The bill is expected to gain traction, as the NCAA and leaders throughout collegiate sports have been pleading for lawmakers to regulate NIL rights for college athletes.
On July 25, 2023, Senators Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., introduced a bipartisan bill regarding name, image and likeness (NIL) rights for current and former college athletes called the Protecting Athletes, Schools and Sports Act, or “PASS.” The bill aims to protect college athletes’ ability to take advantage of NIL compensation, while ensuring the integrity of collegiate sports.
Most notably, PASS would create a national public registry on which the Federal Trade Commission will anonymously record and track NIL deals involving college athletes. Such a registry would be unique, as it does not exist in professional sports or other industries, but may be useful in determining the market value of deals involving college athletes.
PASS would make it illegal for any state law to permit college athletes to share revenue with schools and conferences. It would also give the NCAA express statutory authorization to prohibit certain types of deals such as those with gambling, adult entertainment, drug or alcohol companies.
Further, PASS would introduce strict rules regarding college athletes’ usage of the transfer portal. Under PASS, athletes would be able to transfer and immediately compete for a new institution only after completing three years of academic eligibility, except in the case of a death in the athlete’s family or a head coach or position coach leaving the school.
Finally, PASS seeks to protect athletes by promising guaranteed health insurance for uninsured college athletes for eight years following graduation. Such insurance will be provided by the college where the athlete played or will come from a trust fund, funded by 1 percent of annual proceeds from revenue-generating collegiate tournaments.
The bill is expected to gain traction, as the NCAA and leaders throughout collegiate sports have been pleading for lawmakers to regulate NIL rights for college athletes.
PASS is relevant to collegiate boosters and those considering supporting collegiate athletics, as boosters would only be permitted to promote a college athletic program, aid recruiting or provide benefits to student-athletes if the boosters are formally linked to the college by way of written contract.
PASS would also have a number of implications on collegiate institutions themselves. As mentioned above, institutions would be permitted to prohibit a student-athlete from participating in college sports if the athlete entered into an NIL contract relating to certain types of companies. But, if an institution prohibits such a deal for a student-athlete, the university may not then itself enter a deal with a company in one of these industries.
Collegiate institutions’ intellectual property rights also come into play under PASS. Specifically, under the bill, institutions and/or the NCAA would be able to prohibit athletes from wearing anything with the logo of another company while also wearing gear provided by the school. They could also prohibit athletes from using an institution’s logo or other intellectual property for any purpose without the express permission of the institution.
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