated fairly and start getting their fair share,” Murphy said in a statement.
This is the third NIL piece to come out of Washington over the past week. On July 20, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal co-sponsored the draft of a bill that will provide a national NIL standard. And Sens. Joe Manchin and Tommy Tuberville — a former college football coach — introduced a bill Tuesday.
NIL was launched in July 2021, but guidelines were left to each state. NCAA and college officials have called for a federal standard.
“There is clearly growing bipartisan interest in taking legislative action to create a stable, sustainable, and equitable foundation for future generations of student-athletes and we are committed to working with all stakeholders to get this done,” NCAA president Charlie Baker said in a statement.
Murphy's bill addresses the issue of international student-athletes, which was under the spotlight as Adama Sanogo led UConn to the NCAA title. During March Madness, Murphy and Blumenthal pressed the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to aid international student-athletes exercise the same rights to their NIL as their non-international teammates without fear of losing their lawful status as students at American colleges.
Since NIL has been established, international players have not been able to benefit from opportunities to market themselves. So players like Nika Muhl, Aaliyah Edwards, and Sanogo have been excluded from profiting while fellow UConn athletes like Azzi Fudd and Paige Bueckers were at the forefront of NIL, garnering deals with Chipotle, Bose, Crocs, Gatorage, StockX, Chegg and Nerf.
The bill would "allow international college athletes to market their NIL in the same ways their non-immigrant peers can without losing their F-1 visa status, including in the case that athletes become employees of their schools and/or athletic associations."
Also, the bill includes review of a school's Title IX compliance in an effort to examine support of female athlete's NIL deal and how women's sports are promoted.
“Giving college athletes the ability to make money off their name, image, and likeness was long overdue, and the past two years have transformed college sports for the better. The NCAA spent decades arguing against athletes’ right to their own NIL, so it should come as no surprise that colleges and athletic associations are now focused on how to take back control, hoping Congress will do it for them. This legislation would enshrine unrestricted NIL rights into federal law and ensure athletes are treated fairly and start getting their fair share,” said Murphy in a statement.
