As the NCAA considered new rules last year to allow college athletes to profit from the use of their name, image and likeness, state legislatures raced to implement their own laws to protect students and give their local colleges and universities a leg up in recruiting new talent.
But the NCAA surprised legislators in June by suspending existing rules that governed an athlete’s ability to profit off their fame. Now, some states are reconsidering the legislation they passed just months ago.
“Ahead of any determination by the NCAA, we wanted to get something. Our expectation was they were going to let state law prevail,” said Alabama state Rep. Kyle South (R), who sponsored his state’s version of a name, image and likeness bill. “The NCAA actually switched paths and adopted skeleton rules that were less limiting than what our state law was.”
