SEC commissioner Greg Sankey releases statement following NIL discussion on Capitol Hill

Many people across the college football landscape have been pleading for reform and some kind of regulation of NIL recently. Well on Thursday afternoon, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey made his way to Capitol Hill to meet with a number of U.S. Senators to see if Congress could step in and assist with federal legislation on the matter. He released a statement on Thursday evening following his trip to Washington, D.C.:

“I appreciate today’s opportunity fo conversation and dialogue with members of Congress. As we have observed activity emerge that is very different from original ideas around, Name, Image, and Likeness, it is important we continue to pursue NIL structure to support the thousands of opportunities made available for young people through intercollegiate athletics programs across the country,” Sankey said.

NIL has sparked plenty of conversation across college sports

Last July, the NCAA implemented policy regarding players’ abilities to profit off their name, image and likeness. However, it was fairly vague, and boosters are starting to find ways around it. That’s why George Kliavkoff (Pac-12 commissioner) and Sankey went to Congress on Thursday to try and make changes.

The problem, Sports Illustrated’s Ross Dellenger wrote, is that federal NIL legislation might not come quickly enough. He said “many believe it’s a longshot” to happen this year.

NIL has been at the forefront of discussion across college sports all year, but that conversation reared its ugly head in the last week or so. Pittsburgh star wide receiver Jordan Addison put his name into the portal and rumors swirled of a NIL deal waiting for him if he heads to USC. Those rumors started before Addison even entered the portal, which is why Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi accused USC and coach Lincoln Riley of tampering.

Additionally, conversations are ongoing about potential rule changes from the NCAA. Earlier this week, Dellenger reported things could get interesting regarding boosters’ roles in recruiting.

“College leaders are gearing up to issue a warning to hundreds of wealthy boosters who are using name, image and likeness (NIL) ventures to involve themselves in recruiting,” Dellenger wrote Wednesday. “University administrators, part of a task force to review NIL, are finalizing additional guidelines that are expected to clarify that boosters and booster-led collectives are prohibited from involvement in recruiting.

“The guidelines will provide more guidance to member schools on what many administrators say are NIL-disguised ‘pay for play’ deals orchestrated by donors to induce prospects, recruit players off other college teams and retain their own athletes.”

Dellenger also cited a source saying things are getting “out of hand” regarding NIL and the transfer portal in college athletics. NIL collectives have become a staple of the new landscape in collegiate athletics, and the sense is boosters are getting too involved with recruiting. In fact, some argue they shouldn’t be involved in recruiting at all.

On3’s Nick Schultz also contributed to this article.