Name, image and likeness trigger law approved to give Louisiana colleges more clout

The Louisiana House of Representatives carried a trigger law over the finish line that would immediately allow universities more involvement in athletes’ name, image and likeness (NIL) deals if federal law or NCAA regulations allow it. 

Senate Bill 465 by Sen. Kirk Talbot, R-River Ridge, unanimously passed the House and now only needs the governor’s signature to become law. Talbot brought the bill at the request of LSU, which stands to benefit the most as the state’s sole school in a Power Five athletic conference. 

Talbot touted the bill as a way to keep Louisiana’s college teams competitive. 

The NCAA recently adopted a rule that allows schools to identify and help facilitate NIL deals for its athletes. It goes into effect Aug. 2. 

Talbot’s bill would also allow schools and affiliated individuals to directly engage in NIL deals if the NCAA, federal government or a court decision allows them to do so. For example, that would allow LSU to provide direct payments to its national-champion gymnasts for appearing on a billboard promoting the university. 

The emergence of name, image and likeness in the past few years has changed the landscape of college athletics, allowing players to tap into a multi-billion dollar industry that benefits from their unpaid labor. 

NIL has remained extremely controversial, with many fans believing it and the transfer portal, which allows student-athletes to easily switch schools, have changed college sports for the worse.

Talbot’s proposal would also make financial literacy classes an annual requirement for college student-athletes. Currently, they only need to take a single class between their first and third academic years, though the bill reduces the minimum time length of these classes from five hours to two and a half hours. 

LSU athletes have ranked among the top-valued NIL athletes. Former women’s basketball player Angel Reese, who was a first-round draft choice in the WNBA, had an NIL valuation of $1.7 million .Gymnastics star and online influencer Livvy Dunne had a valuation of $3.5 million, USA Today reported. 

A series of lawsuits related to name, image and likeness are working their way through the federal courts that could further alter what some have called the “wild, wild west” of college athletics. 

The NCAA and its schools are on the brink of approving a landmark settlement to these suits that could bring nearly $3 billion in restitution to former athletes for uncompensated use of their name, image and likeness. Schools will be expected to pay $1.1 billion of the damages, with the Power Five conferences funding about $664 million, Yahoo Sports reported.

The series of lawsuits could push schools toward revenue sharing, LSU athletics officials have predicted. Talbot’s bill does not address revenue sharing.