SPORTS Act Guarantees 4 Years of Post-Grad Medical Care for College Athletes, Sets Federal NIL Rules

The new Student-athlete Protections and Opportunities through Rights, Transparency, and Safety Act—the SPORTS Act—is essentially the federal government stepping in to set the rules for college sports, specifically around Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deals. It’s a huge shift that gives student-athletes concrete rights while also giving colleges and athletic associations some significant legal shields.

The Right to Get Paid (With Caveats)

For the student-athlete, the core takeaway is simple: schools, conferences, and the NCAA can no longer block you from signing deals to use your name, face, or likeness commercially (Sec. 3). This levels the playing field for athletes who want to monetize their brand. However, there’s a catch that’s worth noting: the school can still restrict your eligibility if your NIL deal “negatively hurts the reputation or public image of the school.” That’s a pretty subjective standard that gives institutions a lot of wiggle room to shut down deals they don’t like, even if the deal is otherwise legitimate. If you sign a deal, you have 60 days to report the details to your school, and they generally have to keep that information private.

Long-Term Security: Medical Bills and Diplomas

This bill introduces two massive changes that directly impact an athlete’s financial security long after they leave campus (Sec. 7). First, schools must now pay for all medical bills related to any injury an athlete sustained while playing for a varsity team for four full years after they graduate or leave the school. Think about the peace of mind that gives a former football player dealing with chronic knee pain or a gymnast managing a lingering back injury—the school is responsible for covering those costs. Second, if a student receives a grant-in-aid (scholarship), the school can’t cut or reduce it due to poor performance, injury, or even roster management decisions. Even better, that grant must remain available for degree completion for ten years from the start date, meaning if an athlete leaves school early or stops playing, they have a decade to return and finish their degree on the school’s dime.

Creating a Fair Market for NIL Deals

One of the biggest questions in the NIL world is: What’s a deal actually worth? The SPORTS Act tries to fix this transparency problem (Sec. 6). Every year, colleges must report anonymized data—the services performed and the money paid—for every NIL deal to the interstate athletic association (like the NCAA). The association then has to use this data to create a public, searchable database that helps everyone figure out the “fair market value” for specific NIL agreements. This is huge for the athlete trying to negotiate their first deal; they’ll have concrete data, not just guesswork, to back up their asking price.

The Federal Hammer: Preemption and Protection

This is where the bill gets heavy-handed. The Act includes a sweeping preemption clause (Sec. 9). This means that any state or local law that tries to regulate athlete pay, employment status, or NIL deals in a way that conflicts with this federal law is immediately nullified. This is a big win for the athletic associations because it wipes out the patchwork of state laws they currently struggle to navigate. On the flip side, it also explicitly states that a student athlete is not considered an employee of their school or conference just because they play a varsity sport, regardless of what any state law might say.

Furthermore, the bill grants significant liability protection to the colleges, conferences, and associations (Sec. 8). If they follow the rules laid out in this Act—especially rules limiting pay or restricting eligibility based on the Act’s provisions—they are shielded from lawsuits. Basically, if they play by the new federal rules, they get a 'Get Out of Jail Free' card against certain types of litigation, which may incentivize them to adopt the most restrictive rules the Act allows.