STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8612 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY October 2, 2019 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. RYAN -- read once and referred to the Committee on Higher Education AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to allowing student-ath- letes to earn compensation as a result of the use of that student's name, image or likeness The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The education law is amended by adding a new section 6438-a 2 to read as follows: 3 § 6438-a. Student-athlete compensation. 1. (a) A college, except a 4 community college, shall not uphold any rule, requirement, standard, or 5 other limitation that prevents a student of that institution participat- 6 ing in intercollegiate athletics from earning compensation as a result 7 of the use of the student's name, image, or likeness. Earning compen- 8 sation from the use of a student's name, image, or likeness shall not 9 affect the student's scholarship eligibility. 10 (b) An athletic association, conference, or other group or organiza- 11 tion with authority over intercollegiate athletics, including, but not 12 limited to, the National Collegiate Athletic Association, shall not 13 prevent a student of a college participating in intercollegiate athlet- 14 ics from earning compensation as a result of the use of the student's 15 name, image, or likeness. 16 (c) An athletic association, conference, or other group or organiza- 17 tion with authority over intercollegiate athletics, including, but not 18 limited to, the National Collegiate Athletic Association, shall not 19 prevent a college from participating in intercollegiate athletics as a 20 result of the compensation of a student-athlete for the use of the 21 student's name, image, or likeness. 22 2. A college, athletic association, conference, or other group or 23 organization with authority over intercollegiate athletics shall not EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD13804-01-9A. 8612 2 1 provide a prospective student-athlete with compensation in relation to 2 the athlete's name, image, or likeness. 3 3. (a) A college, athletic association, conference, or other group or 4 organization with authority over intercollegiate athletics shall not 5 prevent a student-athlete participating in intercollegiate athletics 6 from obtaining professional representation in relation to contracts or 7 legal matters, including, but not limited to, representation provided by 8 athlete agents or legal representation provided by attorneys. 9 (b) Professional representation obtained by student athletes shall be 10 from persons registered and/or licensed by the state. Professional 11 representation provided by athlete agents shall be by persons registered 12 pursuant to article thirty-nine-e of the general business law. Legal 13 representation of student athletes shall be by attorneys licensed pursu- 14 ant to article fifteen of the judiciary law. 15 (c) Athlete agents representing student athletes shall comply with the 16 federal Sports Agent Responsibility and Trust Act, established in chap- 17 ter 104 of title 15 of the United States Code, in their relationships 18 with student athletes. 19 4. A scholarship from the college in which a student is enrolled that 20 provides the student with the cost of attendance at that institution is 21 not compensation for purposes of this section, and a scholarship shall 22 not be revoked as a result of earning compensation or obtaining legal 23 representation pursuant to this section. 24 5. (a) A student-athlete shall not enter into a contract providing 25 compensation to the athlete for use of the athlete's name, image, or 26 likeness if a provision of the contract is in conflict with a provision 27 of the athlete's team contract. 28 (b) A student-athlete who enters into a contract providing compen- 29 sation to the athlete for use of the athlete's name, image, or likeness 30 shall disclose the contract to an official of the college, to be desig- 31 nated by the college. 32 (c) A college asserting a conflict described in paragraph (a) of this 33 subdivision shall disclose to the athlete or the athlete's legal repre- 34 sentation the relevant contractual provisions that are in conflict. 35 6. After the effective date of this section, a new team contract or a 36 renewal or modification of a team contract of a college's athletic 37 program shall not prevent a student-athlete from using the athlete's 38 name, image, or likeness for a commercial purpose when the athlete is 39 not engaged in official team activities. 40 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.