HR7403-119

What This Bill Does

The No Foreign NIL Funds Act prohibits any national or entity of a foreign country from providing any monetary or in-kind benefit or contribution, regardless of value, to a covered entity in relation to a name, image, and likeness agreement. Covered entities include institutions of higher education, student athletes, NIL collectives, booster groups, agents, athletic departments, and similar entities that manage or solicit NIL funds for student athletes. Covered entities solicited by a foreign entity must document the solicitation with the Attorney General and Education Secretary. The Attorney General, in coordination with Education, investigates suspected institutional violations; institutions receive notice, can appeal to the Education Department Office of Hearings and Appeals, must certify compliance as a condition of Higher Education Act participation, must impose one-year athletics bans on violating student athletes, must notify committed and enrolled athletes annually, and can lose Title IV eligibility until they report compliance and divest prohibited funds. Violators face IEEPA civil and criminal penalties.

Who Benefits and How

College athletics integrity advocates and national-security officials benefit from a bright-line foreign-funding ban for NIL activity. Institutions that comply may benefit from clearer standards for NIL collectives, boosters, agents, and athletic departments. Domestic donors and compliant student athletes benefit from reduced competition from prohibited foreign-country funding sources.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Student athletes, universities, NIL collectives, booster groups, agents, athletic conferences, and media-rights participants must screen funding sources, document solicitations, notify athletes, enforce policies, and divest prohibited funds. Foreign nationals and foreign-country entities outside the exempt country list lose the ability to fund covered NIL arrangements. The Attorney General and Education Department must investigate, notify, hear appeals, and administer Title IV eligibility consequences.

Key Provisions

• Prohibits foreign nationals and foreign-country entities from providing any benefit or contribution related to NIL agreements with covered college-athletics entities.
• Requires covered entities to document foreign NIL solicitation attempts with the Attorney General and Education Secretary.
• Requires institutions to certify compliance, notify student athletes, impose one-year participation bans for violating athletes, and divest prohibited funds to regain Title IV eligibility.
• Applies IEEPA penalties to covered-entity violations and defines covered entities, foreign countries, NIL agreements, media-rights distributors, student athletes, and athletic conferences.