Sweeping bipartisan bill would nationalize standards for student athlete pay

FIRST ON FOX: The House of Representatives is rolling out bipartisan legislation later on Thursday that will mark a major shift in the world of college sports, particularly the compensation of student athletes, Fox News Digital has learned.

NIL regulations would be standardized across the country, overriding the current patchwork of state laws. More than 30 states allow colleges to pay student athletes for NIL, while no such regulations exist in others.

Student athletes would be able to hire agents and would have to disclose their NIL deals to their schools and to nonprofit Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Associations (IIAA), like the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and similar groups.

For non-athlete students at colleges and universities that bring in high revenue from sports media, it would shield them from footing the bill for their college's athletics programs by prohibiting student fees at those schools from being used for them.

The bill also expressly prohibits student athletes from being considered employees of a college over their sporting participation.

It's a bipartisan bill that's the product of the House Energy & Commerce Committee, House Education & Workforce Committee, and the House Judiciary Committee.

Its lead co-sponsors are Reps. Janelle Bynum, D-Ore., and Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla. Rep. Shomari Figures, D-Ala., is also a co-sponsor.

Committee Chairmen Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., Tim Walberg, R-Mich., and Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, told Fox News Digital in a joint statement, "NIL offers an endless array of opportunities for student-athletes to make the most of their college experience, but the lack of clear guardrails has left athletes and universities on unstable ground."

"The SCORE Act creates a national framework that supports student-athletes and recenters the educational mission of college athletics," they said.

Jordan, notably, was a two-time NCAA Division I college wrestling champion. He later became a coach with Ohio State University's wrestling program before being elected to Congress.

Whether student athletes should receive a portion of their school's sports media revenue and how much has been a years-long debate.

There have been several attempts in Congress to push for legislation giving student athletes the ability to profit off of their college sporting careers.

The NCAA, college sports' main governing body, changed its rules in 2021 to allow student athletes to profit from NIL.

Under the bill's parameters, IIAAs would ensure NIL deals aligned with fair market value, while being able to limit student athletes' eligibility based on the length of their college sports career and create new requirements for agents not registered with the IIAA.

The text also includes a liability shield for universities and IIAA that "the adoption of, agreement to, compliance with, or enforcement of any rule, regulation, requirement, standard, or other provision established pursuant to, or in compliance with, this Act shall be treated as lawful under the antitrust laws" and any state or local laws.

The bill was lauded by Reps. Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., Scott Fitzgerald, R-Wis., and House GOP Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain, R-Mich., all who played key roles in putting the legislation together.

"This legislation comes at a time of historic transition for college athletics. In the absence of federal standards, student-athletes and schools have been forced to navigate a fractured regulatory framework for too long," a statement to Fox News Digital said.

"Following the historic House settlement, this bill represents a very encouraging step toward delivering the national clarity and accountability that college athletics desperately needs. We urge lawmakers to build on this momentum and deliver the national solution that athletes, coaches, and schools deserve."