College Athletes Bill of Rights

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 5062 To protect the rights of college athletes and to establish the Commission on College Athletics, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES DECEMBER 17, 2020 Mr. BOOKER (for himself, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, and Mr. SCHATZ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To protect the rights of college athletes and to establish the Commission on College Athletics, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘College Athletes Bill 4 of Rights’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act: 7 (1) ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘ath- 8 letic department’’ means a department at an institu- 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 Jan 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5062.IS S5062 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 5062 IS tion of higher education responsible for overseeing 1 1 or more athletic programs and related staff. 2 (2) ATHLETIC PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘athletic 3 program’’ means a program for a particular inter- 4 collegiate sport at an institution of higher education. 5 (3) ATHLETIC REPUTATION.—The term ‘‘ath- 6 letic reputation’’ means— 7 (A) with respect to a college athlete, the 8 recognition or fame of the college athlete relat- 9 ing to the intercollegiate athletic ability, stand- 10 ing, participation, or performance of the college 11 athlete; and 12 (B) with respect to an institution of higher 13 education, the recognition or fame the institu- 14 tion of higher education garners from the ath- 15 letic programs of the institution of higher edu- 16 cation. 17 (4) COLLEGE ATHLETE.—The term ‘‘college 18 athlete’’ means an individual who participates in an 19 intercollegiate sport for an institution of higher edu- 20 cation. 21 (5) COLLEGE ATHLETE AGENT.—The term 22 ‘‘college athlete agent’’ means an athlete agent (as 23 defined in section 2 of the Sports Agent Responsi- 24 bility and Trust Act (15 U.S.C. 7801)) who is cer- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 Jan 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5062.IS S5062 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 5062 IS tified in accordance with the standards established 1 under section 11(d)(1). 2 (6) COMMERCIAL SPORTS REVENUE ROY- 3 ALTY.—The term ‘‘commercial sports revenue roy- 4 alty’’ means funds distributed to a college athlete by 5 an intercollegiate athletic association under section 6 5(b)(2). 7 (7) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 8 means the Commission on College Athletics estab- 9 lished by section 11(a). 10 (8) CONFERENCE.—The term ‘‘conference’’ 11 means a group or an association of athletic pro- 12 grams that play competitively against each other. 13 (9) COST OF ATTENDANCE.—The term ‘‘cost of 14 attendance’’— 15 (A) has the meaning given the term in sec- 16 tion 472 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 17 (20 U.S.C. 1087ll); and 18 (B) shall be calculated by the financial aid 19 office of an institution of higher education ap- 20 plying the same standards, policies, and proce- 21 dures for all students. 22 (10) COVERED COMPENSATION.—The term 23 ‘‘covered compensation’’— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 Jan 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5062.IS S5062 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 5062 IS (A) means any payment, remuneration, or 1 benefit provided by a third party to a college 2 athlete or a former college athlete; and 3 (B) does not include the payment or provi- 4 sion of a grant-in-aid. 5 (11) ENDORSEMENT CONTRACT.—The term 6 ‘‘endorsement contract’’ means an agreement for the 7 commercial use of a college athlete’s name, image, 8 likeness, or athletic reputation, in exchange for cov- 9 ered compensation. 10 (12) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the 11 medical trust fund established under section 6(a). 12 (13) GRANT-IN-AID.—The term ‘‘grant-in- 13 aid’’— 14 (A) means a scholarship, grant, or other 15 form of financial assistance, including the provi- 16 sion of tuition, room, board, books, or funds for 17 fees or personal expenses, that— 18 (i) is paid or provided by an institu- 19 tion of higher education to a student for 20 the student’s undergraduate or graduate 21 course of study; and 22 (ii) is in an amount that does not ex- 23 ceed the cost of attendance for such stu- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 Jan 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5062.IS S5062 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 5062 IS dent at the institution of higher education; 1 and 2 (B) does not include covered compensation. 3 (14) IMAGE.—The term ‘‘image’’, with respect 4 to a college athlete, means a photograph, video, or 5 computer-generated representation that identifies, is 6 linked to, or is reasonably linkable to the college ath- 7 lete. 8 (15) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 9 The term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 10 meaning given the term in section 101 of the Higher 11 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.). 