Senators express frustration over delay by NCAA in voting on name, image, likeness legislation

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2021/01/14/college-sports-senators-frustrated-ncaas-striking-hypocrisy/4157662001/

Near the end of the recently concluded Congressional session, Senators Booker and Blumenthal introduced a bill that would have been much more expansive on NIL than the NCAA’s current proposal would be. The Booker-Blumenthal bill also would have provided a far greater range of other benefits and protections for athletes than were in NIL bills offered last year by Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss.; Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.; and the team of Reps. Anthony Gonzalez, R-Ohio, and Emanuel Cleaver, R-Mo.

Blumenthal and Booker plan to reintroduce their legislation under the impending new political environment, which may be more inclined to provide broader assistance for athletes, with the July 1 effective date for Florida's law looming larger.

Meanwhile, student-athletes should focus on preparing for new opportunities to permit authorized use of the NIL rights, and take advantage of educational opportunities from a marketing and legal perspective in anticipation of the changes.