Report: NCAA D-I Council Could Table Landmark Vote on NIL Legislation

The NCAA may move to table legislation seeking to allow compensation of college athletes for use of their names, images and likenesses next week, according to Michael Smith of Sports Business Journal. 

A vote has long been scheduled for Monday's meeting of the Division I Council at the NCAA Convention. Should the vote pass, the NCAA would open an avenue for the type of player compensation activists have long argued for. 

Yet the council may not end up voting at all, per Smith:

"There remains some skepticism among NCAA leaders that a vote will actually happen next week. Sources were hearing as recently as this morning that the D-I Council might table it.

"SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey, one of the most influential voices in college athletics, is among those who have asked to pump the brakes on an NIL vote because of all the external forces at work, such as state NIL laws, the recently proposed college athletes bill of rights and the NCAA's upcoming appearance in the U.S. Supreme Court."

Tom McMillen, president and CEO of LEAD1, the association of FBS athletic directors, told Smith, "It wouldn't surprise me if they didn't have the vote."

The vote is scheduled for the end of the day Monday in front of the full D-I council. If it is indeed held, and passes, the change would still not become official until the Division I Board of Directors signs off on it on January 14.

NIL legislation has been under discussion since May of 2019. Yet state and federal lawmakers continue to adopt pro-compensation stances with the governors of five states, including Florida and California, signing NIL legislation into law. At the national level, Sens. Cory Booker and Richard Blumenthal have introduced a College Athletes Bill of Rights in Congress. 

As lawmakers weigh legalizing pathways for athlete compensation, the NCAA may punt on voting to follow suit.