[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2932 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2932
To protect the name, image, and likeness rights of, and provide
protections for, student athletes, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 29, 2025
Ms. Cantwell (for herself, Mr. Booker, and Mr. Blumenthal) introduced
the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee
on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To protect the name, image, and likeness rights of, and provide
protections for, student athletes, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Student Athlete
Fairness and Enforcement Act''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Definitions.
TITLE I--NAME, IMAGE, AND LIKENESS PROTECTIONS
Sec. 101. Rights and protections.
Sec. 102. NIL reporting.
Sec. 103. Endorsement contract requirements.
Sec. 104. Student athlete sports agent reform.
Sec. 105. Financial literacy and life skills protections.
TITLE II--STUDENT ATHLETE TRANSFER AND DRAFT PROTECTIONS
Sec. 201. Transfer protections.
Sec. 202. Professional draft protections.
TITLE III--STUDENT ATHLETE HEALTH AND SAFETY RULES AND PROTECTIONS
Sec. 301. Student athlete safety standards.
Sec. 302. Independence of medical professionals.
Sec. 303. Provision of certain health care benefits for expenses
related to participation in a varsity
intercollegiate sport.
TITLE IV--SCHOLARSHIP AND COURSEWORK PROTECTIONS
Sec. 401. Student athlete scholarship protections.
Sec. 402. Limitation on influence or retaliation for coursework.
TITLE V--NONDISCRIMINATION AT TOURNAMENTS
Sec. 501. Nondiscriminatory access to facilities, services, and events.
TITLE VI--INTERNATIONAL STUDENT VISAS
Sec. 601. F visas and employment authorization for international
student athletes.
TITLE VII--ADDITIONAL REVENUE SUPPORT TO PRESERVE COLLEGE SPORTS
Sec. 701. Authority for jersey or uniform patches.
TITLE VIII--OFFICE OF THE ATHLETE OMBUDS
Sec. 801. Office of the Athlete Ombuds.
TITLE IX--COLLEGE BROADCAST MEDIA RIGHTS
Sec. 901. Purpose.
Sec. 902. Definitions.
Sec. 903. Expansion of Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 to college
sports.
Sec. 904. Committee on intercollegiate sports media rights.
Sec. 905. Market level broadcast access for college football and
basketball.
Sec. 906. Streaming rights utilization requirement for college sports
other than football and basketball.
Sec. 907. Limitation on renegotiation or extension of existing media
rights contracts.
TITLE X--ENFORCEMENT AND OVERSIGHT
Sec. 1001. Commission enforcement and oversight.
Sec. 1002. Enforcement by States.
Sec. 1003. Private right of action.
Sec. 1004. Whistleblower protections.
TITLE XI--GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 1101. Authorization of appropriations.
Sec. 1102. Relationship to existing law.
Sec. 1103. Severability.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Athlete agent.--The term ``athlete agent'' has the
meaning given that term in section 2 of the Sports Agent
Responsibility and Trust Act (15 U.S.C. 7801).
(2) Athletic association.--
(A) In general.--The term ``athletic association''
means any organization or other group organized in the
United States that--
(i) has multiple conferences and
institutions as members;
(ii) sponsors or arranges college athletic
competitions between institutions;
(iii) sets common rules, standards,
procedures, or guidelines for the
administration of college athletic competition;
and
(iv) is not a conference.
(B) Inclusions.--The term ``athletic association''
includes--
(i) the National Collegiate Athletic
Association; and
(ii) any other national intercollegiate
athletic association.
(3) Athletic department.--The term ``athletic department''
means a department at, or a component of, an institution
responsible for managing one or more varsity intercollegiate
sports programs.
(4) College athletic competition.--The term ``college
athletic competition'' means any varsity game, meet, or other
competition between or among athletic teams sponsored by
institutions.
