NIL Bill that could benefit FSU passes through Florida Senate and House of Representatives
The new frontier of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) has struck up plenty of discussions since the idea was introduced to college football in 2021. With the current landscape, depending on location and law, schools can either benefit or be hamstrung by the policy.
That's been a source of ire for colleges in the state of Florida, who haven't been able to be personally involved with the NIL dealings of their respective student-athletes. Well, that may be shifting in the near future.
The state of Florida is in the process of repealing its NIL laws with the introduction House Bill 7-B, which is summarized below.
"Revises provisions relating to athlete agents representing intercollegiate athletes for certain purposes, compensation that intercollegiate athletes may receive, postsecondary educational institutions requirements, & specified workshops; & provides specified individuals are not liable for damages."
The bill would remove state regulations that exist around college athletes earning money from NIL. More important, this would begin to allow coaches, schools, or support organizations to be involved in the facilitation of deals. Obviously, the policies wouldn't allow schools to circumvent any NCAA rules.
Over the last two days, a major step has been made in the right direction with the bill passing unanimously through Florida's House of Representatives on Thursday and Florida Senate on Friday. The House voted 113-0 while the Senate voted 34-0.
Following the decision on Friday, recently elected Senator, Corey Simon, who starred at Florida State from 1996-99, offered his thoughts.
“We’ve done the part to push the NCAA to stop abdicating their responsibility back to the states,” Sen. Simon said. "And we’re now putting it on the universities to educate our kids at what their best practices are going forward.”
Outside of the advancements in NIL proceedings, the bill will require schools to add a workshop for players on topics such as financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and life skills. The third component will be providing liability protection for coaches and schools if their 'decisions and actions routinely taken' affect a certain athletes NIL deals.
The sponsor of the bill, Representative Chip LaMarca, believes that 7-B will allow schools within the state to remain competitive across the country. This is expected to create more stability in the NIL space after former Florida Gators signee and 2023 quarterback Jaden Rashada requested his release from the program following a multi-million dollar deal falling through with a collective not affiliated with the university.
“This bill will allow Florida to remain competitive with every other state that our collegiate athletes compete against while ensuring that we prepare them for their future, possible opportunities and most importantly the tools to make them successful in promoting their individual brand — their name, image and likeness," said Rep. Chip LaMarca.
“It’s not going to give us any more of an advantage, but it’ll allow these great institutions in our state, whether they’re down in south Florida or on the Panhandle or right here in Tallahassee, to compete with the rest of the country," LaMarca continued. "At that point, it’s up to them.”
The next step is for the bill to be sent to Governor Ron DeSantis to be signed. DeSantis can take three actions - sign the bill into law, allow the bill to become law without his signature or veto the bill. The legislature can override the veto by a 2/3 vote of the legislature during the next session.
However, like with the Florida Senate and House of Representatives, DeSantis is not expected to oppose the bill. Once signed, it should immediately go into affect.
This has the potential to be a big development for Florida State and other schools across the state.
READ MORE: Florida State's full 2023 football schedule released
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