NC Senate introduces bill to allow college athletes to profit off name, image and likeness
Mar. 19—RALEIGH — Senators Wiley Nickel (D-Cary), Paul Lowe (D-Winston-Salem) and Natalie Murdock (D-Durham) introduced SB 324 into the North Carolina Senate Thursday to allow college athletes to profit from the use of their name, image and likeness.
"The old system where athletes had to play for the 'love of the game' while the NCAA and universities reap huge profits off their hard work is quickly ending," Nickel said. "It's critical that North Carolina stay ahead of the curve to make sure our college athletics programs remain the best in the country."
"If a member of the band on a college campus can record music and sell that music as intellectual property and not be in any violation, a college athlete should have the same privilege to sell an image of themselves on a t-shirt if they so choose," Lowe said.
Several other states have introduced similar legislation, including California, the first to do so in Sept. 2019. A bipartisan bill has also been introduced in U.S. Congress.
"This is not only the just and equitable thing to do, but it also keeps North Carolina universities on equal footing with other states like California in competing for top talent for our athletics programs," Nickel said.
