Assembly Bill 1034 aims to establish and regulate the name, image, and likeness (NIL) rights for student athletes within the University of Wisconsin System. The bill allows the Board of Regents to enter into agreements for compensating student athletes for the use of their NIL, while prohibiting any policies that restrict athletes from using their NIL outside of official team activities or from obtaining professional representation. Additionally, student athletes are required to disclose any third-party agreements related to their NIL before entering into them. The bill also includes provisions to ensure that compensation agreements do not conflict with existing board policies and outlines specific restrictions on the types of endorsements that student athletes can engage in.

Furthermore, the bill modifies the funding structure for maintenance costs of intercollegiate athletic facilities. It eliminates the previous allocation of 40% of program revenues for the maintenance of UW-Madison athletic facilities and instead appropriates $14.6 million annually in general purpose revenues for this purpose. It also allocates $200,000 each for the maintenance of the UW-Milwaukee Klotsche Center and the UW-Green Bay soccer complex. The bill includes new sections in the statutes to formalize these changes and ensure the confidentiality of certain records related to NIL agreements and revenue generation in intercollegiate athletics.

Statutes affected:
Bill Text: 20.285(1)(gj), 20.285