Liviby Dunn talks about NIL and how female athletes can benefit from it
Megan Hall talks with Livivy Dunn about the world of NIL and how she is setting the course for future college athletes to be as successful as she is.
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Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives passed the bill, with a final vote scheduled for Wednesday, December 3rd. The bill would allow the NCAA and its newly created Collegiate Athletic Commission to create and enforce national rules that have been subject to legal disputes in recent years.
The SCORE Act (Student Compensation and Opportunity through Rights and Endorsements) provided more regulation and sought to calm the turbulent environment created by the introduction of name, image, and likeness (NIL) compensation, revenue sharing, and transfer portals to college sports. The bill passed a procedural vote of 210-209 on Tuesday, but drew bipartisan opposition as it neared a final vote.
Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) and the Congressional Black Caucus have also been vocal critics, and questions about how the bill violates athletes’ rights inspired House Democrats to introduce a competing bill earlier this week. House Republican leaders withdrew the SCORE bill about two hours before it was originally scheduled for a final vote, in what was seen as a sign that it no longer had enough support to pass.
“The SCORE Act was removed from consideration simply for lack of a vote, a clear sign that lawmakers on both sides saw it for what it was: a gift to the NCAA and the Power Two Conferences at the expense of athletes. This bill would impose new restrictions on athletes, but it would do nothing to address the real instability in college athletics,” Rep. Lori Trahan (D-Mass.) wrote in a social media post after the vote failed.
The bill, introduced in July by lawmakers from both parties with the support of leaders on three House committees, would allow the NCAA to set caps on how much schools can spend on NIL contracts and on the parameters of how players transfer, as long as they can transfer at least once and are immediately eligible.
Other aspects of the proposed bill would enact the fair market value valuation of athletes’ NIL contracts with non-school entities provided under the House of Representatives v. NCAA settlement and would allow universities to prevent athletes from entering into NIL contracts that conflict with the school’s sponsorship agreements. The bill also notably prevents athletes from becoming university employees and protects the NCAA, committees, conferences, and schools from potential state court lawsuits arising from antitrust laws and regulations.
The NCAA has lobbied Congress for antitrust rules for the past decade, as rules governing player pay and transfer eligibility were challenged and ultimately changed by state legislatures and lawsuits.
“The SCORE Act (College Sports) has good intentions, but it falls short and is not ready for prime time. I will vote against it,” Roy explained his position in a lengthy social media post condemning the current state of college sports. “Process issues aside (that could have been fixed)… there are a lot of legitimate concerns and questions.”
Wednesday’s House vote is expected to come the same week that Trahan (D-Mass.), a former Division I volleyball player, also announced plans to introduce a competing bill modeled on a recent Senate proposal that would include federal standards for NIL rights and media rights pools, as well as the creation of a bipartisan college sports stabilization commission with a two-year timeline to develop recommendations for a permanent governance model.
“Despite years of intense lobbying by the most powerful organizations in college athletics, Congress is increasingly divided on how to address the challenges threatening our industry,” Trahan said in a news release that proved prophetic days later.
