Skinner Introduces Bill to Bring Transparency to NIL in College Sports

State Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, today announced the introduction of SB 906, legislation that would bring transparency to name, image, and likeness (NIL) deals in California college sports and raise awareness about gender equity in NIL deals.

SB 906 follows two historic laws by Sen. Skinner: SB 206, which was enacted in 2019 and made California the first state in the nation to give student athletes the right to compensation from their name, image and likeness, essentially ending the NCAA’s prohibition on student athletes’ ability to earn money from their athletic prowess; and SB 26, which was enacted in 2021, accelerated the implementation of NIL, and expanded NIL rights to community college athletes.

“SB 206 sparked a revolution in the multibillion-dollar industry of college sports. Today, student athletes in every state are finally receiving some compensation for their talent and hard work. That’s great news. But with the growth of collectives and other strategies employed by college sports boosters, these efforts may be primarily benefitting men and once again shortchanging women athletes,” said Sen. Skinner. “SB 906 will shine a light on NIL and give us a better understanding of whether NIL is contributing to gender inequity in college sports.”

Since SB 206 was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in September 2019, the world of NIL has expanded exponentially, with college athletes, both men and women, scoring NIL deals, large and small. The explosive growth of NIL has also given rise to so-called “collectives,” private entities loosely affiliated with colleges and universities that facilitate NIL deals with college athletes. To date, these collectives have formed predominantly to support men’s college football and basketball players.

The question of whether collectives are subject to gender-equity rules under Title IX is currently being litigated in federal court. In addition, collectives and other NIL entities have, to date, operated primarily in secret.

SB 906 would begin to pull back the veil on NIL in California by requiring collectives and other entities that do NIL deals with college athletes to provide the following basic information to the college or university that the athlete attends:

• The amount of compensation and the value of item(s) or service(s) provided to the student athlete or the student athlete’s immediate family
• The athletic team for which the student athlete currently plays or the team for which it is anticipated the student athlete will play
• The student athlete’s gender
• The total amount of compensation and the value of the items and services provided to all student athletes at the postsecondary institution each year by sport and gender.

The above information, which does not include the names of athletes or other personal identifiers, would then be publicly available from the college or university.

In addition, under SB 906, each California college or university that helps or supports its college athletes to make or maintain NIL deals must disclose the value of that support for each sport and by gender.

“SB 906 is a basic transparency measure. While it won’t require all college athletes to receive the same amount of NIL money, SB 906 will provide the public and policymakers with important information about what’s actually happening in the NIL marketplace,” added Sen. Skinner, who is also chair of the California Legislative Women’s Caucus. “If SB 906 reveals that college-backed NIL efforts are truly shortchanging female athletes and worsening gender inequity, then colleges and policymakers will have the information necessary to level the playing field.”

Sen. Nancy Skinner represents the 9th Senate District and is chair of the Senate Housing Committee and the California Legislative Women’s Caucus.