College football season begins this weekend in Ohio, and two GOP lawmakers are trying to eliminate a gray area in the state’s leaguelaw of image and similarity (IL).
States Representatives. Adam Mathews, a Republican from Lebanon, and Jay Edwards, a Republican from Nelsonville, announced Wednesday that they intend to introduce legislation that would update Ohio’s NIL law.
“This legislation is intended to bridge the gap between the collective and our state universities by allowing universities to work directly with the participants in the process of paying student-athletes, and also by allowing universities to work directly with organizations that operate within the NIL,” said Edwards, who played football at Ohio University. “We’re trying to break that down. It’s kind of a gray area.”
The bill also says a student-athlete can have an agent or attorney review his contract for compensation.
Student athletes have been able to earn money through sponsorship deals with companies and outside entities since 2021, after the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the NCAA has no right to limit any education-related payments to students. The NCAA deferred the decision to states, allowing them to develop their own NIL rules.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed an executive order in June 2021 that allows student-athletes to utilize their own name, image and likeness through endorsements and other agreements. Ohio State college athletes will be allowed to hire agents but will not be allowed to advertise alcohol, tobacco, adult entertainment or casinos.
“Our universities should not have to jump through these additional hoops that they have to jump through to make sure our athletes get the pay they deserve,” Edwards said. “This bill … is about supporting student-athletes. … Our goal is to enable our universities to compete in this new, ever-evolving world of NIL.”
There is currently a legal gray area between collectives and universities, Mathews said.
“It puts student-athletes in a really weird situation,” he said.
Edwards said this could lead to potential mid-season problems for the player.
“I see a point in the future where we find one of these athletes, one of these companies or the institution itself in one of these gray areas and a lawsuit will start,” he said. “We’re trying to simplify that by saying what’s legal and what’s not, and allow some of those opportunities without that gray area existing.”
When asked for a specific example of legal greyness under current NIL law, Edwards and Mathews were unable to provide one.
“I don’t have a direct example that I can give you,” Edwards said. “I’m sure there are many examples. You could have a business owner who wants to do something with an athlete. The athlete walks into their home and thinks they can do something right away. We try to simplify that.”
He said specific examples will likely come during committee hearings on the bill, which has not yet been assigned to a committee. Ohio lawmakers are in recess and will not return to it before the November election.
Lawmakers said colleges and universities are waiting to take a position on the bill until it goes to committee.
Ohio State football players received approximately $20 million in zero compensation in the last yearaccording to The Columbus Dispatch.
The legislation comes three months after the NCAA and the nation’s five largest conferences agreed resolve antitrust claimsopening the door to a possible revenue-sharing model that could begin distributing millions of dollars directly to student-athletes as early as next fall.
However, the settlement is not yet final. It still must be approved by U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken, who will hold a hearing next week to assess whether to grant preliminary approval.
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