Sports

Tennessee Signs NIL Law

The Volunteer State's law contains a broad exclusion that will allow a university to prohibit an athlete's involvement in NIL activities 'that are reasonably considered to be in conflict with the values of the institution.'

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Tennessee has become the 15th state to have its governor sign a college athlete name, image, and likeness (NIL) bill into law and will require colleges to provide such rights to their athletes as of July 1, 2022.

The law does not allow an institution, or an officer, director, or employee of the institution to be involved in the development, operation, or promotion of a current or prospective intercollegiate athlete’s NIL, including actions that compensate or cause compensation to be provided to athletes. Additionally, the law prohibits an entity whose purpose includes supporting or benefiting the institution or athletic program from compensating or causing compensation to be provided to such individuals. This provision is similar to those found in the other laws on this subject matter, set to be effective as of July 1.

Tennessee’s law contains a broad exclusion that will allow a university to prohibit an athlete’s involvement in NIL activities “that are reasonably considered to be in conflict with the values of the institution.” Furthermore, the law carves out the ability for athletes to promote companies involved in gambling, tobacco, alcohol, and adult entertainment.

As with other states’ NIL laws, Tennessee will grant athletes the ability to be represented by sports agents and attorneys who are properly licensed in the state. It also takes an important element from Florida’s legislation, which requires all institutions to conduct a financial literacy workshop for athletes during their first full-time term of enrollment. It differs from Florida’s law in that there is no requirement for the instruction to once again be provided during the athlete’s enrollment at a university.

It is becoming very clear that states with schools in the Southeastern Conference feel compelled to pass NIL legislation and input an effective date that is the same or in proximity to the laws that have already been signed. States like Kentucky, Missouri, and Texas could be soon passing similar legislation.

Darren Heitner is the founder of Heitner Legal. He is the author of How to Play the Game: What Every Sports Attorney Needs to Know, published by the American Bar Association, and is an adjunct professor at the University of Florida Levin College of Law. You can reach him by email at heitner@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter at @DarrenHeitner.

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