H.R. 4312

119th CONGRESS 1st Session

To protect the name, image, and likeness rights of student athletes and to promote fair competition with respect to intercollegiate athletics, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES · July 10, 2025 · Sponsor: Mr. Bilirakis

H.R. 4312

SEC. 1. Short title

This Act may be cited as the or the .

SEC. 2. Definitions

In this Act:
- The term — agent
- The term antitrust laws has the meaning given such term in the 1st section of the Clayton Act () and section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act () to the extent that such section 5 applies to unfair methods of competition. 15 U.S.C. 12; 15 U.S.C. 45
- The term associated entity or individual means, with respect to an institution—
- The term college sports revenue means any revenue (without regard to ownership or legal title to such revenue) received by an institution with respect to intercollegiate athletics—
- The term — compensation
- The term conference means an entity that—
- The term — cost of attendance
- The term grant-in-aid means a scholarship, grant, stipend, or other form of financial assistance, including the provision of tuition, room, board, books, or funds for fees or personal expenses, that—
- The term image means, with respect to a student athlete, a picture or a video that identifies, is linked to, or is reasonably linkable to such student athlete.
- The term has the same meaning given the term in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (). institution,institution of higher education 20 U.S.C. 1001
- The term intercollegiate athletic competition means any contest, game, meet, match, tournament, regatta, or other event in which varsity sports teams of more than 1 institution compete.
- The term — intercollegiate athletics
- The term interstate intercollegiate athletic association means—
- The term likeness means, with respect to a student athlete, a physical or digital depiction or representation that identifies, is linked to, or is reasonably linkable to such student athlete.
- The term name means, with respect to a student athlete, the first, middle, or last name, or the nickname or former name, of such student athlete if used in a context that identifies, is linked to, or is reasonably linkable to such student athlete.
- The term name, image, and likeness agreement means a contract or similar agreement under which a student athlete licenses or authorizes, or a contract or similar agreement that otherwise is in relation to, the commercial use of the name, image, or likeness of the student athlete.
- The term name, image, and likeness rights means rights recognized under Federal or State law that allow an individual to control and profit from the commercial use of the name, image, and likeness of such individual, including all rights commonly referred to as . The term means rights recognized under Federal or State law that allow an individual to control and profit from the commercial use of the name, image, and likeness of such individual, including all rights commonly referred to as . publicity rights
- The term pool limit means a dollar amount based on college sports revenue that—
- The term prohibited compensation means—
- The term prospective student athlete means an individual who is solicited to enroll at an institution by, or at the direction of, an employee or an associated entity or individual of the institution in order for such individual to participate in a varsity sports team of such institution.
- The term State means each State of the United States, the District of Columbia, and each commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States.
- The term student athlete means an individual who—
- The term varsity sports team means an entity composed of an individual or group of individuals enrolled at an institution that is organized by such institution for the purpose of participation in intercollegiate athletic competitions.

SEC. 3. Protection of name, image, and likeness rights of student athletes

(a) Right To enter into name, image, and likeness agreements
- (1) In general
  - No institution, conference, or interstate intercollegiate athletic association may restrict the ability of a student athlete to enter into a name, image, and likeness agreement.
- (2) Exceptions
  - (A) Prohibited compensation
    - Paragraph (1) does not apply with respect to a name, image, and likeness agreement to the extent such agreement provides prohibited compensation.
  - (B) Codes of conduct and conflicting agreements
    - Notwithstanding paragraph (1), an institution may restrict the ability of a student athlete of such institution (including a prospective student athlete who has agreed to attend such institution) to enter into a name, image, and likeness agreement that—
      - (i) violates the code of conduct of such institution; or
      - (ii) conflicts with the terms of a contract or similar agreement to which such institution is a party.
(b) Right to representation
- Except as provided by this Act, no institution, conference, or interstate intercollegiate athletic association may restrict the ability of a student athlete to obtain an agent.
(c) Right to privacy
- Except as provided by this Act, no institution, conference, or interstate intercollegiate athletic association may release information disclosed to such entity by a student athlete with respect to a name, image, and likeness agreement without the express written consent of such student athlete.