(5) College athletic event.--The term ``college athletic
event''--
(A) means a game, meet, competition, banquet,
practice, conditioning session, media session, or any
other event that has been organized or authorized by an
athletic department, conference, or athletic
association, regardless of whether such event occurs on
or off the campus of an institution or during or
outside the season for competition; and
(B) includes team travel to and from any such
event.
(6) Commensurate with other compensation.--The term
``commensurate with other compensation'' means compensation at
rates and terms commensurate with compensation paid to
individuals with name, image, and likeness rights of comparable
value who are not student athletes or prospective student
athletes with respect to such institution.
(7) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal
Trade Commission.
(8) Compensation.--
(A) In general.--The term ``compensation'' means
any payment, remuneration, or benefit provided by an
institution, third party, or NIL collective to a
student athlete.
(B) Exclusions.--The term ``compensation'' does not
include payment or provision of the following:
(i) Grant-in-aid.
(ii) Awards for education-related expenses.
(iii) Amounts (including reimbursements)
for expenses related to meals, lodging,
childcare, emergency family expenses,
transportation, and other expenses incidental
to participation in a varsity intercollegiate
sports program that are available based on
uniform standards applicable to all student
athletes.
(iv) Hourly wages and benefits for work
performed outside of participation in a varsity
intercollegiate sports program at a rate
commensurate with the prevailing rate in the
relevant State or locality for similar work.
(v) Federal Pell Grants provided under
section 401 of the Higher Education Act of 1965
(20 U.S.C. 1070a) and other Federal and State
grants unrelated to, and not awarded with
respect to, participation in college athletic
competitions.
(vi) Health insurance and the costs of
health care funded by an athletic association,
conference, or institution.
(vii) Disability and loss of value
insurance funded by an athletic association,
conference, or institution.
(viii) Career counseling, job placement
services, or other guidance available to all
students at an institution.
(9) Conference.--The term ``conference'' means any
organization that is not an athletic association and that--
(A) has 2 or more institutions as members; and
(B) arranges championships for college athletic
competition or sets rules for college athletic
competition.
(10) Cost of attendance.--The term ``cost of attendance''--
(A) has the meaning given the term in section 472
of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087ll);
and
(B) shall be calculated by the financial aid office
of each institution by applying the same standards,
policies, and procedures for all students at that
institution.
(11) Covered compensation.--The term ``covered
compensation'' means compensation provided by an institution,
third party, or NIL collective to a student athlete that
exceeds $600, including multiple payments, remunerations, or
benefits with the same institution, third party, or NIL
collective that exceeds a total of $600 over a 12-month period.
(12) Endorsement contract.--The term ``endorsement
contract'' has the meaning given that term in section 2 of the
Sports Agent Responsibility and Trust Act (15 U.S.C. 7801).
(13) Grant-in-aid.--The term ``grant-in-aid'' means--
(A) a scholarship, grant, or other form of
financial assistance, including the provision of
tuition, room, board, books, or funds for fees or
personal expenses that--
(i) is paid or provided by an institution
to a student for their undergraduate or
graduate education; and
(ii) is in an amount that does not exceed
the cost of attendance and any education-
related benefits for such student at the
institution; and
(B) does not include covered compensation.
(14) Image.--The term ``image'', with respect to a student
athlete, means a photograph, video, computer-generated
representation, or other depiction that identifies, is linked
to, or is reasonably linkable to the student athlete.
(15) Institution.--The term ``institution'' has the meaning
given the term ``institution of higher education'' in section
101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001).
(16) Likeness.--The term ``likeness'', with respect to a
student athlete, means--
(A) the uniquely identifiable body, physical
characteristics, or voice of the student athlete;
(B) any other mark that identifies or distinguishes
the student athlete; or
(C) the jersey number associated with the student
athlete during the period of athletic participation by
the student athlete at an institution if the jersey
number is accompanied by--
(i) a logo or color scheme that is clearly
associated with the institution; or
(ii) some other means by which the jersey
number is associated with the student athlete.
