College Athletes Bill of Rights

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 9033 To protect the rights of college athletes and to establish the Commission on College Athletics, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DECEMBER 18, 2020 Ms. SCHAKOWSKY (for herself and Mr. COHEN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee con- cerned 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:51 Feb 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9033.IH H9033 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 9033 IH (1) ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘ath- 1 letic department’’ means a department at an institu- 2 tion of higher education responsible for overseeing 3 one or more athletic programs and related staff. 4 (2) ATHLETIC PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘athletic 5 program’’ means a program for a particular inter- 6 collegiate sport at an institution of higher education. 7 (3) ATHLETIC REPUTATION.—The term ‘‘ath- 8 letic reputation’’ means— 9 (A) with respect to a college athlete, the 10 recognition or fame of the college athlete relat- 11 ing to the intercollegiate athletic ability, stand- 12 ing, participation, or performance of the college 13 athlete; and 14 (B) with respect to an institution of higher 15 education, the recognition or fame the institu- 16 tion of higher education garners from the ath- 17 letic programs of the institution of higher edu- 18 cation. 19 (4) COLLEGE ATHLETE.—The term ‘‘college 20 athlete’’ means an individual who participates in an 21 intercollegiate sport for an institution of higher edu- 22 cation. 23 (5) COLLEGE ATHLETE AGENT.—The term 24 ‘‘college athlete agent’’ means an athlete agent (as 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:51 Feb 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9033.IH H9033 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 9033 IH defined in section 2 of the Sports Agent Responsi- 1 bility and Trust Act (15 U.S.C. 7801)) who is cer- 2 tified in accordance with the standards established 3 under section 11(d)(1). 4 (6) COMMERCIAL SPORTS REVENUE ROY- 5 ALTY.—The term ‘‘commercial sports revenue roy- 6 alty’’ means funds distributed to a college athlete by 7 an intercollegiate athletic association under section 8 5(b)(2). 9 (7) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 10 means the Commission on College Athletics estab- 11 lished by section 11(a). 12 (8) CONFERENCE.—The term ‘‘conference’’ 13 means a group or an association of athletic pro- 14 grams that play competitively against each other. 15 (9) COST OF ATTENDANCE.—The term ‘‘cost of 16 attendance’’— 17 (A) has the meaning given the term in sec- 18 tion 472 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 19 (20 U.S.C. 1087ll); and 20 (B) shall be calculated by the financial aid 21 office of an institution of higher education ap- 22 plying the same standards, policies, and proce- 23 dures for all students. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:51 Feb 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9033.IH H9033 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 9033 IH (10) COVERED COMPENSATION.—The term 1 ‘‘covered compensation’’— 2 (A) means any payment, remuneration, or 3 benefit provided by a third party to a college 4 athlete or a former college athlete; and 5 (B) does not include the payment or provi- 6 sion of a grant-in-aid. 7 (11) ENDORSEMENT CONTRACT.—The term 8 ‘‘endorsement contract’’ means an agreement for the 9 commercial use of a college athlete’s name, image, 10 likeness, or athletic reputation, in exchange for cov- 11 ered compensation. 12 (12) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the 13 medical trust fund established under section 6(a). 14 (13) GRANT-IN-AID.—The term ‘‘grant-in- 15 aid’’— 16 (A) means a scholarship, grant, or other 17 form of financial assistance, including the provi- 18 sion of tuition, room, board, books, or funds for 19 fees or personal expenses, that— 20 (i) is paid or provided by an institu- 21 tion of higher education to a student for 22 the student’s undergraduate or graduate 23 course of study; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:51 Feb 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9033.IH H9033 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 9033 IH (ii) is in an amount that does not ex- 1 ceed the cost of attendance for such stu- 2 dent at the institution of higher education; 3 and 4 (B) does not include covered compensation. 5 (14) IMAGE.—The term ‘‘image’’, with respect 6 to a college athlete, means a photograph, video, or 7 computer-generated representation that identifies, is 8 linked to, or is reasonably linkable to the college ath- 9 lete. 10 (15) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 11 The term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 12 meaning given the term in section 101 of the Higher 13 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.). 