Why state legislature is considering repeal of NIL law to help Alabama, Auburn recruiting

The Alabama Legislature is moving to repeal a law allowing college athletes to earn money off their name, image and likeness (NIL). But that won't stop college athletes from making deals.

A House committee on Wednesday approved a bill sponsored by Rep. Kyle South, R-Fayette, that would get rid of the 2021 law. South said in a phone interview Friday the NCAA’s decision last year to allow college athletes to make deals off NIL meant Alabama’s law was more restrictive, and that there were concerns about the state's top-tier colleges staying competitive in recruitment.

"There tends to be a thought a process that Texas and Michigan have had an advantage in the fall," South said. "Going into this upcoming recruiting season, we just didn’t want any conflict to be there."

Following the lead of several other states, including California and Florida, Gov. Kay Ivey signed a law in the spring of 2021 allowing athletes in Alabama to receive compensation for use of their name, image or likeness. The law went into effect on July 1.

That June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the NCAA’s restriction on education-related benefits violated anti-trust laws. On June 28, days before Alabama’s law went into effect, the NCAA issued an interim rule that allowed athletes to make NIL deals, though it continues to ban direct payments to athletes. The NCAA said athletes should follow the NIL laws in their states, but added that students playing in states without NIL laws could follow their guidance.

“We filed it pretty much the same as what the state of Florida had adopted,” South said. “When summer came, the NCAA adopted a standard of their own. The state law we had put in place was more restricted than what NCAA put in their bylaws.”

Rep. Kyle South gives his vote from the gallery at the Alabama State House in Montgomery, Ala., on Thursday, May 7, 2020.
Rep. Kyle South gives his vote from the gallery at the Alabama State House in Montgomery, Ala., on Thursday, May 7, 2020.

Both the University of Alabama and Auburn University support passage of the bill. The University of Alabama said in a statement Friday that its focus was on “its student-athletes’ best interests” and that the university supports “appropriate solutions that enhance their opportunities for success.”

“Consistent with this approach, UA supports the passage of HB76 as a productive next step in a rapidly evolving landscape of name, image, and likeness issues,” the statement said.

Auburn University said in a statement that it "fully supports broad opportunities for the success of our student athletes."

"The landscape with regard to NIL is constantly changing and as a result our state’s approach to it may need to change as well," the statement said.

The bill will move to the full House of Representatives for consideration. A vote on the legislation could come as early as Tuesday.

Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Brian Lyman at 334-240-0185 or blyman@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn, Alabama recruiting could benefit from repeal of NIL law in state