COMMITTEE CONSIDERS MORE CHANGES TO COLLEGE ATHLETE COMPENSATION

(AUSTIN) — The state of Texas must once again update its laws regulating the use of name, image, and likeness (NIL) for college athletes as a pending court settlement looks to upend the current status quo, said the sponsor of a bill considered before the Senate Committee on Education K-16 Tuesday. A 2021 Supreme Court ruling opened the door to pay college athletes, but with no direction from either the federal government or the NCAA, states have been left to determine their own policies, chasing the most permissive laws or risk irrelevancy in college athletics. Until nationwide rules are implemented either in Washington or by the NCAA, it’s something that the states are going to have to deal with, said bill sponsor, committee chair and Conroe Senator Brandon Creighton. “We have to continue to work – especially with settlements like this – to bring any common sense and consistency possible to what has been considered the Wild West for name, image, and likeness and paying college athletes,” he said.

At issue is an imminent settlement on House v. NCAA, in which plaintiffs sought billions in damages and back compensation for athletes beginning in 2016. The settlement is expected to involve revenue sharing regarding revenue generated by broadcast rights, ticket sales, and other sources. It will put universities squarely in the center of the NIL system, and HB 126 would change Texas law to accommodate that. Under existing law, NIL deals operated somewhat independently of universities. Institutions couldn’t directly enter into agreements with recruits to pay NIL money nor could they use promises of NIL dollars as a recruiting tactic. The bill would allow universities to do both, with some safeguards in place. Should a university sign a recruit to an NIL deal, no compensation from that deal can go to the athlete prior to their enrollment at the university. The bill also includes provisions that allows universities to change policy in response to new rulings or policy changes, allowing them to go beyond what state law permits. This allows institutions to deal with this fluid and volatile issue during the year-and-a-half interim between lawmaking sessions.

Creighton carried the 2021 legislation that created the framework for how universities in Texas compensate athletes based on NIL, a concept he was negative to ambivalent about. “I was against it when I filed the bill – my own bill – and I was neutral on it coming into committee,” Creighton said of that 2021 measure. “The plane had taken off…we had to decide whether to rope the tail end of the plane and do our best to provide the best policy we could for the state of Texas and our student athletes or let it leave us behind.” Absent direction from above, the state has had to tweak these laws in each session since.

Also before the committee Tuesday is a bill to ban the use of cell phones at public schools throughout the school day. A bill passed by the Senate earlier in the session would’ve banned the use of electronic devices such as phones and smartwatches during instructional time, but HB 1481, by Representative Caroline Fairly and also sponsored by Creighton, would expand that to include the entire school day. Creighton cited studies showing that on average, students use their cell phones for an hour and a half of the six and a half hour school day. “If students aren’t paying attention in class or failing to connect with their peers at lunchtime or worrying about the digital world more than their education, we’re setting our kids up for failure,” Creighton told members. Like the Senate bill, the House proposal would permit local districts to decide how best to implement the policy, and policies must include accommodations for students who need to use their phone or other devices to monitor health conditions or as part of a special education plan.

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