A discussion draft of a bill that would create a federal regulatory body was revealed Tuesday by Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) exclusively to CBS Sports.
Fair accountability and integrity in the representation of the FAIR College Sports Act would preempt all current and future state NIL laws, a limitation Congress is currently seeking to address by the NCAA.
Bilirakis is a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. In this position, he is the chair of the Subcommittee on Innovation, Data, and Trade, which has already held two hearings on the lack of information.
The discussion draft is the next public step in the legislative process.
Besides creating a federal regulatory body to address the lack of items, the proposed legislation would:
- Protect the rights of athletes to earn nothing compensation and sign with agents. (The NCAA allows a limited range of NIL benefits and currently allows athletes to obtain agents for NIL marketing purposes only.)
- Prohibit “pay-to-play” by preventing boosters, congregations, and other third parties from “offering inducements to attend or convert” to certain establishments.
- Sign up required within 30 days for agents, boosters, and groups when signing Nil Deals.
The legislation would not address health and medical benefits for athletes—as in other proposed congressional bills—nor would it address the potential employee status of athletes nor establish liability protections for schools or the NCAA itself. Sources in the House of Representatives say that such protection would be outside the jurisdiction of the commission at the present time.
NCAA President Charlie Baker seeks limited protection for the association to control NIL deals.
The regulatory body, if created, would be named the United States Interstate Athletic Commission (USIAC) and charged with overseeing the NIL, including setting and enforcing rules and providing guidance to athletes and assemblies on the NIL process.
A draft booster is defined as an individual or entity who, within the past five years, has made a sports-related donation to a school “in an amount that exceeds the annual amount determined by the USIAC.” A booster is defined as providing employment opportunities to at least one student-athlete during that period. Groups are defined as an organization consisting of two or more reinforcements. Agents must register with USIAC.
The committee’s board of directors will be appointed by congressional leaders. The council will consist of student-athletes and various conference and NCAA division leaders. The president is elected by a majority of the members of the board of directors.
Any entity found to be in violation of the bill’s regulations will be “subject to appropriate discipline.” USIAC will leave enforcement to “established agencies,” including state prosecutors (to agents and third parties). The NCAA will still oversee athletes’ infractions.
USIAC would essentially stand as the clearinghouse for NIL deals, though it would not be allowed to “reform student-athlete compensation.”
“Congress has a responsibility to create a clear set of rules so that our youth are protected, opportunities are enhanced for them, and amateur sports of all kinds are preserved. Our goal is to ensure that risk-free deals are transparent and fair, while protecting the safety of college athletics,” Belrakis said. “. “I intend to follow an open deliberation process for further recommendations, so we strike the delicate balance of preserving the ability for college athletes to take advantage of not being NIL while maintaining amateur status for all college athletes.
“I am confident that we can create a system that is fair, transparent and beneficial to all.”
The subcommittee held two bipartisan hearings in September 2021 and late March. Present and former NCAA athlete and Patriot League commissioner Jennifer Heibel, Washington State athletic director Patrick Chun and sports activist Jason Stahl appeared at the latest hearing as witnesses.
There will be a comment period as the Subcommittee receives stakeholder comments on the draft. The Bilirakis subcommittee has jurisdiction over when to move forward with the bill.