Ohio State Building. (Photo: David DeWitt, Ohio Capital Journal.)
Ohio lawmakers passed a bill last week that would ensure that name, image and likeness agreements end when a student-athlete ends a college career, but not before adding several last-minute budget items to the bill.
The Ohio House of Representatives and Senate passed this resolution Ohio House Bill 184 during last week’s marathon session.
Representatives of the Ohio House of Representatives Brian Stewart AND Ty Mathews introduced the bill earlier this year, and it now goes to Ohio Governor Mike DeWine.
The bill began as legislation to prohibit an NIL contract from remaining in effect after a student-athlete has finished playing varsity sports.
Former Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. and Fanatics became involved in a legal dispute over the NIL contract after Fanatics claimed that Harrison had failed to fulfill his obligations.
“His NIL agreement was in effect after he became eligible in college and went into effect while he was playing in the NFL,” the Ohio senator said. Nathan Manning, R-North Ridgeville.
“It simply does not allow these contracts to extend beyond your college eligibility, and if they do, they will cease to exist.”
Ohio Sen. Bill DeMora, D-B.C., said he likes the bill’s NIL provisions.
“When one of my players is being exploited… we have to do something about it,” he said.
“We cannot allow these athletes to be exploited, abused and exploited.”
Ohio State Rep. Munira Abdullahi, D-Columbus, said it is critical to protect student-athletes.
“When a kid shows up in college as a star, agents are waiting to tie him up to contracts that deprive him of money for years,” she said.
A few last minute additions were added to the bill including transfer $40 million from the general revenue fund for a post-traumatic stress fund for first responders; changing the formula for financing state subsidies for nursing homes; and paying, among other things, for publicly funded child care based on attendance instead of enrollment.
“This does not necessarily mean the end of budget adjustments,” the Ohio state senator said. said Jerry Cirino, R-Kirtland.
Lawmakers in both chambers on both sides of the aisle criticized the lack of time to review all the changes made to the bill.
“I’m not a big fan of these Christmas tree bills,” DeMora said. “I think there are too many things crammed into it at late hours and we can’t see everything.”
Ohio State Senator George Lang, R-West Chester, said the changes came at the last minute.
“I really didn’t have time to check it out,” he said.
Ohio Sen. Al Cutrona, R-Canfield, was the only senator to vote against the bill last week.
“I have serious doubts about the process conducted in this chamber,” he said. “Maybe this policy is good, maybe it’s bad. I can’t say one way or the other because, well, honestly, we haven’t had any real perspective on it. … I’m going to have to vote no on a very good bill.”
Rep. Abdullahi said she was reluctant to vote for this bill.
“(The changes) were rolled back at the eleventh hour and affect hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes,” she said.
“We’re using what was once a good, simple, commonsense bill to quietly move hundreds of millions of dollars while Ohioans aren’t looking. If anyone else did this, they’d call it money laundering, but when we do it, it’s a budget adjustment bill.”
State Rep. Cecil Thomas, D-Cincinnati, and four Republican state Reps. Levi Dean, Jason Stephens, Jennifer Gross and Michelle Teska voted against the bill.
Many lawmakers have expressed support for a post-traumatic stress fund for first responders.
“I wish there was more money,” DeMora said. “I wish it had lasted longer than a few years, but I would certainly settle for putting that $40 million of money into that fund at one time.”
The average person sees one to three traumatic events in their life, while first responders see an average of 11 traumatic events a month, state Sen. T. said.homas Patton, R-Strongsville.
“They see the very, very worst things that we cannot imagine,” he said.
Husband of Democratic Rep. Erika White is a firefighter in the Toledo area.
“I saw him bring home pain that no one sees,” she said. “…(Post-traumatic stress) doesn’t end when the siren goes off. It follows them into our homes, into our marriages, into our everyday lives.”
Follow the OCJ reporter Megan Henry in Bluesky.
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