NCAA president Charlie Baker releases statement on NIL environment, calls for Congressional action

NCAA president Charlie Baker released a statement Friday afternoon addressing the state of the NIL landscape and calling for Congressional assistance.

The comments come days after UNLV starting quarterback Matthew Sluka announced he was stepping away from the program and redshirting because representations “were not upheld” after he enrolled. Sluka was verbally promised a minimum of $100,000 during his recruitment but only saw a $3,000 relocation fee, his agent Marcus Cromartie of Equity Sports told On3.

The promises were made by an offensive assistant during Sluka’s recruitment, Cromartie said. The NIL collective and school have pushed back on the claim.

“We continue to see evidence of dysfunction in today’s NIL environment, including examples of promises made but not kept to student-athletes,” Baker wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Just as anyone that owns stock or buys a house is afforded basic consumer protections, it’s clear that student-athletes entering NIL contracts should be too.”

On Thursday, plaintiffs’ and NCAA attorneys submitted the revised long-form House v. NCAA settlement in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Attorneys did not change much despite Judge Claudia Wilken asking for the parties to “go back to the drawing board” when it came to enforcement of NIL collectives and boosters.

The new settlement changed the definition of a booster, limiting it to a “narrower group of entities and individuals closely affiliated with the schools.” Commercial parties like shoe companies and people who have given $50,000 to a school will be exempt from NIL enforcement.

If the settlement is not approved, the NCAA will head to trial and could face over $20 billion in back damages. Baker went on to write that the NCAA continues to lobby Congress for national NIL guidelines.

The NCAA has lobbied lawmakers in Washington, D.C., dating back to the summer of 2022.

“While we’d love to see these resources used to protect student-athletes in every NIL deal, it’s not something the NCAA has the authority to mandate,” Baker wrote. “In the meantime, we’re continuing to advocate for Congress to create national NIL guidelines that will protect student-athletes from exploitation, including the use of standard contracts.”