SEC. 4. Sports Agent Responsibility and Trust Act

The Sports Agent Responsibility and Trust Act () is amended— 15 U.S.C. 7801 et seq.
- in section 3(b)(3), by striking Warning to Student Athlete: If you agree orally or in writing to be represented by an agent now or in the future you may lose your eligibility to compete as a student athlete in your sport.and inserting Notice to Student Athlete:; and
  - (a) In general
    - An athlete agent who assists a student athlete with an endorsement contract shall disclose in writing to the student athlete—
      - whether the athlete agent is registered with an interstate intercollegiate athletic association (as defined in section 2 of the SCORE Act); and
      - if the athlete agent is registered with an interstate intercollegiate athletic association, whether the athlete agent is registered with the interstate intercollegiate athletic association that has as a member the institution (as defined in section 2 of the SCORE Act) at which the student athlete is enrolled.
  - (b) Consent
    - In the case of an athlete agent who is not registered with an interstate intercollegiate athletic association, the athlete agent may only assist a student athlete with an endorsement contract if the student athlete (or, in the case of a student athlete who is under 18 years of age, the parent or guardian of the student athlete) provides to the athlete agent written consent for such assistance after receiving the disclosure under subsection (a).
  - (c) Enforcement
    - (1) In general
      - If an attorney general of a State has reason to believe that an interest of the residents of that State has been or is threatened or adversely affected by the engagement of any athlete agent in a practice that violates this section, the attorney general may bring a civil action pursuant to section 5 in the same manner as the attorney general may bring a civil action with respect to a violation of section 3.
    - (2) Sole authority
      - No individual or entity other than an attorney general of a State may enforce this section.
    - (3) No Federal notice necessary
      - Subsections (a)(2), (b), and (d) of section 5 do not apply to an action brought by an attorney general of a State pursuant to this subsection.
- by adding at the end the following:

SEC. 5. Requirements applicable to certain institutions

(a) Requirements
- An institution described in subsection (c) shall—
  - provide comprehensive academic support and career counseling services to student athletes that include life skills development programs with respect to—
    - mental health, including alcohol and substance abuse;
    - strength and conditioning;
    - nutrition;
    - name, image, and likeness rights, including related legal advice;
    - financial literacy, including taxes;
    - career readiness and counseling;
    - the process for transferring between institutions; and
    - sexual violence prevention;
  - provide medical and health benefits to student athletes that include—
    - medical care, including payment of out-of-pocket expenses, for an injury of a student athlete incurred during the involvement of such student athlete in intercollegiate athletics for such institution that is available to the student athlete during the period of enrollment of the student athlete with such institution and a period of at least 3 years following graduation or separation from such institution (unless such separation is due to violation of a code of conduct);
    - mental health services and support, including mental health educational materials and resources;
    - an administrative structure that provides independent medical care, including with respect to decisions regarding return to play; and
    - a certification of insurance coverage for medical expenses resulting from injuries of student athletes incurred during the involvement of such student athletes in intercollegiate athletics for such institution;
  - maintain a grant-in-aid provided to a student athlete in relation to the involvement of such student athlete in intercollegiate athletics during the period of that grant-in-aid for such institution without regard to—
    - athletic performance;
    - contribution to team success;
    - injury, illness, or physical or mental condition; or
    - receipt of compensation pursuant to a name, image, and likeness agreement;
  - provide a degree completion program—
    - for each former student athlete of such institution who received a grant-in-aid from such institution and did not graduate from such institution; and
    - that provides financial aid to such former student athlete in an amount that is based on the average annual grant-in-aid provided to such former student athlete during the period that such former student athlete participated on a varsity sports team of the institution; and
  - establish, not later than July 1, 2027, and thereafter maintain, at least 16 varsity sports teams.
(b) Collaboration
- An institution may carry out subsection (a) in conjunction with a conference or interstate intercollegiate athletic association.
(c) Applicability
- An institution is described in this subsection if any member of the coaching staff of a varsity sports team of such institution earns more than $250,000 in base salary annually (as adjusted on July 1 each year by the percentage increase (if any), during the preceding 12-month period, in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics).

SEC. 6. Roles of interstate intercollegiate athletic associations

An interstate intercollegiate athletic association is authorized to establish and enforce rules with respect to—
- requiring a student athlete or prospective student athlete to disclose, in a timely manner, the terms of a name, image, and likeness agreement entered into by such student athlete;
- establishing and implementing a process to collect and publicly share aggregated and anonymized data related to the name, image, and likeness agreements of student athletes;
- prohibited compensation, including processes for dispute resolution and penalties, if such rules provide that a student athlete does not lose eligibility to compete in intercollegiate athletic competitions while a process for dispute resolution is ongoing;
- setting parameters for the manner in which and the time period during which student athletes and prospective student athletes may be recruited for intercollegiate athletics;
- calculating a pool limit, if such rules provide that such pool limit is at least 22 percent of the average annual college sports revenue of the 70 highest earning (with respect to such revenue) member institutions of such interstate intercollegiate athletic association (or, if such interstate intercollegiate athletic association has fewer than 70 members, the average annual college sports revenue of all members), and monitoring payments of compensation related to such pool limit;
- setting parameters for the manner in which a student athlete may transfer between institutions, if such rules provide that—
  - on at least 1 occasion each student athlete may transfer between institutions and be immediately eligible; and
  - an institution to which a student athlete is transferring or is considering transferring shall provide to such student athlete, at the request of such student athlete, in writing and at a reasonable time prior to completion of the transfer, a notice of the previously earned academic credits of such student athlete that such institution will accept, including with respect to the program of study of such student athlete;
- the eligibility of a student athlete to participate in intercollegiate athletics, such as rules with respect to the length of time a student athlete is eligible to compete and academic standards for eligibility;
- establishing and implementing a process for agent registration, including—
  - setting parameters for the ability of member institutions to negotiate with agents who are not registered under such process; and
  - limiting the amount of the compensation under a name, image, and likeness agreement between a student athlete and an institution that may be provided to the agent of such student athlete to not more than 5 percent of such compensation;
- the membership of, and participation in, such interstate intercollegiate athletic association, including any championships administered by such interstate intercollegiate athletic association, under which such interstate intercollegiate athletic association may establish membership qualifications, remove members, and otherwise regulate participation; and
- intercollegiate athletic competitions and playing seasons, including rules with respect to season length, maximum number of contests, and student athlete time demands (whether during a playing season or outside of such season).

