Newsletter, Image, Likeness Vol. 123: These NIL Hearings Are Exhausting

The Weekly Longer NIL Thought.

Congress hosted another hearing on NIL this week. To be clear, it was a House of Representatives subcommittee and, as many (including yours truly) have noted, any legislation that is likely to have any chance of success will almost certainly need to come out of the Senate. But let those House legislators do their thing focusing on NIL when there's nothing more important for them to be spending their time on (major sarcasm font).

Representative Jerry Nadler probably had the most important thing to say, which is that the NCAA has lobbied Congress for years, seeking exemptions from U.S. laws to preserve its monopoly on college sports, then pointing out that many of the same Republican lawmakers who have decried MLB's antitrust exemption are lobbying to give the NCAA one.

I'm not intending to get political here. This is a safe space. I'm a registered Independent. And while I'm happy to call out Democrats, many Republicans do deserve to be called out in this instance for the very reason referenced by Nadler.

Anyhow, this hearing hosted by the House Judiciary subcommittee was unsurprisingly a waste of time. Republicans and Democrats in Washington D.C. still can't see eye-to-eye on NIL issues despite the relative ease for states to pass legislation before and after July 1, 2021.

Georgia Baseball Player Dylan Goldstein Drops His Lawsuit Against NCAA.

This follows his loss on an attempt to secure a preliminary injunction that would have allowed him to play this season. It also follows his claim that the judge should recuse himself because his X bio said he was an NCAA football referee. We will never know what would have been the outcome of that effort.

Goldstein's lawyer's comment is insightful here. He said, "these cases, all of them, are antitrust cases, they’re massively expensive to litigate and can go on for years." That's the truth.

Alberto Osuna, Another Baseball Player Denied An Extra Year Of Eligibility, Issues A Statement.

It includes the following plea: "Grant me my immediate eligibility because it's the right thing to do. Because doing so would align with the principles of student-athlete welfare that you say your organization prioritizes more than anything else. Because it will put me in the same position as all the others who get to play. Because it will allow me to help my family. And, because no one is harmed by letting me play."

And A Politician Comes To Osuna's Defense.

He says that the NCAA should "do the right Dadgum thing."

Georgia Doesn't Look Like It's Getting A Law To Exempt College Athletes From Paying Income Taxes On NIL Earnings.

"This Georgia Senate bill is dead after Crossover Day yesterday. It would need to be attached to a House bill for it to be enacted," said Marc Weiszer, Georgia beat writer for Athens Banner-Herald.

San Diego State Football Hires Its First GM.

Oregon's NIL Collective Is Releasing A New Nike Shoe With Proceeds To Benefit NIL Operations.

South Dakota's Attorney General Is Pushing For Action In Its Matter Challenging The House Settlement.

State Of Texas Has New Legislation Relating To NIL.

The bill would remove the current state prohibition on schools providing or soliciting prospective college athletes with compensation related to their NIL.

Utah Governor Can Sign Into Law A Bill That Lets Universities Pay Athletes Directly.

Major Conferences Join The NCAA In Preparing To Implement New Model For If/When House Settlement Is Approved.

A release states that a Settlement Implementation Committee made up of 10 athletics directors and legal/compliance teams from the conferences will oversee the implementation and enforcement of new rules established by the House settlement. LBi Software will develop a cap management and reporting platform and Deloitte will create a system to track and evaluate all Division I athletes' third-party NIL deals values at $600 and more.

Final Thoughts.

That is it for Vol. 123 of Newsletter, Image, Likeness. Thanks to the more than 9,720 people who have subscribed to this newsletter thus far, and please feel free to share this free resource with others on LinkedIn or elsewhere.

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