Florida strips NIL restrictions under new law giving schools more involvement

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Florida has effectively repealed its restrictions on name, image and likeness for college athletes under a bill signed into law Thursday.

Gov. Ron DeSantis was joined by University of Florida football coach Billy Napier, Florida State University football coach Mike Norvell and several student-athletes from both schools as he signed HB 7-B in Tallahassee.

The Intercollegiate Athlete Compensation and Rights law removes the language that previously precluded schools and coaches from helping to facilitate deals for players.

"In 2020, we took a commonsense approach to ensure that student-athletes could control their name, image and likeness and be paid fairly for it," DeSantis said. "Now that the NCAA has taken necessary steps to ensure fairness for student-athletes, we can focus on making sure that those athletes are supported and protected under the law."

Under the new law, institutions will still not be allowed to pay student-athletes directly.

DeSantis and Florida lawmakers voiced their support for NIL legislation as early as 2019. Florida was among the first to enact NIL laws before the NCAA issued its loose guidelines, which essentially allowed institutions to follow the rules of each state.

Phil Sears/AP

However, the law, as it was initially drafted, significantly limited the involvement of Florida schools and made for an uneven playing field, as schools in states without NIL laws had carte blanche to navigate how student-athletes received compensation for endorsement deals.

The NCAA prohibits schools from tying endorsement deals to the recruitment of student-athletes, but there is little in the way of enforcement.

Rep. Chip LaMarca, R-Lighthouse Point, sponsored the bill and told WPTV.com last month that there was bipartisan support for it. He was right. The Florida House passed the bill on a 113-0 vote.

Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP

In Florida, student-athletes are compensated through third-party entities like Rising Spear, which provides NIL opportunities for FSU players, and the Gator Collective, which is the University of Florida's version.

The Gator Collective recently made headlines amid the Jaden Rashada debacle.

Rashada, who had originally committed to Miami before signing with Florida last month, sought to be released from his letter of intent to play for the Gators after the funding for a $13 million NIL deal brokered by the Gator Collective reportedly fell through.

The coveted quarterback recruit is now at Arizona State.

LaMarca said last month that he believed the lack of institutional involvement contributed to the botched deal.

The new law also requires student-athletes to participate in two financial literacy, life skills and entrepreneurship workshops before they graduate.

Coaches and schools are also not liable for any damages to a student-athlete's ability to earn NIL money as a result of their decisions.

LaMarca, who was on hand for the signing, praised Florida for continuing to "lead in collegiate athletics" and "providing the best education and preparation for our athletes, from financial literacy to entrepreneurship training."

"They'll be ready to build their brand," LaMarca said.