12 (16) INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETIC ASSOCIA- 13 TION.—The term ‘‘intercollegiate athletic associa- 14 tion’’ means any association, conference, or other 15 group or organization, including the National Colle- 16 giate Athletic Association, that— 17 (A) exercises authority over intercollegiate 18 athletics; and 19 (B) is engaged in commerce or in any in- 20 dustry or activity affecting commerce. 21 (17) LIKENESS.—The term ‘‘likeness’’ means— 22 (A) with respect to a college athlete of a 23 sport for which the college athlete has a jersey 24 number, the jersey number associated with the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 Jan 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5062.IS S5062 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 5062 IS college athlete and the sport in which the col- 1 lege athlete participates at a particular institu- 2 tion of higher education during the period of 3 the participation of the college athlete in the 4 sport at the institution of higher education, if 5 the jersey number is accompanied by— 6 (i) a logo or color scheme that is 7 clearly associated with the institution of 8 higher education; or 9 (ii) some other means by which the 10 jersey number is clearly associated with 11 the particular college athlete; and 12 (B) with respect to any college athlete or 13 former college athlete— 14 (i) the uniquely identifiable voice, 15 catch phrase, or nickname of the college 16 athlete; or 17 (ii) any other trademark that identi- 18 fies or distinguishes the college athlete. 19 (18) NAME.—The term ‘‘name’’, with respect to 20 a college athlete, means— 21 (A) the first name and last or family name 22 that identifies the college athlete; 23 (B) a nickname or a preferred name of the 24 college athlete; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 Jan 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5062.IS S5062 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 5062 IS (C) a name that the college athlete uses to 1 identity the college athlete. 2 (19) THIRD PARTY.—The term ‘‘third party’’ 3 means an individual or entity other than an institu- 4 tion of higher education, a conference, or an inter- 5 collegiate athletic association. 6 SEC. 3. COLLEGE ATHLETE RIGHTS AND PROTECTIONS. 7 (a) RIGHT TO MARKET NAME, IMAGE, LIKENESS, OR 8 ATHLETIC REPUTATION.— 9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to a limitation pur- 10 suant to paragraph (3), an institution of higher edu- 11 cation, an intercollegiate athletic association, or a 12 conference may not restrict the ability of college ath- 13 letes, individually or as a group, to market the use 14 of their names, images, likenesses, or athletic rep- 15 utations. 16 (2) GROUP LICENSING.—A person may not use 17 the name, image, likeness, or athletic reputation of 18 any member of a group described in paragraph (1) 19 to sell or promote any product unless the person ob- 20 tains a license from the group for that purpose. 21 (3) CERTAIN STATE LIMITATIONS PER- 22 MITTED.— 23 (A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding para- 24 graph (1), a State may prohibit college athletes 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 Jan 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5062.IS S5062 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 5062 IS residing in the State from entering into en- 1 dorsement contracts with entities in a par- 2 ticular industry if the State also prohibits insti- 3 tutions of higher education located in the State 4 from entering into agreements with such enti- 5 ties. 6 (B) NOTIFICATION OF COLLEGE ATH- 7 LETES.—An institution of higher education 8 shall provide to each college athlete enrolled at 9 the institution of higher education a list of enti- 10 ties with which institutions of higher education 11 and college athletes are prohibited from enter- 12 ing into endorsement contracts pursuant to sub- 13 paragraph (A). 14 (4) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION 15 AGREEMENTS WITH THIRD PARTIES.—In conjunc- 16 tion with an endorsement contract of a college ath- 17 lete enrolled at a particular institution of higher 18 education, such institution of higher education may 19 enter into a separate agreement with the third party 20 concerned for the intellectual property rights or the 21 name, image, likeness, or athletic reputation rights 22 of the institution of higher education, including the 23 use of the logos and team uniforms of the institution 24 of higher education, if— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 Jan 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5062.IS S5062 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 5062 IS (A) the third party provides directly to the 1 college athlete concerned covered compensation 2 pursuant to the endorsement contract; and 3 (B) the agreement between the institution 4 of higher education and the third party is not 5 initiated or coordinated by the institution of 6 higher education. 