Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) introduced legislation on Tuesday to establish federal standards for the name, image, and likeness policies for college athletes.
The bipartisan duo says the Protecting Athletes, Schools, and Sports Act would “protect student-athletes, ensure fair competition and compensation, and preserve collegiate athletics” by setting “common-sense guidelines for the NIL system across the country.” Tuberville was Auburn University’s longtime football coach before his successful 2020 Senate bid, while Manchin was a college football player.
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“Student-athletes should be able to take advantage of NIL promotional activities without impacting their ability to play collegiate sports,” Tuberville said in a statement. “But we need to ensure the integrity of our higher education system, remain focused on education, and keep the playing field level.
“My legislation with Senator Manchin will set basic rules nationwide, protect our student-athletes, and keep NIL activities from ending college sports as we know it.”
“As a former college athlete, I know how important sports are to gaining valuable life skills and opening doors of opportunity. However, in recent years, we have faced a rapidly evolving NIL landscape without guidelines to navigate it, which jeopardizes the health of the players and the educational mission of colleges and universities,” a statement from Manchin read.
“Our bipartisan legislation strikes a balance between protecting the rights of student-athletes and maintaining the integrity of college sports. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to consider this commonsense legislation as a way to level the playing field in college athletics.”
The PASS Act would implement federal standards for “all NIL activity,” a release on the bill states, and would ban student-athletes from taking endorsement deals for gambling services or products involving drug paraphernalia and weapons.
The legislation would also require schools to provide medical coverage for student-athletes with sports-related injuries for eight years after graduation from a four-year institution.
Congress has faced calls to enact national NIL standards ever since the National Collegiate Athletics Association ended its prohibition on college athletes receiving such compensation in 2021. Manchin and Tuberville unveiled their bill less than a week after a trio of senators released draft text of their own version of a bipartisan college sports reform package.
Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Jerry Moran’s (R-KS) bill, the College Athletes Protection and Compensation Act, has some similarities to Manchin and Tuberville’s legislation.
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Both would establish federal guidelines for student-athletes’ money-making activities and ensure some type of short- and long-term healthcare. Both are also bipartisan efforts.
Reese Gorman contributed to this report.
