Press Releases

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congresswoman Lori Trahan (MA-03), a former Division I athlete and a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT), a member of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, reintroduced the College Athlete Economic Freedom Act, legislation that would establish an unrestricted federal right for college athletes to market their Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL). The bill also allows international college athletes to market their NIL without losing their visa status, encourages negotiation between athletes and their colleges for the use of athletes’ NIL for promotion and media rights deals, and ensures colleges and collectives do not discriminate on the basis of gender, race, or participating sports in the facilitation of NIL deals.

“Instead of trying to undo the rights college athletes fought for decades to secure, Congress should address the real issues facing college sports today,” said Congresswoman Trahan. “The College Athlete Economic Freedom Act codifies athletes’ unrestricted NIL rights nationwide, closes the loophole prohibiting international athletes from entering into NIL agreements, and guarantees that women have a fair shot in the NIL marketplace. It’s long past time for Congress to stand with the athletes who’ve driven this industry without a real seat at the table.”

“College athletes dedicate years of their lives to their craft and deserve their fair share of a multibillion-dollar industry built on their hard work,” said Senator Murphy. “While the past four years of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) policy have allowed these athletes to finally make money off their talent, the NCAA is hoping Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress will help them undo years of hard-earned progress. Our legislation shields college athletes from an assault on their livelihoods by expanding and codifying their basic right to be fairly compensated for their Name, Image, and Likeness.”

Specifically, the College Athlete Economic Freedom Act would:

• Establish an unrestricted federal right for college athletes and prospective college athletes to market the use of their name, image, and likeness -- individually and as a group -- by prohibiting colleges, conferences, and the NCAA from setting or enforcing rules that restrict this right or otherwise colluding to limit how athletes can use their NIL

• Protect athletes' ability to retain representation as they see fit, including lawyers, agents, and collective representatives (i.e. players associations) while prohibiting the NCAA or conferences from regulating athlete representation

• Ensure colleges and affiliated NIL collectives do not discriminate by gender, race, or sport in the facilitation of NIL deals along with requiring collectives to register with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and report the NIL deals they have facilitated so athletes and stakeholders asserting discrimination have all the information they need to address it

• Ensure equitable opportunities for college athletes to market their NIL by asserting that institutional support by colleges, conferences, or the NCAA for NIL opportunities is made available to all college athletes, along with commissioning a market analysis of NIL monetization with recommendations for improving opportunities across race, gender, and sport

• 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

• Require colleges and athletic associations to obtain a group license from athletes for using their NIL for any type of promotion, including via a media rights deal, and notify athletes of how their NIL was used along with how much revenue those deals generated, helping athletes negotiate with colleges, conferences, and the NCAA for their fair share of the revenues they produce

• Assert robust enforcement for violations by colleges, conferences, or the NCAA in restricting athletes' NIL rights, notably through asserting per se antitrust penalties, a private right of action for athletes to pursue civil action against violators, and authorizing the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to levy "unfair or deceptive practice" penalties.

Full text of the bill is available HERE.

A one-pager of the bill is available HERE.

###