If Congress ultimately uses today’s hearing as an opportunity to discuss potential name, image and likeness law, there is undoubtedly going to be a lot of disagreement on what the federal law should say, especially with many disparate bills already percolating. However, if Congress is even at all interested in equity for college athletes, here are five basics items that belong in even the most innocuous of federal bills. Any federal NIL bill should acknowledge that college athletes are human beings that deserve the same economic freedom from monopsony restraints under U.S. laws — including federal antitrust law — as any other members of society. Any federal NIL bill also should recognize that individual states are free to provide broader legal protections to college athletes than the federal bill and grant their athletes explicit NIL rights should they choose. He is the author of “A Short Treatise on Amateurism and Antitrust Law” and “The NCAA, Fair Pay to Play, Antitrust Scrutiny and the Need for Institutional Reform.”

Source: Forbes June 09, 2021 13:34 UTC