The Power 5 conference commissioners say boosters are inducing high school and transfer athletes to attend their affiliated universities with “payments inaccurately labeled as NIL,” and they are encouraging Congress to make such actions illegal.
In a two-page letter obtained by Sports Illustrated and sent to Sens. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) and Joe Manchin (D-WV), the most powerful officials in the sport outlined how they believe NIL, or name, image and likeness, is being abused by donors and donor-led collectives across the country. The letter is in response to Tuberville and Manchin seeking feedback from stakeholders on the evolution of athlete compensation through NIL. Earlier this month, the senators announced that they plan to draft an NIL-related bill.
In their letter, the commissioners of the SEC, Big Ten, ACC, Pac-12 and Big 12 detail six “pillars” that they say are integral to federal legislation. They include (1) having a national standard allowing all athletes to earn compensation from third parties; (2) prohibiting pay-for-play as well as outlawing booster involvement in recruiting; (3) providing protections for athletes, including assurances that agents “are subject to meaningful regulation”; (4) banning third parties or agents from obtaining “long term rights” of an athlete’s NIL; (5) requiring deals to commensurate with market rates for NIL activity; and (6) requiring athletes to disclose NIL deals to their university.
