NCAA DI Council introduces four NIL proposals

The NCAA continues to inch closer to crafting a new NIL policy.

The Division I Council unanimously voted to introduce four proposals on Wednesday, aimed at bringing more guidance and rules to the NIL space. The move comes after the NCAA Division I Board of Directors directed the council to introduce the proposals in August.

Recommendations from the council include a voluntary registry for NIL service providers, disclosures of NIL deals, more standardized contracts and education programs for athletes and NIL entities.

“After watching the NIL landscape develop, NCAA members have identified additional resources for student-athletes so they can make informed decisions about their NIL activities,” Division I council chair and working group chair Lynda Tealer said in a statement. “Division I members support college athletes benefiting from the use of their name, image and likeness to the fullest extent, and in no way intend to limit their potential. It is our hope that these changes will improve outcomes for student-athletes and help campus leaders navigate this issue with greater clarity.”

Back in July, the NCAA held a two-day NIL stakeholder meeting in Indianapolis. The group’s goal was to draft a plan that was shared with the DI Board of Directors and has ultimately become proposals from the DI Council on Tuesday.

It’s still a long process to see the proposals put into action.

Any legislative proposals developed will follow the normal process. After it is introduced to the Council in October, it will be circulated to membership, voted on by the Council in January and voted on by the Board in January. 

Any moves will not be final until the DI Council’s meeting on Wednesday. In the statement released Tuesday, it noted the working group has continued discussions around additional NIL policies aimed at the recruiting landscape and the role institutions are allowed to play in NIL activities.

“Today’s action by the DI Council is a great step toward achieving our shared priority at the NCAA, which is better outcomes for all college athletes who participate in NIL activities,” NCAA president Charlie Baker said. “As the Association makes these changes to improve the environment for young people with NCAA rules, I look forward to partnering with members of Congress to build on these protections and create greater consistency and opportunities for all college athletes.”

All of this comes after a summer when the NCAA was not able to find any movement on Capitol Hill. Federal legislation doesn’t appear to be moving to the top of any lawmaker’s agenda at the moment either.

The NIL proposals could be the closest the NCAA could get to executing its so-called “Plan B.”

Examining the NCAA’s aggressive push for federal NIL laws

Details on the NIL proposals

The registration of NIL service providers would include agents, financial advisors and others who support college athletes in NIL arrangements. Completely voluntarily, information sent to the NCAA would be published in a registry for athletes to access.

In the registry, athletes could review their experiences with those service providers. In the statement, the DI council said it would be similar to a “rate my professor” platform.

Since Charlie Baker took over as the NCAA’s new president this spring, he’s been pushing for a standardized contract. According to the DI council, those possible terms would include: a description of services, payment structure, duration of contract, termination clause for breach of contract, athletes right to terminate at end of NCAA eligibility and authentication that compensation provided is not a recruiting inducement.

Any NIL agreements exceeding a certain value would be required to report specific info, such as compensation received, services, length of deal, to schools within 30 days of entering an agreement. If a service provider was involved, the agent’s name would be included. Before a recruit could be issued a National Letter of Intent or written offer, they’d be required to disclose current or previous NIL deals.

The DI Council is also supportive of developing a plan for educational resources for athletes, that would cover the state of NIL and how to read contracts.