A new tax bill passed in Mississippi could add a healthy bit of competition into college football's NIL arms race.
The Mississippi House passed a bill excluding NIL (name, image and likeness) earnings from state income tax, which could go into effect as soon as next year. The bill now advances to the state Senate, and if it passes there, will move to the desk of Gov. Tate Reeves, who could sign it into law.
Proponents of the bill, which include Mississippi 8th House district Rep. Trey Lamar, argue that it makes the state’s college football programs more attractive destinations for prospective student athletes. Those against the bill, district 25 Rep. Dan Eubanks chief among them, are struggling to see why NIL-earning athletes should receive a tax break, unlike other paid employees.
“Why would they not be taxed like any other employee?” Eubanks asked Lamar in the House, according to The Clarion Ledger. "Is the only incentive for us doing this because other states are doing it? I just don't know why they're being treated different than anyone else in the world.”
Under the new bill, Mississippi athletes will enjoy considerable tax savings at the state level, but will still be subject to federal tex income requirements, as well as state income tax for NIL deals in other states that have yet to pass a bill similar to the one in Mississippi.
Have any other states passed an NIL bill like the one in Mississippi?
Three other states—Florida, Texas and Tennessee—already don't have a state income tax, giving college football players residing in those states a significant tax break. Arkansas in 2025 became the first state to pass a no tax on NIL bill.
Which college football programs boast the richest NIL collectives?
Ever since student athletes could legally be compensated in NIL while retaining eligibility back in July of 2021, an arms race has been jumpstarted across college sports, but particularly in terms of SEC football.
Unsurprisingly, several SEC schools from states with no income tax—or with the no NIL tax bills in place—possess some of the largest NIL treasure chests in the country.
According to an NCAA estimate of school NIL and booster support figures, Arkansas, Tennessee, Florida, Texas A&M and Texas all ranked among the top 25 programs in terms of NIL resources entering the 2025 season. Each program boasted estimated NIL totals worth at least $11.5 million, with the Longhorns topping the list at a whopping $22 million. Ole Miss has also been among the SEC's top spenders in recent years, and is set to pay returning quarterback Trinidad Chambliss a revenue-sharing deal of more than $5 million in ‘26 alone after he was granted a sixth year of eligibility in state court. Each Division I school was allowed to share up to $20.5 million in revenue with its athletes for the 2025–26 season after last year’s House vs. NCAA settlement, with true NIL payments permitted on top of that total.
The Mississippi House’s decision to pass the bill only adds to the competition.
More College Football on Sports Illustrated
Listen to SI’s college sports podcast, Others Receiving Votes, below or on Apple and Spotify. Watch the show on SI’s YouTube channel.
- Ranking CBB Top 5, Miami RedHawks IN or OUT?, Big East Sinking | Others Receiving Votes
- What the 2026 NFL Combine Revealed About College Football’s Power Shift
- Colorado QB Dominiq Ponder Dies at Age 23
- LSU’s Lane Kiffin Made His First TikTok With Livvy Dunne, And It Was What You’d Expect
This article was originally published on www.si.com as SEC’s NIL Arms Race Heats Up As Mississippi Passes New Tax Bill to Benefit Athletes.
