Tuberville, Manchin Ask Collectives for Feedback to Drive NIL Legislation

WASHINGTON — As a continuation of their effort to build consensus around bipartisan legislation related to name, image, and likeness (NIL), U.S. Senators Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) and Joe Manchin (D-WV) today asked athletic collectives across the country to provide input to the Senators’ ongoing work. In August, the Senators announced their intent to work on bipartisan NIL legislation that would be guided by stakeholder input and significant engagement with affected groups. The Senators previously solicited feedback from a broad range of stakeholders, including university athletic directors, administrators, associations, and student-athlete groups. The feedback received thus far overwhelmingly requested Senators Tuberville and Manchin address the role of collectives in the NIL landscape, among other things.

Collectives, while independent from the institutions they support, are entities designed to pool funds from private donors to maximize NIL’s impact on the recruitment and retention of college athletes. The letter sent today is the latest step in the Senators’ joint efforts to use comprehensive input to guide discussions on a legislative path forward that protects student athletes across the country. Senators Tuberville and Manchin will combine the feedback received from collectives with the information already submitted by dozens of other leaders and groups.  

“Last month our Senate offices solicited input and feedback from a broad range of interested stakeholders on priorities for potential federal NIL legislation.  The response to our solicitation was robust, and we appreciate the respondents’ thoughtful submissions.  Notably, more than seventy percent of the commenters recommended that any future legislation address the issue of whether and how to regulate, control, or ban collectives,” the Senators wrote.

“In our August letter, we set forth our priorities for a legislative solution: to protect student-athletes, ensure fair competition and compensation, and preserve the time-honored traditions of college sports.  We welcome your input as to how your organization advances these goals and how any potential legislation could provide a regulatory structure for your organization.”

Read the full text of the letter here.