The Higher Ed Workplace Blog

Senate Committee Holds Hearings on Name, Image and Likeness Compensation

On June 9 and June 17, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation held two hearings titled “NCAA Athlete NIL Rights” and “NCAA Student Athletes and NIL Rights,” respectively. During the hearings, senators and witnesses discussed proposals to allow students to monetize their name, image and likeness (NIL) in schools across the country, in addition to other issues relating to student-athletes. The hearings continue ongoing discussions on the topic in the Senate as states continue to pass their own NIL legislation.

During the first hearing, witnesses discussed proposals to allow student-athletes to monetize their name, image, and likeness (NIL) on a national scale. This included Mark Emmert, president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association; Mark Few, head coach of the men’s basketball team at Gonzaga University; Rod Gilmore, college football analyst for ESPN; Wayne A. I. Frederick, president of Howard University and chair of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference’s presidents and chancellors; Michael McCann, professor of law and director of the Sports & Entertainment Law Institute at the University of New Hampshire’s Franklin Pierce School of Law; and Matthew J. Mitten, professor of law and executive director at Marquette University Law School.

The second hearing included witnesses who had personal experience playing Division I college athletics or who had family who had participated in Division I athletics. These witnesses included Christina Chenault, a former Division I athlete at the University of California, Los Angeles; Kaira Brown, a student and Division I athlete at Vanderbilt University; Sari Cureton, a former Division I athlete at Georgetown University; and Martin McNair, the father of the late student-athlete Jordan McNair, who passed away due to heat-related illness while training with the University of Maryland’s football team.

At the time of this blog post, 19 states had already enacted state laws allowing for the monetization of NIL opportunities, and an additional four states were waiting for their governor to sign a bill into law. The hearing was held in light of an upcoming July 1 deadline, which will mark the first day that NIL laws will go into effect in six states that have already passed legislation. The July 1 effective date has put increasing pressure on Congress to pass legislation that would preempt these state laws and create a national standard for NIL monetization.

During the hearings, senators on both sides of the aisle and witnesses agreed that action must be taken to allow student-athletes across the country to receive pay for NIL opportunities before July 1. However, Democrats and Republicans disagreed on the scope of the legislation that would ultimately pass the NIL laws. Democratic senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) advocated for more comprehensive policies regarding student-athletes, including better health and safety standards and improved educational outcomes in addition to NIL rights. Democrats in support of such sweeping measures argued that such policies would better serve student-athletes in a system that they believe exploits their talents with little reward and protection.

Witnesses at the June 17 hearing strongly agreed with the Democratic senators that comprehensive legislation to better protect student-athletes via health and safety standards and better educational outcomes was necessary at this time. In response to questions from Chair Maria Cantwell (D-WA), McNair argued that health and safety may be the biggest priority for Congress to focus on at this point.

During the first hearing, Republicans generally argued against taking the all-encompassing approach that Democrats were advocating, stating that passing such a bill would be nearly impossible for Congress to accomplish by July 1, as both parties would have to participate in extensive negotiations. Ranking Member Roger Wicker (R-MS) instead argued Congress should focus on passing a bipartisan, NIL-specific bill that preempts individual states’ NIL laws, places guardrails to protect student-athletes from being taken advantage of by actors involved in the NIL payments, and ensures that institutions, conferences and athletic associations are not held liable for past rules governing NIL compensation during the transition to the new laws. He and other Republicans did not oppose looking into other matters once Congress passed the NIL policies.

With July 1 quickly approaching, Congress will have to move fast if they hope to enact federal legislation that could preempt the state laws. CUPA-HR will continue to monitor and keep members apprised of federal NIL legislation that passes through Congress.