Oregon lawmaker files bill to amend state NIL law, take aim at key House settlement terms

As the House v. NCAA approval hearing looms, an Oregon lawmaker filed a bill taking aim at one of the key terms. The filing would amend the state’s current NIL law.

State Rep. John Lively (D) filed H.B. 3694 Tuesday, which would prohibit the NCAA or any other governing organization from requiring college athletes to disclose their earnings. Under the House settlement, third-party NIL deals worth more than $600 would need to be approved by a clearinghouse that will vet contracts.

According to the bill, any conference, athletic association or organization – including the NCAA – cannot “require a student athlete to provide or disclose a contract or any terms or conditions of a contract by which a student athlete receives compensation for the use of the student athlete’s name, image, likeness or athletic reputation, if the terms of the contract prohibit the student athlete from providing or disclosing the contract or terms or conditions of the contract.”

In addition, the bill would prohibit athletes in Oregon from entering into certain kinds of NIL deals. Athletes would not be able to sign deals with brands related to alcohol, tobacco, nicotine and gambling, among others.

A bill to amend Oregon’s NIL law has been filed.

It would prohibit the NCAA/any other organization from requiring college athletes to disclose NIL agreements if the agreements have non-disclosure/confidentiality provisions.

This directly contradicts the House settlement terms. pic.twitter.com/rOixl72VBZ

— Mit Winter (@WinterSportsLaw) February 25, 2025

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek signed previous amendments to the state’s NIL law in February 2024. That opened the door for businesses and third-party entities to provide compensation on condition of an athlete’s attendance at a particular institution, which came after the NCAA’s decision to cease NIL-related investigations. As a result, third-party NIL collectives could openly negotiate with recruits.

The law also stopped governing bodies, specifically the NCAA, from preventing athletes and universities from participating in collegiate athletics due to a real or alleged violation. Lawmakers in Missouri, New York, Oklahoma and Texas have all passed bills to prevent the NCAA from launching investigations into NIL activities, and West Virginia introduced a bill with similar verbiage last week.

The House v. NCAA settlement received preliminary approval in October 2024, and the motion for final approval is set for March 3. A hearing for final approval is set for April 7, which will be held both remotely and in-person.

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.