Cantwell & Blackburn Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Protect College Athletes’ New NIL Compensation

Cantwell & Blackburn Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Protect College Athletes' New NIL Compensation

HUSTLE Act creates new tax-advantaged NIL savings account for college athletes; Also reins in abuses by college athlete agents

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Sen. Maria Cantwell, ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and senior member of the Senate Finance Committee, and Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) introduced the Helping Undergraduate Students Thrive with Long-Term Earnings or "HUSTLE Act" so that college athletes earning NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) money can protect more of it for their post-playing life. The bill would create a new NIL investment account that would allow student athletes to save a portion of their NIL earnings. The HUSTLE Act also protects athletes' NIL earnings by reining in abusive practices by unscrupulous athlete agents, including by requiring college athlete agents to register in a state and capping agent fees.

"This bill focuses in on the financial security and safety of college athletes who - finally - are earning compensation for their name, image, and likeness (NIL)," said Sen. Cantwell. "Many of these athletes will be in a unique situation where they will earn NIL income during a relatively brief period of their careers. Our bill will set up a specific NIL Account where they can set aside some of that income and build long-term savings. The bill also will protect athletes and their NIL earnings against financial exploitation by unscrupulous agents. Since athletes have been able to earn NIL, some have been victimized by agents who have charged shockingly high commissions or have tried to take ownership of the athlete's intellectual property rights. Our bill will rein in these abuses and require agents to register with a state."

"College athletes are now earning billions of dollars from their name, image, and likeness-and rightly so. We must empower these students to safeguard their financial future and protect themselves against rogue agents," said Sen. Blackburn. "The HUSTLE Act would allow college athletes to invest their earnings in a tax-advantaged account that grows over time, strengthen financial education, and create safeguards to prevent exploitation by dishonest agents."

Key Provisions of the HUSTLE Act

1) Creates a new tax-advantaged savings vehicle-NIL investment accounts-for student-athletes to set aside their name, image, and likeness earnings.

According to estimates by Fox Sports, at least 25 college athletes are estimated to be earning $2 million or more in 2025 from NIL deals. Thousands more are earning lesser amounts - the NCAA's newly-formed College Sports Commission had cleared 12,175 NIL deals worth a total of $87.5 million, they reported in November. Under the HUSTLE Act, student athletes could save a portion of their earnings in the newly-created accounts where they would grow tax-free. Distributions would be taxed based on timing: ordinary income rates if withdrawn before graduation, or long-term capital gains rates after graduation. Early or excess withdrawals would be penalized unless used for qualified purposes such as education, medical expenses, or career transition. Up to $35,000 from an NIL account could be transitioned into certain retirement accounts. To protect athletes, trustees would be required to provide annual financial education, and the U.S. Treasury Department would be directed to issue regulations to prevent abuse and ensure compliance.

2) Amends the Sport Agent Responsibility and Trust Act to strengthen protections for student athletes against unscrupulous agents.

The combination of college athletes' opportunity to earn NIL money and their youth and inexperience - many are still teenagers - calls for greater protections from unscrupulous agents who may take advantage of them. While there are good agents out there, athletes should be protected from those who will take unfair advantage of them. That's why the HUSTLE Act would require agents to register with their state and prohibit unregistered agents from representing student athletes. It would cap agent fees at 5 percent, require the NCAA to establish a searchable public data base of certified, registered agents, and prohibit agents from making false or deceptive statements and enticing athletes to enroll or transfer schools by misrepresenting NIL opportunities.

Sen. Cantwell has been deeply involved in the effort to protect athletes. Senator Cantwell led "Equal Pay for Team USA," which became law on January 5, 2025 and guarantees equal pay and treatment for athletes representing the United States, regardless of gender. And in September, Sen. Cantwell, joined by co-sponsors Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), introduced the Student Athlete Fairness and Enforcement (SAFE) Act to codify athletes' rights and protections in law, expand revenue for all schools, support women's and Olympic sports and bring much-needed stability to the college sports system.

Read the bill text HERE.