7 (5) INSTITUTION-SPONSORED COMPETITION 8 AND PRACTICES.— 9 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 10 subparagraph (B), an institution of higher edu- 11 cation may require a college athlete to use, dur- 12 ing a competition or practice sponsored by the 13 institution of higher education, apparel selected 14 by the institution of higher education. 15 (B) EXCEPTIONS.— 16 (i) ACTIVITIES OTHER THAN MANDA- 17 TORY TEAM ACTIVITIES.—An institution of 18 higher education may not prohibit, and 19 may not enter into a contract that pro- 20 hibits, a college athlete from carrying out 21 activities pursuant to an endorsement con- 22 tract during a period in which the college 23 athlete is not engaged in a mandatory 24 team activity. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 Jan 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5062.IS S5062 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 5062 IS (ii) FOOTWEAR.—An institution of 1 higher education may not prohibit or dis- 2 courage a college athlete from wearing 3 footwear of his or her choice during man- 4 datory team activities, unless the footwear 5 has lights, reflective fabric, or poses a 6 health risk to the college athlete. 7 (6) TREATMENT OF COMPENSATION, BENEFITS, 8 OR ROYALTIES PROVIDED TO COLLEGE ATHLETES.— 9 Covered compensation or commercial sports revenue 10 royalties— 11 (A) shall not be considered financial aid by 12 any institution of higher education, intercolle- 13 giate athletic association, conference, or third 14 party; and 15 (B) notwithstanding section 480(j) of the 16 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 17 1087vv(j)), shall not be included as financial as- 18 sistance for purposes of determining a student’s 19 eligibility for financial assistance under title IV 20 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 21 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.). 22 (b) RIGHT TO COMPENSATION FOR EXPENSES.— 23 (1) IN GENERAL.—An institution of higher edu- 24 cation, an intercollegiate athletic association, or a 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 Jan 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5062.IS S5062 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 5062 IS conference may not restrict the ability of a college 1 athlete to receive payment from any source for— 2 (A) transportation, room, or board for 1 or 3 more friends or family members of the college 4 athlete during any period in which the college 5 athlete is addressing a physical or mental 6 health concern or participating in intercollegiate 7 athletics competition; 8 (B) necessities, including food, shelter, 9 medical coverage, and medical expenses; or 10 (C) tuition, fees, books, transportation, or 11 any other incidental expense that is not other- 12 wise provided by an institution of higher edu- 13 cation. 14 (2) GRANTS-IN-AID GUARANTEES.— 15 (A) Receipt of covered compensation pur- 16 suant to an endorsement contract shall not ad- 17 versely affect— 18 (i) a college athlete’s eligibility or op- 19 portunity to apply for a grant-in-aid; or 20 (ii) the amount, duration, or renewal 21 of a college athlete’s grant-in-aid. 22 (B) LIMITATION ON REVOCATION.—An in- 23 stitution of higher education may not revoke or 24 reduce a college athlete’s grant-in-aid based on 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 Jan 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5062.IS S5062 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 5062 IS the college athlete having entered into an en- 1 dorsement contract. 2 (c) RIGHT TO AGENT REPRESENTATION.— 3 (1) IN GENERAL.—An institution of higher edu- 4 cation, an intercollegiate athletic association, or a 5 conference may not restrict the ability of a college 6 athlete to obtain agent representation with respect 7 to an endorsement contract, including— 8 (A) representation provided by college ath- 9 lete agents, group licensing entities, and finan- 10 cial advisors; and 11 (B) legal representation by attorneys. 12 (2) PREVENTING CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.— 13 An institution of higher education, an intercollegiate 14 athletic association, or a conference, or a business 15 partner of an institution of higher education, an 16 intercollegiate athletic association, or a conference 17 may not— 18 (A) represent college athletes in endorse- 19 ment contracts; 20 (B) regulate the representation of college 21 athletes with respect to endorsement contracts; 22 or 23 (C) engage in the certification of individ- 24 uals for such representation. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 Jan 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5062.IS S5062 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 13 •S 5062 IS (d) RIGHT TO TRANSFER.— 1 (1) IN GENERAL.—A college athlete shall retain 2 his or her right to transfer from one institution of 3 higher [Text truncated for display. 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