Report: Louisiana state lawmaker preparing to file bill to exempt NIL dollars from income tax

Louisiana is set to become the latest state to introduce a bill to exempt NIL dollars from income tax. The Advocate reported such legislation is expected to be filed ahead of this year’s legislative session.

State Rep. Dixon McMakin (R) told The Advocate is planning to file the bill, which follows the same path set by Georgia, Alabama and Illinois. Louisiana’s legislative session is set to convene April 14 for the 2025 regular legislative session.

After hearing about prior bills in other states, McMakin said LSU and other schools in the state about doing the same. The goal, he said, is to put athletes in Louisiana on the same level as other states which are looking to exempt NIL money from income tax. The state has an income tax of 3%.

“Other states – Illinois, Alabama and Georgia – have bills right now to make it where NIL compensation is exempt from state income tax,” McMakin told The Advocate. “We will be competing with those other states, and we’re not gonna let them outcompete us.”

Georgia was the first state to file such such a bill, doing so Feb. 4 in the state senate. Alabama state representative Joe Lovvorn (R) then followed suit eight days later Feb. 12, and Illinois state representative Travis Weaver (R) filed one in his state Feb. 25.

Louisiana’s bill continues a trend of proposed legislation at the state level. Lawmakers in Missouri and Texas have passed bills in recent years to prevent the NCAA from launching investigations into NIL activities, and a bill filed in West Virginia would do the same.

In Oregon, state representative John Lively filed a bill that would amend the state’s NIL law and prohibit the NCAA or any other governing organization from requiring college athletes to disclose their earnings. The proposed amendment appears to take aim at one of the key terms of the landmark House v. NCAA settlement, which would call for NIL deals worth more than $600 to be approved by a clearinghouse that will vet contracts.

If approved, the House settlement would usher in the revenue-sharing era in college athletics as schools would be able to share up to $20.5 million directly with athletes starting in 2025. NCAA president Charlie Baker and others also continue to lobby for help at the Congressional level in the landscape, and a hearing has been called for March 4 on Capitol Hill regarding NIL.