Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) joined the Daily Wire sports podcast “Crain & Company” Thursday to discuss how his bipartisan bill in the Senate will address two problems he sees with college athletes making money off of their name, image, and likeness (NIL).
NIL rules, which went into effect in July 2021, allow D1, D2, and D3 NCAA athletes to be compensated for their name, image, or likeness being used for profit. Tuberville, along with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), introduced legislation Tuesday aimed at addressing some of the issues with NIL many people are concerned about. Tuberville, a retired college football coach at Auburn, told hosts Blain Crain and David Cone that he sees two big problems with the current NIL rules.
“One of the things is get[ting] the money out of recruiting,” Tuberville said. “The problem is that Supreme Court says these athletes can make money. And I’m good with that. It’s called a name, image, and likeness. It has nothing to do with recruiting … We’ve got to get out of that.”
.@TTuberville “Get the money out of recruiting”
Watch the full breakdown of the new college sports legislation https://t.co/I9UyjhYhRN pic.twitter.com/7IvBdEY5LX
— Crain & Company (@CrainCompany) July 27, 2023
In June 2021, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously against the NCAA’s argument that its rules are exempt from antitrust laws. The NCAA argued that it was seeking to preserve amateurism in college sports and that the rules “widen choices for consumers by distinguishing college sports from professional sports,” according to NPR. The ruling was considered a huge win for college athletes, who had been denied nearly all possibilities of making money while playing in college.
The bipartisan bill, titled the “Protecting Athletes, Schools, and Sports (PASS) Act of 2023,” would set some requirements for NIL, including requiring agents and collectives to register with a regulating body, setting up a website to publish anonymized NIL data, and requiring all NIL contracts to be disclosed within 30 days, CBS Sports reported.
Tuberville said he was all for athletes making money, but he’s concerned about some conferences and states having an advantage over others with the current NIL rules, especially when it comes to players transferring to another school, the other major problem the senator wants to address.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH ‘CRAIN & CO.’
“I’m all for money, and I’m for them getting paid and transferred. But we want to go back to the old route,” Tuberville said. “And most of the coaches, administrators, and even some parents said, ‘Let’s go back to the old rule where you can transfer, but you got to sit out a year and you still make money.’ If the collectors want to pay you money, so be it.”
The bipartisan bill would require athletes to complete three years of residency at a university before being eligible to transfer without penalty. Under the current rules, undergraduate athletes can transfer one time at any point and have immediate eligibility.
While the senator admitted that he “wouldn’t wish” federal government involvement on anyone, he said this bill will ultimately help the NCAA deal with these NIL issues.
“At the end of the day, you’re going to have to make a decision. College sports have to make a decision,” Tuberville said. “Do you want that one or two states are destroying everything else that you’ve got or you don’t want them to go out on their own?”