# Student Athlete Level Playing Field Act

This bill would allow college athletes to make money from endorsement deals without losing their eligibility to play sports. Right now, many athletic organizations and colleges ban athletes from signing endorsement contracts—deals where companies pay them to use their name, image, or likeness in advertising. This bill says that has to stop.

Here's what would change: A college athlete could sign a contract with Nike, a local restaurant, a video game company, or any other business to promote their products, and the college couldn't punish them by benching them or taking away their athletic scholarships. The athlete could also hire an agent to help negotiate these deals. However, there are limits—colleges could still ban athletes from endorsing tobacco products, alcohol, marijuana, adult entertainment businesses, or gambling operations. If a college bans athletes from endorsing one of these restricted categories, the college itself also couldn't sign sponsorship deals with those same types of businesses. This creates a fairness rule: colleges can't hold athletes to stricter standards than they hold themselves.

The bill also cracks down on "boosters"—wealthy supporters of athletic programs who sometimes try to pay athletes directly to attend their school. This would become illegal. Additionally, the bill creates a special commission to study how these new rules should work and make recommendations to Congress over the next three years. The Federal Trade Commission would enforce the law, treating violations like consumer fraud. The bill also prevents individual states from creating their own conflicting rules, so there would be one national standard instead of a patchwork of different state laws.

Student Athlete Level Playing Field Act

Gonzalez, Anthony

Student Athlete Level Playing Field Act This bill generally prohibits an institution of higher education or a covered athletic organization (e.g., an athletic association, a conference, or an organization with authority over intercollegiate athletics) from restricting the ability of a student athlete to enter into an endorsement or agency contract, with exceptions. It also provides for enforcement by the Federal Trade Commission, preempts state laws relating to endorsement or agency contracts, and establishes the Covered Athletic Organization Commission.