College Football

SEC commissioner says it's on Congress to set NIL standard

Published Jul. 18, 2023 4:42 p.m. ET

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Southeastern Conference Commissioner Greg Sankey made clear Monday that only Congress can truly set a national standard for name, image and likeness compensation in college athletics.

Sankey said NIL isn't a partisan issue and that state legislatures haven't yet enforced their NIL laws, some of which would bar the NCAA and conferences from adopting and enforcing their own standards.

"Congressional action is then the only way to provide a national uniform standard for name, image, and likeness activity and to draw the lines around the boundaries that do not become simply pay for play," said Sankey, echoing the stance of the NCAA on one of the most divisive issues in college sports.

Asked if a uniform NIL standard would help LSU, coach Brian Kelly said the challenge is there’s not much regulation now. That leaves coaches trying to control what they can, which is difficult because NIL involves groups separate from universities.

Different laws in each state leave the SEC unbalanced, he said.

"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," Kelly said. "But I can tell you what we’re living, and that’s third-party involvement and different rules of engagement by different states."

Sankey said the league heard again in late June from athletes asking for uniform NIL rules. They want help trying to decide which university to attend and to even the competition on the playing field in the SEC.

"Uniformity will ensure a high school student and his or her family do not have to investigate potentially dozens of different state laws or university policies to figure out how they can be active in this name, image and likeness world," Sankey said.

Sankey's comments echoed ones he made to FOX Sports lead college football analyst Joel Klatt in an exclusive interview on "The Joel Klatt Show" which aired last month.

"You saw a lot of stories where you have influencers, third parties, agents, people we don’t know saying ‘we have a deal for you if you leave [your current school via the transfer portal].’ That’s not NIL," Sankey said. "Some will describe it as bribery. Some will describe it as inducement. That’s not what it’s supposed to be."

Greg Sankey on NIL and the issues that come with it

Sankey said Monday that the SEC and its 14 schools are used to providing support to athletes. But he said the students want protection for themselves and for international teammates to access NIL "that are consistent across the country" and not just a "patchwork" of state laws.

"Our student-athletes deserve something better than a race to the bottom at the state legislature level," Sankey said

An area where state lawmakers can help, according to Sankey: Gambling regulations. He said too often SEC athletes and officials deal with threats from bettors angry over plays, calls and game results.

"Every state with legalized sports gambling must act to ensure enforcement of gaming regulations and put in place clearly stated laws that protect participants from hostile behavior, particularly barring individuals who engage in that behavior from any further involvement in sports gambling," Sankey said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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