Big 10 commish says NCAA, Congress having extensive talks about fairness of NIL deals

Published 11:00 pm Friday, July 28, 2023

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti has been on the job for about 100 days, enough time to have extensive talks about name, image and likeness compensation for athletes. That includes chats with Congress.

“It is important to say that much of what is happening now under the guise of NIL is not true NIL but rather a move to a pay-for-play system that is driving recruitment and the transfer portal,” he said. “This system operates away from and without institutional control, nor does it comply with Title IX.

“Recently I had the opportunity to travel to Washington, D.C., and meet with members of Congress to discuss a fair and true NIL framework and discuss other issues facing student-athletes and college athletics.”

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Petitti said he was encouraged by how Congress members and staffers were “engaged” and that there’s “real momentum for bipartisan legislation that benefits student-athletes, protects the academic athletic model, and recognizes that a national competitive landscape needs national rules that can be enforced.”

Multiple proposals have been floated in Congress over the past two years, including at least one this week.