, which was initially introduced in 2021 by former Ohio State football player Anthony Gonzalez during his time as a Representative, would establish the Covered Athletic Organization Commission, which would make recommendations to Congress and NCAA schools on implementing NIL rules, creating a process for certifying or recognizing credentialed agents and establishing an independent dispute resolution process for disputes between athletes and the NCAA or schools.
The act would stipulate that schools cannot prohibit athletes from entering into endorsement deals but would ban boosters from using NIL deals as inducements for recruits to attend specific schools. The bill was amended by Carey and Landsman to also create a clearinghouse for NIL deals overseen by the Federal Trade Commission. Athletes and agents who represent them would be required to disclose any deals worth more than $500 within 72 hours of signing an agreement.
Smith has been a proponent of allowing college athletes to sign endorsement deals since before the NCAA eliminated the ban on athletes benefitting from their names, images and likenesses in July 2021. Smith was the co-chair of an NCAA working group from 2019-21 that created recommendations for how the NCAA should move forward with allowing NIL benefits.
Those recommendations did not become legislation, however, and Smith has repeatedly said he believes there needs to be “guardrails” around NIL to prevent the recruiting inducements that have become rampant throughout college sports since the NIL ban ended two years ago. Smith believes Congressional legislation is the key to properly regulating NIL, as the laws that currently govern NIL vary from state to state.. “I don't think the NCAA is the answer in this particular case.