NIL agents in Louisiana now have to register; high school rules take effect soon

Anyone who helps student-athletes negotiate name, image and likeness deals in Louisiana now has to register with the state. 

The requirement took effect last month after Gov. Jeff Landry signed Act 895. The new law, authored by  Sen. Patrick Connick, R-Marrero, expands Louisiana’s existing sports agent registry to include anyone who represents student-athletes in NIL sponsorship deals. 

It also requires those agents to pass a background check and complete a training program before they can register with the state attorney general’s office. 

The attorney general was also given the power to pursue civil penalties against agents who harm student-athletes. The law also includes criminal consequences for agents who fail to comply with its requirements, including fines up to $10,000 and as much as five years in prison. 

“Louisiana’s student-athletes deserve advocates who operate with integrity, transparency, and their best interests at heart. [Act 895] gives my office the tools to ensure that those who seek to profit from our athletes are held to rigorous standards of conduct,” Attorney General Liz Murrill said in a news release. 

The measure was recommended by a legislative study committee formed last year that offered suggestions to protect student-athletes in the new college sports landscape. 

In 2021, the NCAA gave its approval for amateur student-athletes to monetize and market their personal brand with sponsorship deals. Since then, high school athletes have also started to reach NIL deals. 

The study committee also recommended the legislature create a law to regulate NIL at the high school level. 

Act 810 by Rep. Rashid Young, D-Homer, takes effect Aug. 1. It prohibits K-12 schools from preventing athletes from earning income from their NIL, but it also sets up some guardrails. Parents have to give consent for their minor children to sign NIL sponsorships, and athletes cannot strike deals with certain industries, such as adult entertainment, gambling and alcoholic beverage companies. Similar prohibitions already exist for college athletes in Louisiana. 

Young’s legislation also allows schools to prohibit students from engaging in NIL-related work during school hours and school-related events.