John Calipari, Mitch Barnhart speak in favor of new NIL bill

When Andy Beshear signed an executive order that allowed all KY college student-athletes to make money through name, image, and likeness (NIL), it was one of the first of its kind. Since then, NIL has become the new norm in college athletics, but an official state law in Kentucky is necessary with no federal law currently in place.

On Wednesday afternoon, Kentucky Men’s Basketball head coach John Calipari and UK athletic director Mitch Barnhart traveled down to Frankfort to make a case in favor of Senate Bill 6, a new NIL bill that outlines proper guidelines for Kentucky’s student-athletes. The legislation, which was introduced in the middle of January, aims to “provide protections for student athletes seeking compensation through name, image, and likeness agreements or seeking an athlete agent.” The bill ultimately passed unanimously, 10-0, in the Senate Education Committee and will now head to the full Senate for a final vote.

Calipari believes NIL could help colleges keep student-athletes at a program instead of leaving for professional options, stating that kids have made mistakes in the past by leaving early, but that likely won’t be the case under this new bill. He’s in favor of SB6 because he says it will put protections in place — for both the student-athletes and schools — that will prevent them from running into any unforeseen issues that will inevitably arise.

“What’s gonna happen, if you don’t have a state law and you say I’m free to do whatever I want, you got no protection,” Calipari said on Wednesday, according to Hunter Shelton. “And the NCAA may choose to say we’re gonna let that one go, but you? We’re gonna question everything about it… There’s no protection.

“I think we’re gonna end up with 40 state laws. Because they’re gonna try to protect themselves. My hope is this model is the one they look at and play off of. If we get 30 (states) to do the same, then the federal government can step in and say ‘you know what, all these states are comfortable with this, let’s enact this.'”

What Calipari is most impressed with, however, as he stated multiple times throughout the day, is that the bill is bipartisan.

“You know what the greatest thing was? It was bipartisan! I didn’t even know that was a word,” Calipari added. “It was bipartisan. Democrats and Republicans came together and said let’s do this and let’s do it right.”

John Calipari speaks to the media following the passing of Senate Bill 6, pertaining to NIL. @KyKernel @KYKernelSports pic.twitter.com/Zm17RaF5ZL

— Hunter Shelton (@HunterWS11) February 9, 2022

In SB6, among several other factors, it includes the prohibition of NIL compensation as a recruiting tool, imposing “reasonable restrictions” on which deals can and cannot be approved, and for the schools to provide “financial literacy and life skills education” so the student-athletes can better understand NIL.

Barnhart spoke at the event as well, endorsing the new bill that would benefit student-athletes in the realm of NIL. He said that there have been roughly 800 NIL deals already agreed to among 250 different UK student-athletes since the inception of Beshear’s executive order.

“The goal for us is that even as rules change in the landscape in which our students play and work continues to evolve, UK’s student athletes will be able to maximize opportunities while also continuing their education and benefiting from all the things that come from being on a college campus,” Barnhart said, according to the Herald-Leader. “There is no question that a federal solution that creates a single standard for all student athletes in all states is the best path forward. We also believe that we shouldn’t wait for one uniform federal policy to continue finding ways to support our student athletes and ensure that they have the best possible experience in their name, image and likeness.”

The failure of this bill’s passing would put all Kentucky schools at a serious recruiting disadvantage. Behind the support of some of the state’s most influential names, it appears to be on the path to approval.