State Lawmakers Tackle NIL Rights for Student Athletes

State Lawmakers Tackle NIL Rights for Student Athletes

New "State of Play" video explores how states are shaping compensation, regulation and fairness for college athletes.

The landscape of college athletics is changing rapidly, and state legislatures are at the forefront.

In the latest edition of "State of Play," a bipartisan video series created by A Starting Point and NCSL, Virginia Sen. Mamie Locke (D) and Tennessee Sen. John Stevens (R) discuss the complex world of name, image and likeness (NIL) rights for student athletes, raising questions about compensation, regulation and fairness.

Until four years ago, student athletes were prohibited from receiving pay for their NIL rights while in college. But a combination of NCAA rules changes and state laws now allows them to make sponsorship deals.

As of July 2025, 32 states have passed laws regulating NIL rights for student athletes. In states without set rules, the NCAA requires universities to write their own policies, creating a patchwork of regulations across the country.

Stevens says athletes absolutely should be compensated for their image being broadcast.

"For years the NCAA illegally used the players," he says. "They sold their broadcast rights and kept the money, and they all agreed that they wouldn't share the money with the players. In antitrust language, that's a cartel and they were price-fixing."

Locke says she initially was a fan of athletes being paid for their name, image and likeness because of exploitation without compensation. "But this is a big thing for an 18-year-old person, coming out of high school, signing these big packages, not fully understanding this is what I'm getting myself into," she says. "And we're losing the concept of the student-athlete. On one hand, I'm saying, yes, they should be compensated, but we need to have some understanding of what that means."

The question of who should regulate NIL rights-states or the federal government-is front and center.

"There is this theory out there of amateurism," Stevens says. "That is a hoax. There's no such thing as amateurism. The Olympics is over with amateurism, NCAA sports is over with amateurism. If they don't want to pay players, they can't broadcast the games."

Locke says states should begin to set their own guardrails, noting that federal efforts such as the SCORE Act remain uncertain.

"The federal government cannot preempt states and so I feel states, at the end of the day, need to do what's in the best interest of that state and its students," she adds.

Watch the full video.