14 (16) INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETIC ASSOCIA- 15 TION.—The term ‘‘intercollegiate athletic associa- 16 tion’’ means any association, conference, or other 17 group or organization, including the National Colle- 18 giate Athletic Association, that— 19 (A) exercises authority over intercollegiate 20 athletics; and 21 (B) is engaged in commerce or in any in- 22 dustry or activity affecting commerce. 23 (17) LIKENESS.—The term ‘‘likeness’’ means— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:51 Feb 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9033.IH H9033 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 9033 IH (A) with respect to a college athlete of a 1 sport for which the college athlete has a jersey 2 number, the jersey number associated with the 3 college athlete and the sport in which the col- 4 lege athlete participates at a particular institu- 5 tion of higher education during the period of 6 the participation of the college athlete in the 7 sport at the institution of higher education, if 8 the jersey number is accompanied by— 9 (i) a logo or color scheme that is 10 clearly associated with the institution of 11 higher education; or 12 (ii) some other means by which the 13 jersey number is clearly associated with 14 the particular college athlete; and 15 (B) with respect to any college athlete or 16 former college athlete— 17 (i) the uniquely identifiable voice, 18 catch phrase, or nickname of the college 19 athlete; or 20 (ii) any other trademark that identi- 21 fies or distinguishes the college athlete. 22 (18) NAME.—The term ‘‘name’’, with respect to 23 a college athlete, means— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:51 Feb 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9033.IH H9033 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 9033 IH (A) the first name and last or family name 1 that identifies the college athlete; 2 (B) a nickname or a preferred name of the 3 college athlete; or 4 (C) a name that the college athlete uses to 5 identity the college athlete. 6 (19) REPORTING YEAR.—The term ‘‘reporting 7 year’’ means the time period covered by a report 8 submitted by an institution of higher education 9 under section 485(g) of the Higher Education Act of 10 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1092(g)). 11 (20) THIRD PARTY.—The term ‘‘third party’’ 12 means an individual or entity other than an institu- 13 tion of higher education, a conference, or an inter- 14 collegiate athletic association. 15 SEC. 3. COLLEGE ATHLETE RIGHTS AND PROTECTIONS. 16 (a) RIGHT TO MARKET NAME, IMAGE, LIKENESS, OR 17 ATHLETIC REPUTATION.— 18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to a limitation pur- 19 suant to paragraph (3), an institution of higher edu- 20 cation, an intercollegiate athletic association, or a 21 conference may not restrict the ability of college ath- 22 letes, individually or as a group, to market the use 23 of their names, images, likenesses, or athletic rep- 24 utations. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:51 Feb 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9033.IH H9033 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 9033 IH (2) GROUP LICENSING.—A person may not use 1 the name, image, likeness, or athletic reputation of 2 any member of a group described in paragraph (1) 3 to sell or promote any product unless the person ob- 4 tains a license from the group for that purpose. 5 (3) CERTAIN STATE LIMITATIONS PER- 6 MITTED.— 7 (A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding para- 8 graph (1), a State may prohibit college athletes 9 residing in the State from entering into en- 10 dorsement contracts with entities in a par- 11 ticular industry if the State also prohibits insti- 12 tutions of higher education located in the State 13 from entering into agreements with such enti- 14 ties. 15 (B) NOTIFICATION OF COLLEGE ATH- 16 LETES.—An institution of higher education 17 shall provide to each college athlete enrolled at 18 the institution of higher education a list of enti- 19 ties with which institutions of higher education 20 and college athletes are prohibited from enter- 21 ing into endorsement contracts pursuant to sub- 22 paragraph (A). 23 (4) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION 24 AGREEMENTS WITH THIRD PARTIES.—In conjunc- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:51 Feb 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9033.IH H9033 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 9033 IH tion with an endorsement contract of a college ath- 1 lete enrolled at a particular institution of higher 2 education, such institution of higher education may 3 enter into a separate agreement with the third party 4 concerned for the intellectual property rights or the 5 name, image, likeness, or athletic reputation rights 6 of the institution of higher education, including the 7 use of the logos and team uniforms of the institution 8 of higher education, if— 9 (A) the third party provides directly to the 10 college athlete concerned covered compensation 11 pursuant to the endorsement contract; and 12 (B) the agreement between the institution 13 of higher education and the third party is not 14 initiated or coordinated by the institution of 15 higher education. 16 (5) INSTITUTION-SPONSORED COMPETITION 17 AND PRACTICES.— 18 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 19 subparagraph (B), an institution of higher edu- 20 cation may require a college athlete to use, dur- 21 ing a competition or practice sponsored by the 22 institution of higher education, apparel selected 23 by the institution of higher education. 24 (B) EXCEPTIONS.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:51 Feb 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9033.IH H9033 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 9033 IH (i) ACTIVITIES OTHER THAN MANDA- 1 TORY TEAM ACTIVITIES.—An institution of 2 higher education may not prohibit, and 3 may not enter into a contract that pro- 4 hibits, a college athlete from carrying out 5 activities pursuant to an endorsement con- 6 tract during a period in which the college 7 athlete is not engaged in a mandatory 8 team activity. 9 (ii) FOOTWEAR.—An institution of 10 higher education may not prohibit or dis- 11 courage a college athlete from wearing 12 footwear of his or her choice during man- 13 datory team activities, unless the footwear 14 has lights, reflective fabric, or poses a 15 health risk to the college athlete. 16 (6) TREATMENT OF COMPENSATION, BENEFITS, 17 OR ROYALTIES PROVIDED TO COLLEGE ATHLETES.— 18 Covered compensation or commercial sports revenue 19 royalties— 20 (A) shall not be considered financial aid by 21 any institution of higher education, intercolle- 22 giate athletic association, conference, or third 23 party; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:51 Feb 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9033.IH H9033 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 9033 IH (B) notwithstanding section 480(j) of the 1 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 2 1087vv(j)), shall not be included as financial as- 3 sistance for purposes of determining a student’s 4 eligibility for financial assistance under title IV 5 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 6 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.). 7 (b) RIGHT TO COMPENSATION FOR EXPENSES.— 8 (1) IN GENERAL.—An institution of higher edu- 9 cation, an intercollegiate athletic association, or a 10 conference may not restrict the ability of a college 11 athlete to receive payment from any source for— 12 (A) transportation, room, or board for one 13 or more friends or family members of the col- 14 lege athlete during any period in which the col- 15 lege athlete is addressing a physical or mental 16 health concern or participating in intercollegiate 17 athletics competition; 18 (B) necessities, including food, shelter, 19 medical coverage, and medical expenses; or 20 (C) tuition, fees, books, transportation, or 21 any other incidental expense that is not other- 22 wise provided by an institution of higher edu- 23 cation. 24 (2) GRANTS-IN-AID GUARANTEES.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:51 Feb 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9033.IH H9033 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 9033 IH (A) Receipt of covered compensation pur- 1 suant to an endorsement contract shall not ad- 2 versely affect— 3 (i) a college athlete’s eligibility or op- 4 portunity to apply for a grant-in-aid; or 5 (ii) the amount, duration, or renewal 6 of a college athlete’s grant-in-aid. 7 (B) LIMITATION ON REVOCATION.—An in- 8 stitution of higher education may not revoke or 9 reduce a college athlete’s grant-in-aid based on 10 the college athlete having entered into an en- 11 dorsement contract. 12 (c) RIGHT TO AGENT REPRESENTATION.— 13 (1) IN GENERAL.—An institution of higher edu- 14 cation, an intercollegiate athletic association, or a 15 conference may not restrict the ability of a college 16 athlete to obtain agent representation with respect 17 to an endorsement contract, including— 18 (A) representation provided by college ath- 19 lete agents, group licensing entities, and finan- 20 cial advisors; and 21 (B) legal representation by attorneys. 22 (2) PREVENTING CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.— 23 An institution of higher education, an intercollegiate 24 athletic association, or a conference, or a business 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:51 Feb 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9033.IH H9033 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 9033 IH partner of an institution of higher education, [Text truncated for display. 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