Bill Stopping NCAA from Restricting Athletes' NIL Rights Introduced in Congress

A federal bill introduced Thursday in Congress aims to prevent the NCAA or its member conferences from placing restrictions on student-athletes' endorsement deals or their ability to form a collective group that could sell licensing rights for jerseys, appearances in video games and other opportunities.

ESPN's Dan Murphy reported the bill, which was co-authored by Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy and House representative Lori Trahan, is the first to suggest removing all regulations on NCAA athletes' earning potential amid the ongoing debate about the use of their name, image and likeness (NIL) rights.

Murphy said it's unlikely the federal bill will make it through the congressional process until state laws regarding NIL rights are put in place over the six months, but he believes it's important to set federal standards for what he considers a civil rights issue.

"Big-time college athletics look no different than professional leagues, and it's time for us to stop denying the right of college athletes to make money off their talents," he told ESPN. "If predominantly white coaches and NCAA executives can have unfettered endorsement deals, why shouldn't predominantly black athletes be afforded the same opportunity?"

Last February, NCAA president Mark Emmert asked for assistance from Congress, but he was seeking restrictions to prevent the recruiting process from becoming a bidding war for top prospects.

"If implemented, these [state] laws would give some schools an unfair recruiting advantage and open the door to sponsorship arrangements being used as a recruiting inducement," Emmert said. "This would create a huge imbalance among schools and could lead to corruption in the recruiting process."

The new federal bill would have the opposite effect, eliminating any barriers between players and their earning potential, and calls for an annual report funded by the government to track how much money they're earning based on race, gender and sport to create a transparent marketplace, per Murphy.

Trahan, a former volleyball player at Georgetown, said in a statement to ESPN it's time to reward student-athletes.

"As a former Division I athlete, I'm all too familiar with the NCAA's business model that for decades has utilized the guise of amateurism to justify obscene profitability while student athletes have struggled to get by," Trahan said.

The NCAA indefinitely delayed a scheduled January vote to alter its athlete compensation rules.