Gov. Stitt signs Oklahoma NIL bill
Here’s what it means for OU and OSU
NORMAN — Gov. Kevin Stitt signed a bill Tuesday that allows universities to directly pay student athletes for name, image and likeness, should NCAA or federal laws change to allow it. The bill also outlines protections for student-athletes and universities alike.
Senate Bill 1786 was authored by Sen. Kristen Thompson (R-Edmond) and Rep. Chris Kannady (R-Oklahoma City) and co-authored by Rep. Jared Deck (D-Norman). The measure sailed through the House Higher Education Committee.
In the case of an NCAA or federal decision, the statute is now set for schools to adapt in the state. The bill more broadly prohibits penalties on athletes for receiving NIL deals or payments and states that NIL deals cannot take away from or cause issues with grantin-aid, or scholarships, for studentathletes.
“I’m grateful that the governor recognizes our universities’ innovative and forward-thinking approach to the everchanging landscape that is college athletics,” Deck told The Oklahoman on Tuesday.
The bill does not allow athletic associations or conferences to penalize a student-athlete for engaging in NIL deals or penalize an institution for the participation of a student-athlete engaging in NIL deals.
The bill outlines that student-athletes are not considered employees of a higher education institution. The bill reads that student-athletes cannot agree to NIL deals that go against written policy of the university or impacts the university in a negative way, such as bringing embarrassment, public disrepute, scandal, ridicule or otherwise negatively impacting the reputation of the university of its athletics.
The bill also allows universities to provide “reasonable” time, place and manner restrictions on NIL deals so as to not interfere with team activities. The bill did not define what is considered reasonable.
The bill does not allow gifts or money to be given or promised to student-athletes or their families to recruit the athlete to enroll at a certain university. However, this rule does not apply to any university or to an employee of that university operating in accordance with written policy of the university, any award given by private or public institution of the university, scholarships, any gift or promise of money that “conforms” with the written policy of the university or any gift below $100.
Last year, the Oklahoma Legislature overrode Stitt’s veto of Senate Bill 840, which was enacted last May. Stitt vetoed the bill when he vowed last session to veto any senate bill that came across his desk amid a battle over education and tax reform policy.
Oklahoma joins Arkansas, Colorado, Missouri, New York and Texas as states that have introduced or passed similar bills. The passage also allows athletic departments to support preferred collectives and prohibits athletic associations or conferences from prohibiting a university or its third-party collective from supporting or facilitating opportunities for a student-athlete to earn compensation for their NIL.
Crimson and Cream serves as OU’s official collective and wrapped up its $2 million membership challenge where it grew its membership base with 791 new members, unlocking a total contribution of $750,000 for the Sooners’ studentathletes.
Oklahoma State’s NIL collective, Pokes with a Purpose, is currently in the middle of a fundraising drive, Pete’s Incredibly Huge Season Ticket Raffle. Entry includes free items along with a raffle ticket for football and basketball ticket giveaways.
The NCAA has struggled to keep up in its rules enforcement as many states have passed NIL laws covering studentathletes within their jurisdictions.
Last week, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed a first-of-its-kind bill allowing state colleges and universities to directly pay athletes through NIL deals, which will take effect on July 1. On the same day, Notre Dame was charged with violating Section 8 of the National Labor Relations Act by allegedly misclassifying athletes as “student-athletes” instead of employees. On Feb. 5, the National Labor Relations Board ruled that Dartmouth University’s men’s basketball players, who attempted to unionize, are employees of the university.
With it seemingly becoming more and more common for athletes to be recruited away from schools for financial inducements, it’s vital for programs to compete in the NIL space to attract top talent.
“Student-athletes have been providing their labor to the NCAA and their schools for decades while being barred from making money on their own talent and hard work,” Deck said. “Athletics is the only industry where we prevent a student from using their skill and work ethic to make money simply because they’re on a scholarship.”