Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek signs impactful NIL bill into law

Oregon Governor Tina Kotek signed House Bill 4119 into law, which includes multiple amendments to the state’s current NIL law.

The legislation passed 18-12 in the Oregon state Senate earlier this month and passed in the House 50-4 in February. The bill immediately goes into effect and will apply retroactively to all NIL activities since June 29, 2021.

It’s the latest bill to be passed across the country that includes protections for institutions in the state against the NCAA. The new law will stop governing bodies, specifically the NCAA, from preventing athletes and universities from participating in collegiate athletics due to a real or alleged violation.

In a time where there is more freedom than ever for multi-time transfers to play immediately and booster-funded NIL collectives to openly negotiate, the legislation allows businesses and third-party entities to provide compensation on condition of an athlete’s attendance at a particular institution. This means a football player at Oregon State could easily have their collective contract voided if they enter the transfer portal and leave Corvallis.

Also included in the recently signed law is a provision that the NCAA cannot prohibit universities from “facilitating, enabling or supporting opportunities” for athletes. Similar to the amended legislation passed in Florida in 2023, Oregon’s bill provides liability protection to institutions and employees for damages to an athlete’s ability to earn NIL compensation.

NCAA continues to deal with conflicting NIL state laws

The highlight of the bill is the protections given to athletes and institutions against the governing body. NCAA president Charlie Baker has lobbied Congress for more than a year for a state preemption in federal legislation. The former Massachusetts governor has yet to find any success.

“They say screw the NCAA,” Baker said this past summer. “Screw the conference. Screw their rules.”

Lawmakers in Missouri, New York, Oklahoma and Texas have all passed bills to prevent the NCAA from launching investigations into NIL activities. For years, the NCAA has been lobbying Congress for antitrust exemption. A state law preemption has become the latest focal point. With the patchwork of state laws in place across the country, the NCAA believes the only way to enforce its policies is with the power to supersede NIL laws.

“It’s notable because it shows there’s a disconnect between schools, and the things they want to do with respect to NIL, and the NIL guidelines and policy that has come from the NCAA so far,” Mit Winter, an attorney with Kansas City-based Kennyhertz Perry, told On3 on Saturday. “The states are able to move much faster than the NCAA in addressing how the schools want to operate in the space, which also shows just how much of a challenge it is to get things done through the NCAA process, and how schools with more resources want to be able to use them.”

“Big picture, it’s another example of how the NCAA continues to be marginalized by other entities, such as state legislatures and courts. And how anti-NCAA sentiment comes from both sides of the political aisle these days.”