Florida NIL reform moves closer to landing on Gov. Ron DeSantis' desk

When Florida representative Chip LaMarca (R) filed House Bill 99 in early January, his aim was to level the name, image and likeness playing field in the state.

After Alabama repealed its NIL legislation last February and South Carolina suspended its NIL law in June, it was clear the landscape was shifting. States were going to just abide by the NCAA’s interim NIL policy. The state representative from Lighthouse Point saw Florida’s current legislation as a hurdle for athletes.

Currently, coaches and schools in Florida are not allowed to facilitate NIL deals for their athletes. That would be amended, along with the provision requiring partnerships to be “commensurate with the market value.”

Since his initial filing back in January, House Bill 7B has been introduced to fast track NIL change in the Sunshine State. House Bill 99 been put on pause.

As of Thursday afternoon, the revisions proposed to the Intercollegiate Athlete Compensation and Rights act in House Bill 7B have passed the House with a 113-0 vote. This comes after it was added to the Special Order Calendar for Wednesday.

House Bill 7B is in messages and on its way to the Senate, which will be voted on Friday morning. The legislation will probably land on Gov. Ron DeSantis‘ desk Friday or Monday, depending on the time of the vote, according to Corey Staniscia, who recently served as the chief of staff for LaMarca and now serves as the chair of the South Florida-aligned Fowler Ave Collective.

“In 2022, we tried to put this language in because we saw what the guidelines were, we saw what Alabama and Louisiana, other states basically repealed their bills, in essence, vacating any guidelines and leaving it to the NCAA guidelines,” LaMarca recently told On3 in a phone interview. “So we wanted to be able to stay on a level playing field, but also protect our athletes with the financial literacy, life goals and that type of thing.

“We came back this year with a similar bill. The guts of it do the same with institutional involvement to allow university staff, athletics and whatnot to have involvement in helping facilitate deals and meetings. But obviously, not inducing.”

LaMarca has been adamant that Florida not enter the grey area of allowing athletic departments from getting into the inducement game, which directly violates NCAA policy. The New Mexico Senate introduced Senate Bill 219 last month, which if passed would amend the current state law by removing the prohibition that prevents colleges and universities from arranging third-party compensation for the use of an athlete’s name, image and likeness. The bill would also remove the prohibition of NIL deals being used as inducements to recruit prospective athletes.

LaMarca played a pivotal role in Florida’s Intercollegiate Athlete Compensation and Rights act being passed in June 2020. If House Bill 7B passes through the senate, other revisions made would include a focus on financial literacy.

The representative representing the state’s 93rd House District, which includes part of Broward County, believes athletes need education on the free market they are entering. His biggest fear, he said, was NIL turning into a burden and not an opportunity.

Since introducing the bill earlier in January, revisions have been Made. LaMarca’s initial House Bill 99 added that athletes would not be considered employees of institutions. That has since been struck, with LaMarca citing the roadblocks it could have caused for the bill’s passage.

Now Florida could be on the brink of a new era of NIL in the state.

“I think athletes and the universities, ultimately the whole state of Florida, are at a disadvantage,” LaMarca said. “If Brian White at Florida Atlantic can’t tell a star golfer or football player that, ‘Hey, there’s a there’s a business here in town and reached out, they want to be able to sit down with you and talk about maybe making you the face of the hospital system or their car dealership.’

“There’s just no opportunity unless that person can find that athlete. It doesn’t seem like in today’s world of communication, it’d be that difficult, but I think it is. It’s an issue that other states don’t have.”