On the final day of the 2024 Utah legislative sesssion, lawmakers passed a bill aimed at controlling the name, image and likeness system used by colleges and universities to recruit athletes. Under the National Collegiate Athletics Association’s so-called NIL rules, entities loosely connected to the schools can arrange payments to encourage student-athletes to join the teams they support.
Under Utah’s new law, expected to be signed by Gov. Spencer Cox, Utah’s college athletes who are looking to profit off their name, image and likeness will have to seek written approval from their schools for any business deal exceeding $600. The policy giving Utah universities more control over student-athletes’ marketing partnerships passed by a 21-7 vote in the state Senate on the final day of the session after the House approved it earlier in January with little opposition.
Under the measure, universities will be required to provide written acknowledgment on whether an NIL deal conflicts with the school’s policies or the standards outlined in the bill.
Starting May 1, student-athletes will be prohibited from promoting alcohol, marijuana, controlled substances or tobacco products such as e-cigarettes and vaping products. Gambling and sports-betting are off-limits too, as are “sexually oriented” businesses that pay employees for full or partial nudity. Athletes cannot promote any firearm that they cannot legally possess.
Before the new law, Utah had stayed out of the fray as 30-plus states passed legislation regulating NIL deals in light of a 2021 decision by the NCAA to lift its ban on student-athletes profiting from their celebrity. A number of those states have since tangled in court with the NCAA over who has the authority to regulate NIL.