(17) Name.--The term ``name'', with respect to a student
athlete, means--
(A) the first, last, or family name that identifies
the student athlete;
(B) a nickname or assumed name of the student
athlete; or
(C) a username associated with the student athlete
on any public facing internet platform.
(18) NIL collective.--The term ``NIL collective''--
(A) means an entity affiliated with an institution
that--
(i) represents, manages, or facilitates
endorsement contracts for student athletes in
connection with participation by the student
athlete on a varsity intercollegiate sports
team of the institution; and
(ii) in the most recent 1-year period,
entered into 1 or more endorsement contracts
with 1 or more student athletes exceeding $600;
and
(B) includes--
(i) an individual who is or has been a
member, employee, director, owner, officer or
other representative of an entity described in
subparagraph (A);
(ii) an individual or entity that has
directly or indirectly contributed more than
$50,000 over the lifetime of the individual or
entity to the athletic program of the
institution or to an entity described in
subparagraph (A);
(iii) an individual or entity that is not
an employee of or associated with the
institution and who is directed or requested by
the institution or employees of the institution
to assist in the recruitment or retention of
student athletes or prospective student
athletes; and
(iv) any entity (other than a publicly
traded corporation) owned, controlled, operated
by, or otherwise affiliated with an entity or
individual described in subparagraph (A) or
this subparagraph.
(19) Prospective student athlete.--The term ``prospective
student athlete'' means an individual who is recruited to
attend an institution as a student athlete, but has not yet
enrolled at an institution.
(20) Student athlete.--The term ``student athlete'' means a
matriculated student at an institution who participates in a
varsity intercollegiate sport managed by the institution.
(21) Third party.--The term ``third party'' means an
individual or entity that is--
(A) not an institution, athletic department,
conference, or athletic association; and
(B) unaffiliated with--
(i) an athletic department of an
institution;
(ii) a conference; or
(iii) an athletic association.
(22) Valid business purpose.--The term ``valid business
purpose'' means a purpose related to the promotion of goods or
services provided to the general public for profit.
(23) Varsity intercollegiate sport.--The term ``varsity
intercollegiate sport'' means a sport played at the
intercollegiate level, administered by an athletic department,
for which eligibility requirements for participation by student
athletes are established by an athletic association.
TITLE I--NAME, IMAGE, AND LIKENESS PROTECTIONS
SEC. 101. RIGHTS AND PROTECTIONS.
(a) Student Athlete Name, Image, and Likeness Rights.--
(1) In general.--Except as explicitly provided in this Act
and the amendments made by this Act, an institution, athletic
department, conference, athletic association, or any
representative of such an entity may not--
(A) restrict the ability of a student athlete or
group of student athletes--
(i) to market or to earn compensation for
the value of their name, image, or likeness;
(ii) to obtain or to retain an athlete
agent or legal representation; or
(iii) to receive compensation from a third
party for--
(I) reasonable costs of
transportation, room, or board for
friends or family members of a student
athlete to visit the student athlete
during any period during which the
student athlete is experiencing a
documented physical or mental health
concern or participating in a college
athletic competition;
(II) reasonable costs for
necessities, including food, shelter,
medical coverage, and medical expenses;
or
(III) reasonable costs for tuition,
fees, books, transportation, or any
other incidental expense that is not
otherwise provided by the institution;
(B) limit athletic opportunities for a student
athlete on the basis of--
(i) the student athlete marketing, or
earning compensation for the value of, their
name, image, or likeness in compliance with
this Act and the amendments made by this Act;
or
(ii) the student athlete obtaining
representation by an athlete agent or legal
representative;
(C) use receipt of compensation from a third party
pursuant to an endorsement contract as a factor in
determining (unless to the benefit of the student
athlete)--
(i) the eligibility or opportunity of a
student athlete to apply for or receive a
grant-in-aid; or
(ii) the amount, duration, or renewal of
the grant-in-aid of a student athlete; or
(D) revoke, reduce, or decline to renew a grant-in-
aid for a student a