Prohibited compensation and agreements

(a) Certain agreements and compensation prohibited (1) Prohibition An institution, an employee of an institution, a volunteer of an institution, a conference, an employee of a conference, or an associated entity shall not— (1) (A) except as provided in paragraph (2) and subsection (b), arrange, provide, offer, or permit, directly or indirectly, compensation in an amount that would circumvent or result in the institution exceeding the revenue share cap to— (A) (i) a student athlete, a group of student athletes, or their family members; or (B) (ii) a prospective student athlete, a group of prospective student athletes, or their family members; (B) except for a name, image, and likeness agreement between a student athlete and an institution or (2) between a prospective student athlete and an institution, enter into a name, image, and likeness agreement with a student athlete or prospective student athlete that is not— (A) (i) for a valid business purpose; and (B) (ii) commensurate with compensation paid by third parties to individuals with a similar profile, reputation, or notability who are not student athletes or prospective student athletes. athletes at the institution; or (C) provide compensation for any purpose to a prospective student athlete prior to enrollment in an institution, but nothing in this subparagraph shall prohibit an institution from providing compensation to attend a development camp or program if that camp or program is open to non-prospective student athletes and such compensation does not exceed the reasonable costs of attendance. (2) Retention fund (A) Retention fund exception Except as provided in subparagraph (B), an institution may exceed the revenue share cap by not more than $22,500,000 per academic year for the purpose of retaining a student athlete or group of student athletes who have spent at least one full competitive season at the institution. (B) Non-revenue generating intercollegiate sports programs (i) In general An institution may further exceed the revenue share cap for the purpose described in subparagraph (A) by up to an additional $5,000,000 per academic year in proportion to the amount of name, image, and likeness compensation provided by the institution through the revenue share cap described in subsection (a)(1) and the retention fund amount described in subparagraph (A) to a student athlete or group of student athletes competing in non-revenue generating intercollegiate sports programs, including women's and Olympic intercollegiate sports programs. (ii) Clarification Nothing in clause (i) shall be interpreted to preclude an institution from providing name, image, and likeness compensation through the revenue share cap described in subsection (a)(1) and the retention fund amount described in subparagraph (A) in excess of $5,000,000 to a student athlete or group of student athletes competing in non-revenue generating intercollegiate sports programs, including women's and Olympic intercollegiate sports programs, provided such compensation complies with subparagraph (A) and subsection (a)(1). (C) Time limitation The exception described in subparagraph (A) shall apply only during the nine-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act. (D) Academic success limitation An institution shall not be eligible for the exception described in subparagraph (A) if the institution fails to meet uniform benchmarks established by the relevant intercollegiate athletic association or conference related to graduation rates and the academic progress of its student athletes participating in a varsity sports program. (b) Personal athletic and education benefits permitted An intercollegiate athletic association, a conference, an institution, or any representative thereof shall not, pursuant to the Injunctive Relief Settlement Agreement approved by the court in In Re College Athlete NIL Legislation, Litigation, No. 20–cv–03919 (N.D. Cal. June 6, 2025), restrict the ability of a student athlete enrolled at an institution to receive compensation from an intercollegiate athletic association, an institution, a conference, or an associated entity, for personal benefits related to education or intercollegiate athletics, provided they if those benefits are— (1) reasonable costs of transportation and temporary lodging for family members of a student athlete while the student athlete is experiencing a documented physical or mental health concern or participating in an intercollegiate athletic competition; (2) reasonable costs for meals, shelter, medical coverage, and medical expenses not provided or covered by the institution; and or (3) reasonable education-related financial benefits, such as institution fees, books, or other incidental educational expenses that are not otherwise provided by the institution. (c) Multimedia rights holders, sponsors, apparel companies, and vendors In the case of a name, image, and likeness agreement involving, or brokered by, a multimedia rights holder, or a sponsor of the institution in which the student athlete is enrolled or plans to enroll that has a commercial relationship with the institution, an apparel company that has a commercial relationship with the institution, or a vendor for the athletic department or athletic facilities that has a commercial relationship with the institution— (1) the multimedia rights holder shall provide a signed certification to the intercollegiate athletic association or its designated enforcement entity affirming that the institution in which the student athlete is enrolled or plans to enroll is not the originating source of the compensation to be paid to the student athlete or prospective student athlete and that payment of the compensation is not coming directly or indirectly from the institution; (2) the third party or the sponsor, apparel company, or vendor benefitting from the name, image, and likeness of the student athlete or prospective student athlete shall provide a signed certification to the intercollegiate athletic association or its designated enforcement entity affirming that it is the originating source of the compensation to be paid to the student athlete, that it did not receive funds, directly or indirectly, from the institution in which the student athlete is enrolled or plans to enroll for the purpose of financing the agreement, that the institution did not forgo funds due from the third party or the sponsor, apparel company, or vendor for the purpose of financing the agreement, and that the institution did not negotiate for and determine the amount of compensation to be paid to the student athlete or prospective student athlete through the agreement; and (3) the institution at which the student athlete is enrolled or plans to enroll, if required by the intercollegiate athletic association or its designated enforcement entity, shall provide a signed certification to the intercollegiate athletic association or its designated enforcement entity that the institution is not circumventing the revenue share cap through the name, image, and likeness agreement, or negotiating for and determining the amount of compensation to be paid to the student athlete or prospective student athlete through the agreement. (d) Valid business purpose A Except for a name, image, and likeness agreement with an institution, a name, image, and likeness agreement with a student athlete shall be for a valid business purpose. (d) (e) Payments to coaches and managers (1) In general An institution described in paragraph (2) may not compensate or otherwise provide or promise any type of payment or benefit of more than $500,000 to any coach, assistant coach, general manager, or other person who coaches or manages a varsity sports team by using, diverting, budgeting, or otherwise obtaining funds from any source other than college sports revenue or a donation or contribution to the athletic department of the institution. (2) Institution described An institution described in this paragraph is an institution with more than $80,000,000 in total annual athletics revenue during the preceding academic year. (f) Institution defined In this section, the term institution means— (1) an institution of higher education, as that term is defined in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001); and (2) an institution that is a party to, through membership in a conference or otherwise, In Re College Athlete NIL Legislation, Litigation, No. 20–cv–03919 (N.D. Cal. June 6, 2025), or has opted in to the Injunctive Relief Settlement in that case.