SEC. 7. Liability limitation

Compliance with this Act and the adoption of, agreement to, compliance with, or enforcement of any rule, regulation, requirement, standard, or other provision established pursuant to, or in compliance with, this Act shall be treated as lawful under the antitrust laws and any similar State law, rule, regulation, requirement, standard, or other provision having the force and effect of law.

SEC. 8. Employment standing

Notwithstanding any other provision of Federal or State law, no individual may be considered an employee of an institution, a conference, or an interstate intercollegiate athletic association based on the participation of such individual on a varsity sports team or in an intercollegiate athletic competition as a student athlete, without regard to the existence of rules or requirements for being a member of such team or for participating in such competition.

SEC. 9. Student athletic fees

(a) Transparency requirements
- (1) Information dissemination activities
  - Section 485(a)(1)(E) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 () is amended by inserting after . 20 U.S.C. 1092(a)(1)(E)
- (2) Data required
  - (A) In general
    - Section 485(g) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 () is amended— 20 U.S.C. 1092(g)
      - (i) in paragraph (1), by adding at the end the following:
        
        With respect to fees charged to students to support intercollegiate athletic programs—
        
        (i) the total amount of such fees charged to students;
        
        (ii) the uses of such fees with respect to facilities, operating expenses, scholarships, payments to athletes, salaries of coaches and support staff, and any other expenses reported under this paragraph; and
        
        (iii) the percentage of the total cost of such programs covered by such fees.
      - (ii) in paragraph (3)—
      - by striking the period at the end and inserting ;
      - by striking and inserting the following:
        
        that—
        
        all students
        
        with respect to the information described in paragraph (1)(K), the institution shall annually publish such information on a publicly available website of the institution not later than October 15 following the end of each fiscal year of the institution.
      - by adding at the end the following:
  - (B) Effective date
    - The amendments made by subparagraph (A) shall take effect and apply beginning on July 1, 2026.
(b) Restricting student fees for high-Media-Rights-Revenue institutions
- (1) Media rights revenues
  - Section 485(g)(1)(I)(ii) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 () is amended by striking broadcast revenuesand inserting media rights revenues (including revenues from broadcasting, streaming, or digital distribution of intercollegiate athletic events). 20 U.S.C. 1092(a)(1)(I)(ii)
- (2) Program participation agreements
  - Section 487(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 () is amended by adding at the end the following: 20 U.S.C. 1094(a)
    - In the case of an institution that, for the most recently completed fiscal year, had annual media rights revenues (as described in section 485(g)(1)(I)(ii)) of $50,000,000 or more, the institution will not, for the fiscal year immediately following such fiscal year, use student fees to support intercollegiate athletic programs, including with respect to facilities, operating expenses (as defined in section 485(g)), scholarships, payments to athletes, salaries of coaches and support staff, and any other expenses reported under section 485(g)(1).
- (3) Effective date
  - The amendments made by this subsection shall take effect and apply beginning on July 1, 2026.

SEC. 10. Preemption

No State, or political subdivision of a State, may maintain, enforce, prescribe, or continue in effect any law, rule, regulation, requirement, standard, or other provision having the force and effect of law that—
- governs or regulates the compensation, payment, benefits, employment status, or eligibility of a student athlete (including a prospective student athlete) with respect to participation in intercollegiate athletics, including any law, rule, regulation, requirement, standard, or other provision that relates to the right of a student athlete to receive compensation or other payments or benefits directly or indirectly from any institution, associated entity or individual, conference, or interstate intercollegiate athletic association;
- limits or restricts a right provided to an institution, a conference, or an interstate intercollegiate athletic association under this Act;
- requires a release of or license to use the name, image, and likeness rights of any individual participant, or group of participants, in an intercollegiate athletic competition (or an individual spectator or group of spectators at an intercollegiate athletic competition) for purposes of audio-visual, audio, or visual broadcasts or other distributions of such intercollegiate athletic competition; or
- is otherwise related to this Act.