One of the biggest topics at SEC media days this week — and media days around the country as we prepare for the 2023 season — is name, image and likeness (NIL) licensing standards.
Most notably, stakeholders are concerned with the lack of uniformity in state laws regarding NIL practices. The topic featured heavily in SEC commissioner Greg Sankey’s opening press conference in Nashville on Monday, and LSU coach [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] touched on the topic, as well.
So I think whatever answer I give you there’s going to be holes in it because there is not much regulation,” Kelly said. “I think that the easiest answer to that question — and I’m not going to be political up here — we do want to control what we can control. But I would say that the thing that makes it difficult for us, all of us, is third-party involvement, and at what level does that third-party involvement influence the spirit of name, image and likeness. I think that’s where we’re all at.
“If there are different laws, too, in each state, then the league is not balanced, either. To me, those would be the two kind of bullet points as it relates to NIL. I’m not here to fix it. I’m here to navigate it. If I can lend my experience in any shape or fashion, I will do that. But I can tell you what we’re living, and that’s third-party involvement and different rules of engagement by different states.”
Often, those state laws are written for the benefit of flagship state universities — such as LSU. Still, the lack of uniformity and need for third-party actors, as Kelly mentioned, is certainly playing into the anxiety coaches are feeling.
It’s clear that NIL is here to stay. The question is, how will college sports and state legislators move forward in terms of setting standards and regulations.
That’s a topic weighing heavily on the sport as we approach the season, and these discussions are far from over.
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