Iowa legislators could reclassify college athletes as employees per bill

An Iowa state representative introduced a bill Wednesday that would classify college athletes as state employees, CBS Sports reported. Bruce Hunter, who currently serves as the ranking member of the Iowa House Labor Committee, is the bill’s author.

If adopted as law, the bill would allow the Iowa state board of regents the ability to fix athlete compensation in the same way it does school presidents and other state employees. It would apply to Iowa’s three public institutions: Iowa, Iowa State and Northern Iowa, but not to private schools in the state.

On July 1, the NCAA announced a new policy permitting college athletes to profit off of their name, image and likeness (NIL). Although generally regarded as a positive change, differing NIL laws from state to state have made the first year since the change a bit chaotic.

Only 28 states have passed NIL laws, with varying differences among those that have. For example, some players are permitted to use their school’s logo in promotional deals, while others are prohibited. The NCAA permits the schools in the 22 states that do not yet have laws to abide by their own guidelines.

Whether players deserve employee status is one of the many issues to deal with as leaders seek to establish a universal NIL law. Several sources told CBS Sports the NCAA will soon have to deal with an employee-employer relationship, at least at the highest level.

The Iowa bill isn’t the first attempt at a serious discussion about treating college athletes as employees. Last year, National Labor Relations Board general counsel Jennifer Abruzzo issued a memo saying college players have been misclassified as “student-athletes” and should receive all the benefits of employee status.

Former Minnesota regent Michael Hsu later filed an unfair labor practice complaint to the NLRB in support of Abruzzo’s memo.

A high-ranking source from one of the Iowa public schools said the recently introduced bill “has no legs.” However, whether this is passed or not, it’s clear changes are coming as we learn to navigate the new NIL era of college sports.