Syracuse, N.Y. (NCC News) — If you’ve been following college sports lately, you’ve heard NIL everywhere you turn. NIL, short for Name, Image, and Likeness, lets student-athletes get paid for endorsements, sponsorships, and personal branding. But now, Congress is getting involved to standardize the rules across all states.
That’s where the SCORE Act – Student Compensation and Opportunity through Rights and Endorsements – comes in. It’s a proposed federal law designed to level the playing field by creating one set of NIL rules for everyone.
Dave Meluni, a Syracuse University professor and NIL expert, teaches one of the only college NIL classes in the country. “The act is something that’s trying to be put into federal law. That then eliminates all these state laws when it comes to NIL, which provides some recruiting advantages for some schools over others.”
In other words, if passed, no more uneven competition just because your school happens to be in a more NIL-friendly state.
The act also aims to preserve non-revenue and Olympic sports. As Meluni points out, “If our institution generates more than $20 million in revenue, they have to… support 16 intercollegiate athletic teams, because we don’t want to eliminate any Olympic sports.”
That’s a key safeguard, since schools under financial pressure might otherwise cut sports outside of football and basketball.
Former Syracuse basketball player Kyra Wood sees the benefit in bringing everyone together under one rulebook.
“I think that it’s a good thing to get everybody kind of on the same page… I think it’s a good foundation for what NIL looks like in the future and what athletes could possibly maximize off of if they knew about how to do it, what to do, who to talk to.”
Of course, there’s still debate. Meluni admits that while the act is about protecting athletes, it’s also about protecting the NCAA from antitrust lawsuits.
Right now, the act is tabled. But it’s still a hot topic in Washington, DC, and college campuses around the nation.
Bottom line: the SCORE Act isn’t law yet, but if passed, it could reshape the college sports landscape, making NIL simpler, fairer, and hopefully more sustainable for athletes across the board.