On July 1st, 2021, Louisiana passed a Name, Image, Likeness (NIL) law for their colleges and institutions. Lousiana is one of the first states to see the legislation go live, as it is effective July 1, 2021. Governor John Bel Edwards signed Senate Bill 60 allowing intercollegiate student athletes the ability to earn compensation for the use of their NIL
Bill
Status
Signed into Law
Effective
Date
07/01/2021
NCAA
Institutions
13
Estimated
NCAA Athletes
3,900
High School
NIL Legislation
Yes
Last Updated 08/22/22
Senate Bill 250
AN ACT
To amend and reenact R.S. 17:3703 and R.S. 44:4.1(B)(9), relative to intercollegiate athletics; to provide for the responsibilities of postsecondary education institutions with respect to intercollegiate athletes’ compensation; to provide a limitation with respect to public records; to provide for an effective date; and to provide for related matters.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
Section 1. R.S. 17:3703 is hereby amended and reenacted to read as follows:
3703. Intercollegiate athlete’s compensation and rights; responsibilities of postsecondary education institutions
A. (1) An intercollegiate athlete at a postsecondary education institution may earn compensation for the use of the athlete’s name, image, or likeness. Compensation shall be commensurate with the market value of the authorized use of the athlete’s name, image, or likeness.
(2) To preserve the integrity, quality, character, and amateur nature of intercollegiate athletics and to maintain a clear separation between amateur intercollegiate athletics and professional sports, a postsecondary education institution or an officer, director, employee, or agent of such institution shall not provide a current or prospective athlete with compensation for the use of the student athlete’s name, image, or likeness.
B. A postsecondary education institution shall not adopt or maintain a contract, rule, regulation, standard, or other requirement that prevents or unduly restricts an intercollegiate athlete from earning compensation for the use of the athlete’s name, image, or likeness. Earning compensation shall not affect the intercollegiate athlete’s grant-in-aid or athletic eligibility.
C. (1) A postsecondary education institution may prohibit an intercollegiate athlete from using the athlete’s name, image, or likeness for compensation if the proposed use of the athlete’s name, image, or likeness conflicts with either of the following:
(a) Existing institutional sponsorship agreements or contracts
(b) Institutional values as defined by the postsecondary education institution
(2) An intercollegiate athlete shall not earn compensation for the use of the athlete’s name, image, or likeness for the endorsement of tobacco, alcohol, illegal substances or activities, banned athletic substances, or any form of gambling or gaming, including sports wagering.
(3) An intercollegiate athlete shall not use a postsecondary education institution’s facilities, uniforms, registered trademarks, products protected by copyright, or official logos, marks, colors, or other indicia in connection with the use of the athlete’s name, image, or likeness without the express permission of the postsecondary education institution. In granting this permission, a postsecondary education institution may require the third-party entity engaging the athlete for a name, image, or likeness activity to follow the protocols established by the postsecondary education institution, including licensing protocols.
D. (1) A postsecondary education institution shall not prevent or unduly restrict an intercollegiate athlete from obtaining professional representation by an athlete agent or an attorney engaged for the purpose of securing compensation for the use of the athlete’s name, image, or likeness.
(2) Professional representation obtained by an intercollegiate athlete shall be from persons registered with or licensed for such activity by the state as follows:
(a) (i) Representation provided by an athlete agent shall be by persons registered with the state in accordance with, and in compliance with, the provisions of Chapter 7 of Title 4 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950. However, the notification provisions of R.S. 4:424(D)(3) shall not apply to an athlete agent who contacts an intercollegiate athlete for the sole purpose of representing the athlete in matters pertaining to the use of the athlete’s name, image, or likeness.
(ii) An athlete agent representing an intercollegiate athlete shall comply with the federal Sports Agent Responsibility and Trust Act, 15 U.S.C. 7801 through 7807, in his relationship with the intercollegiate athlete.
(b) An attorney representing an intercollegiate athlete shall be duly licensed to practice law.
E. A grant-in-aid, including cost of attendance, awarded to an intercollegiate athlete by a postsecondary education institution is not compensation for the purposes of this Chapter and shall not be revoked or reduced as a result of an intercollegiate athlete earning compensation or obtaining professional or legal representation pursuant to this Chapter.
F. A contract for compensation for the use of the name, image, or likeness of an intercollegiate athlete under eighteen years of age shall be executed on the athlete’s behalf by the athlete’s parent or legal guardian.
G. An intercollegiate athlete’s contract for compensation for the use of the athlete’s name, image, or likeness shall not violate the provisions of this Chapter.
H. (1) An intercollegiate athlete shall not enter into a contract for compensation for the use of the athlete’s name, image, or likeness if a term of the contract conflicts with a term of the intercollegiate athlete’s athletic program’s team contract.
(2) A postsecondary education institution asserting a conflict under this Subsection shall disclose each relevant contract term that conflicts with the team contract to the intercollegiate athlete or the athlete’s representative.
I. An intercollegiate athlete who enters into a contract for compensation for the use of the athlete’s name, image, or likeness shall disclose the contract to the postsecondary education institution in which the athlete is enrolled, in the manner designated by the institution.
J. The duration of a contract for representation of an intercollegiate athlete or compensation for the use of an intercollegiate athlete’s name, image, or likeness shall not extend beyond his participation in an athletic program at a postsecondary education institution.
K. (1) A postsecondary education institution shall conduct a financial literacy and life skills workshop for a minimum of five hours at the beginning of an intercollegiate athlete’s first and third academic years.
(2)(a)The workshop shall, at a minimum, include information concerning financial aid, debt management, and a recommended budget for full and partial grant-in-aid intercollegiate athletes based on the cost of attendance for the current academic year. The workshop shall also include information on time management skills necessary for success as an intercollegiate athlete and available academic resources
(b)The workshop shall not include any marketing, advertising, referral, or solicitation by providers of financial products or services.
L. No postsecondary institution’s employees, including athletics coaching staff, shall be liable for any damages to an intercollegiate athlete’s ability to earn compensation for the use of the athlete’s name, image, or likeness resulting from decisions and actions routinely taken in the course of intercollegiate athletics. However, nothing in this Subsection shall protect the postsecondary institution or its employees from acts of gross negligence, or wanton, willful, malicious, or intentional misconduct.
M. Any document disclosed by the intercollegiate athlete to the postsecondary education institution that references the terms and conditions of the athlete’s contract for compensation shall be confidential and not subject to inspection, examination, copying, or reproduction pursuant to the Public Records Law
N. (1)Each postsecondary education management board shall adopt policies to implement the provisions of this Chapter.
(2) No postsecondary education institution shall implement the provisions of this Chapter until such time as the appropriate management board adopts the required policies. Each management board has discretion as to when it adopts policies to implement the provisions of this Chapter.
Section 2. R.S. 44:4.1(B)(9) is hereby amended and reenacted to read as follows:
§4.1. Exceptions
***
B. The legislature further recognizes that there exist exceptions, exemptions, and limitations to the laws pertaining to public records throughout the revised statutes and codes of this state. Therefore, the following exceptions, exemptions, and limitations are hereby continued in effect by incorporation into this Chapter by citation:
***
(9) R.S. 17:7.2, 46, 47, 81.9, 391.4, 407.28, 407.47, 407.65, 500.2, 1175, 1202, 1237, 1252, 1948, 1989.7, 2047, 2048.31, 3099, 3100.8, 3136, 3137, 3390, 3703, 3773, 3884
***
Section 3. This Act shall become effective upon signature by the governor or, if not signed by the governor, upon expiration of the time for bills to become law without signature by the governor, as provided by Article III, Section 18 of the Constitution of Louisiana. If vetoed by the governor and subsequently approved by the legislature, this Act shall become effective on the day following such approval.
Now that Student Athletes will have the ability to profit off of their name, image and likeness, they have to remain conscious about certain thresholds that could have certain tax consequences. Specific to the State of Louisiana:
The legislature finds that intercollegiate athletics provide intercollegiate athletes with significant educational opportunities. However, participation in intercollegiate athletics should not infringe upon an intercollegiate athlete’s ability to earn compensation for the athlete’s name, image, or likeness. An intercollegiate athlete must have an equal opportunity to control and profit from the commercial use of the athlete’s name, image, or likeness, and be protected from unauthorized appropriation and commercial exploitation of the athlete’s right to publicity, including the athlete’s name, image, or likeness.
Louisiana NIL started on July 1, 2021, per the NCAA Interim Policies and with the passage of Senate Bill 60, Louisiana State NIL laws also took effect on July 1, 2021.
?
Louisiana NCAA Student-Athletes will be able to earn compensation for the use of her or his name, image, or likeness (NIL) through a multitude of different opportunities. Student-Athletes can now make money for things such as endorsements, sponsorships, appearances, autographs, memorabilia, podcasts, camps, clinics, private lessons, crowdfunding, and many more!
Both athletes and administrators in the State of Louisiana should start by making sure they have a proper understanding of the rules and regulations set-forth by Senate Bill 60. A working-knowledge of the ‘Dos and Don’ts’ for Louisiana NIL will allow all parties to safely and successfully navigate the new landscape. The next most important aspect would be the compliance component of NIL. Not only do students need to make sure they are entering agreements that are compliant with the passed state regulations, but they need to make sure they are transparent with their school to avoid any institutional conflicts.
All institutions with NCAA athletic programs are affected by NIL. In the state of Louisiana, the following schools will be affected:
D3
NJCAA
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