To protect the name, image, and likeness rights of, and provide protections for, student athletes, and for other purposes.
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMs. Cantwell (for herself, Mr. Booker, and Mr. Blumenthal) introduced …
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Student Athlete Fairness and Enforcement Act creates the first comprehensive federal framework for college athlete name, image, and likeness (NIL) rights. It replaces the current patchwork of state laws with uniform national standards, allowing student athletes to earn money from endorsements and sponsorships while protecting them from exploitation by agents, collectives, and institutions.
Who Benefits and How
College student athletes gain protected rights to profit from their NIL, including endorsement deals, sponsorships, and revenue sharing from broadcasting deals (at least 50% of media rights revenue must go to athletes). International student athletes specifically gain new visa categories allowing them to earn NIL income legally.
Women's and Olympic sports programs benefit from requirements that jersey sponsorship revenue be used to maintain roster spots and scholarships for non-revenue sports at 2023-24 levels.
Registered athlete agents benefit from a protected, regulated market with clear rules, though their fees are capped at 5% of endorsement contract value.
Who Bears the Burden and How
The NCAA and athletic associations face extensive new compliance requirements: establishing Athlete Ombuds offices, maintaining agent registries, reporting revenues and expenditures publicly, creating funds for athlete medical coverage, and potentially sharing 50% of broadcasting revenue with athletes.
Division I colleges and universities must cover all out-of-pocket medical expenses for sports-related injuries during participation and for 5 years after, provide catastrophic injury coverage, guarantee scholarships regardless of athletic performance or injury, and cannot reduce scholarships based on roster management decisions.
Athlete agents and NIL collectives face registration requirements, fee caps of 5%, contract standardization rules, and liability for violations. Pre-dispute arbitration agreements with athletes are now unenforceable.
Key Provisions
- Establishes federal preemption of state NIL laws, creating uniform national standards
- Requires endorsement contracts to be in writing with specific disclosures; athletes can void non-compliant contracts
- Caps athlete agent fees at 5% of endorsement contract value and requires state registration
- Mandates 5-year post-career medical coverage for sports-related injuries at Division I schools
- Creates private right of action allowing athletes to sue for violations and recover attorneys fees
- Requires at least 50% of collective broadcasting media rights revenue be shared with student athletes
- Prohibits institutions from reducing scholarships based on athletic performance, injury, or roster decisions
- Grants international student athletes special F-visa status with NIL work authorization
- Requires athletic associations to establish independent Athlete Ombuds offices
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
Establishes a comprehensive federal framework to protect college student athletes rights to earn compensation for their name, image, and likeness (NIL), while creating uniform national standards for NIL activities, endorsement contracts, athlete agent regulation, health and safety protections, and scholarship guarantees.
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Create uniform federal standards for college athlete NIL rights that preempt the patchwork of state laws, while providing substantial protections for student athletes including health/safety requirements, scholarship guarantees, transfer rights, and legal remedies."
Likely Beneficiaries
- Student athletes (especially Division I) - gain protected NIL earning rights, scholarship protections, health coverage, transfer flexibility
- NIL marketing firms and collectives (legitimate ones) - gain regulatory clarity and legal framework
- Registered athlete agents - protected market with capped fees
- International student athletes - gain work authorization for NIL activities
- Womens and Olympic sports programs - receive funding support through jersey patch revenue requirements
Likely Burden Bearers
- NCAA and athletic associations - new compliance requirements, transparency mandates, Ombuds office creation
- Colleges and universities (especially Division I) - reporting requirements, health coverage costs, scholarship protection mandates
- Unregistered or predatory athlete agents - excluded from market, fee caps, prohibited practices
- NIL collectives engaging in improper practices - new regulations and valid business purpose requirements
- Athletic coaches - loss of authority over medical decisions and academic interference
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_commission"
- → Federal Trade Commission
- "the_institution"
- → Institution of higher education (as defined in 20 U.S.C. 1001)
- "athletic_association"
- → National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) or similar body
- "the_institution"
- → Institution of higher education
- "athletic_association"
- → NCAA or similar governing body
- "the_institution"
- → Institution of higher education
- "health_safety_officer"
- → Athletic health and safety independent officer designated by institution
- "the_institution"
- → Institution of higher education
- "conference"
- → Athletic conference
- "athletic_association"
- → NCAA or similar governing body
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Homeland Security (by implication via INA amendments)
- "conference"
- → Athletic conference
- "athletic_association"
- → NCAA or similar governing body
- "ombuds_office"
- → Office of the Athlete Ombuds (to be established)
- "athletic_association"
- → NCAA or similar governing body
- "the_fcc"
- → Federal Communications Commission
- "participating_association"
- → Athletic association entering into joint broadcasting agreement
Note: The term "institution" is consistently defined throughout as an institution of higher education under 20 U.S.C. 1001.
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
The first, last, or family name that identifies the student athlete; a nickname or assumed name; or a username associated with the student athlete on any public facing internet platform.
A photograph, video, computer-generated representation, or other depiction that identifies, is linked to, or is reasonably linkable to the student athlete.
The uniquely identifiable body, physical characteristics, or voice of the student athlete; any other mark that identifies the student athlete; or the jersey number associated with the student athlete if accompanied by institutional branding or other association.
An individual or entity that is not an institution, athletic department, conference, or athletic association, and is unaffiliated with an athletic department, conference, or athletic association.
Any payment, remuneration, or benefit provided by an institution, third party, or NIL collective to a student athlete. Excludes grant-in-aid, education-related awards, expenses for meals/lodging/transportation incidental to participation, hourly wages for work outside varsity sports, Pell Grants, health insurance and care, disability insurance, and career counseling.
A scholarship, grant, or other financial assistance including tuition, room, board, books, fees, or personal expenses paid by an institution to a student for education, not exceeding cost of attendance plus education-related benefits. Does not include covered compensation.
Has the meaning given that term in section 2 of the Sports Agent Responsibility and Trust Act (15 U.S.C. 7801).
An entity affiliated with an institution that represents, manages, or facilitates endorsement contracts for student athletes and in the past year entered into contracts exceeding . Includes members/employees/directors/owners of such entities, contributors of more than ,000 to athletic programs, and affiliated entities.
A matriculated student at an institution who participates in a varsity intercollegiate sport managed by the institution.
Any organization organized in the United States that has multiple conferences and institutions as members, sponsors college athletic competitions, and sets common rules and standards. Includes the NCAA and other national intercollegiate athletic associations.
Compensation provided to a student athlete that exceeds , including multiple payments exceeding total over a 12-month period.
Has the meaning given that term in section 2 of the Sports Agent Responsibility and Trust Act (15 U.S.C. 7801).
A purpose related to the promotion of goods or services provided to the general public for profit.
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology