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EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO SUCCEED AT YOUR FINGERTIPS

Get educated, informed, and entertained thanks to our resource hub with relevant news and answers to FAQS.

NIL TIMELINE

O’BANNON v. NCAA

2014-2015

Federal courts held that the NCAA's rules that prohibit NCAA athletes from being paid for the use of their NIL violate antitrust law. This was the firs time a federal court held that the NCAA's compensation rules violate antitrust law. As a remedy, schools were allowed to give athletic scholarships up to the value of the full cost of attendance at the respective school.

CALIFORNIA ENACTS THE FAIR PLAY TO PLAY ACT

2019

California was the first state to enact a state law that made it illegal for universities to prevent college athletes from being paid for the use of their NIL. When initially enacted, the law was set to go into effect in 2023.

FLORIDA ENACTS NIL LAW WITH 2021 EFFECTIVE DATE

2020

Florida passed a law like California's law that made it illegal for universities to prevent college athletes from being paid for the use of their NIL and that prohibited the NCAA from enforcing its rules preventing athletes from monetizing their NIL. But the Florida law had an effective date of July 1, 2021.

OTHER STATES ENACT NIL LAWS WITH 2021 EFFECTIVE DATE

2020-2021

After Florida passed its NIL law, many other states did the same and passed their own NIL laws with July 1, 2021 effective dates.

SUPREME COURT’S ALSTON DECISION

June 21, 2021

The Supreme Court held that NCAA rules that limited the educationally related benefits schools can provide to athletes violate antitrust law. As a result, schools were allowed to provide their athletes with unlimited educationally related benefits (computers, study abroad payments, internships, etc.) and annual academic and graduation incentive payments up to $5980 per year. The Alston decision did not relate to NCAA NIL rules, but it was another case that found NCAA compensation limits violate antitrust law.

NCAA ENACTS INTERIM NIL POLICY

June 30, 2021

Facing pressure from the July 1, 2021 effective date of the new state NIL law, and after having its ability to enforce compensation restrictions called into question by the Alston decision at the Supreme Court, the NCAA enacted its interim NIL policy. It allowed athletes to monetize their NILs, as long as NIL deals contain a quid pro quo (that is not athletic performance), are not used as recruiting inducements, and are not entered into between a school and an athlete.  This interim NIL policy is still in effect.

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