Congress ‘fumbles’ NIL bill on college sports
PK Press Club Chief Congressional Correspondent Chad Pergram reports that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is questioning an NIL bill’s connection to a controversy over LSU coaches and more over the ‘special report.’
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EXCLUSIVE: Senators Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., plan to fight for college athletes to help them secure their futures by investing their name, image and likeness earnings.
Blackburn and Cantwell introduced the Helping Undergraduates Thrive with Long-Term Gains (HUSTLE) Act, according to a statement obtained by PK Press Club Digital. The senators said college athletes would have the ability to place money in “tax-advantaged student-athlete investment accounts, require administrators to provide financial education, and establish regulations to prevent abuse.”
Senators promised the HUSTLE Act would also help college athletes improve their financial literacy and better navigate the Wild West of NIL.
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Virginia offensive lineman Drake Metcalf (60) reacts in the first half of the Atlantic Coast Conference championship NCAA college football game against Duke Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in Charlotte, North Carolina. (AP Photo/Jacob Kupferman)
“College athletes now make billions of dollars off their name, image and likeness – and rightfully so. We must empower these students to safeguard their financial futures and protect themselves from dishonest agents,” Blackburn said in a statement. “The HUSTLE Act would allow college athletes to invest their earnings in a tax-advantaged account that grows over time, strengthen financial education, and create safeguards to prevent exploitation by dishonest agents.”
Cantwell hoped that college athletes would no longer be exploited by “unscrupulous agents.”
“This bill focuses on the financial security and safety of college athletes who – finally – receive compensation for their name, image and likeness (NIL),” Cantwell added. “Many of these athletes will find themselves in a unique situation where they will not earn any income for a relatively brief period of their career. Our bill will create a specific NIL account where they can set aside a portion of this income and build long-term savings.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., speaks as U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill October 7, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
“The bill will also protect athletes and their NIL earnings from financial exploitation by unscrupulous agents. Since athletes were able to earn NIL, some have been victims of agents who charged incredibly high commissions or attempted to appropriate the athlete’s intellectual property rights. Our bill will curb this abuse and require agents to register with a state.”
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Under the HUSTLE Act, college athletes will be able to use their NIL income up to the annual donation tax exclusion amount in an NIL investment account, allowing their funds to grow tax-free. The bill would allow up to $35,000 of unused funds to be transferred from an NIL account to an IRA or retirement account once the athlete has been out of college athletics for at least one year.
Administrators would be required to provide financial education to ensure athletes know how to manage their money. The HUSTLE Act would also require the Treasury Department to develop regulations to prevent abuse and exploitation, report and track contribution limits, and set other expenditures.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, left, and Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., during a confirmation hearing in Washington, D.C., Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The HUSTLE Act would also update the Sports Agent Liability and Trust Act. Athlete agents would need to register with a state before they can represent athletes in NIL agreements. Agent fees would be capped at 5% and would certify their registration with the sports association that governs the athlete’s sport.
Deceptive practices would be prohibited and national governing bodies would be required to establish an online registry of registered and certified athlete agents to increase transparency for athletes and their families.
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey was among those who approved the HUSTLE Act.
“The Southeastern Conference is grateful for legislators’ continued commitment to meeting the evolving needs of student-athletes,” he said in a statement. “The HUSTLE Act represents a constructive approach in establishing tax-advantaged NIL investment accounts that encourage financial education, long-term savings and responsible income management.
UConn guard Azzi Fudd (35) drives to the basket while DePaul guard Devin Hagemann (7) defends in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, in Storrs, Connecticut. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)
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“We appreciate Congress’s sustained bipartisan commitment to developing consistent national standards that support student-athletes and enhance their opportunities in this rapidly changing environment.”
