Alabama Rep. Shomari Figures is leading a bipartisan effort to introduce the Student Compensation and Opportunity through Rights and Endorsements Act to establish a national framework for the use of name, image and likeness deals.
At Alabama and at schools across the country, the measures outlined in the SCORE Act aim to protect student-athletes in hopes of dispelling the current “wild west” landscape of NIL.
This comes after revenue sharing in college athletics was approved in early June via the NCAA’s House Settlement.
“The current college sports environment has drastically changed in the NIL era, and this bill provides a framework to where students can not only be compensated but also have access to resources like health care and financial literacy courses, to ensure they have a solid foundation for their lives after college, and we can get back to just playing ball,” Figures said.
Provisions set in the SCORE Act would set a national framework for student-athletes’ rights and responsibilities, guarantee student-athlete benefits both during and after enrollment, and establish federal preemption over state laws to ensure uniformity.
The bill would also authorize athletic departments to set rules on NIL transparency, booster payments, recruitment transfers, and eligibility.
Under the SCORE Act, student-athletes receiving NIL deals would be able to receive payments except for when the payment is from a booster without a valid business purpose, from a school in excess of a set pool limit, or in violation of the school’s student code of conduct.
The introduction of the SCORE Act was a bipartisan effort that included the Republican chairmen of the committees on Energy and Commerce, Education and Workforce, and the Judiciary.
Sponsors include Reps. Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., Janelle Bynum, D-OR., Lisa McClain, R-MI., Scott Fitzgerald, R-WI., and Russell Fry, R-SC.
“Student-athletes are the embodiment of the American Dream. But that dream is at a crossroads due to the uncertainty facing college athletics,” Fitzgerald said. “The SCORE Act provides the necessary framework to recapture the principles and spirit of collegiate sport, while ensuring our student-athletes can be fairly compensated and adequately protected for years to come.”
