Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “No Foreign NIL Funds Act”.
No Foreign NIL Funds Act
A BILL
To prohibit foreign investment in relation to name, image, and likeness agreements, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Foreign investment in NIL agreements
Prohibited compensation— Any national or entity of a foreign country may not provide, regardless of value, a covered entity with a benefit or a contribution (monetary or in-kind) in relation to a name, image, and likeness agreement.
Transparency requirement— Any covered entity solicited by an entity under subsection (a) in relation to a name, image, and likeness agreement shall document with the Attorney General and the Secretary of Education such solicitation attempts.
Authority To investigate institutions—
In general— The Attorney General, in coordination with the Secretary of Education, shall investigate suspected violations of subsections (a) and (b) by institutions of higher education.
Notice; appeal— In the case that the Attorney General, in coordination with the Secretary of Education, determines that an institution of higher education is in violation of the requirements of subsection (a) or (b)—
the Attorney General shall notify the institution of such determination not later than 30 days after such determination is made; and
the institution may appeal such determination by filing an appeal with the Office of Hearings and Appeals of the Department of Education.
Program participation agreement— Section 487(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1094) is amended by adding at the end the following:
“(30)
“(A) The institution will comply with the requirements of the No Foreign NIL Funds Act.
“(B) The institution certifies that the institution has in effect a policy to—
“(i) prohibit student athletes who violate the requirements of the No Foreign NIL Funds Act from participating in intercollegiate athletics at the institution for a 1-year period;
“(ii) notify students who have committed to participate in a varsity sports team of the requirements of such Act and of the prohibition described in clause (i); and
“(iii) annually notify student athletes of the requirements of such Act and of the prohibition described in clause (i).
“(C) In the case of an institution described in subparagraph (D), the institution will—
“(i) be ineligible to participate in the programs authorized by this title; and
“(ii) in order to regain eligibility to participate in such programs, submit to the Attorney General and the Secretary of Education a report detailing compliance with all the requirements of such Act, including the divestment of any prohibited funds.
“(D) An institution described in this subparagraph is an institution that—
“(i) the Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary of Education, determines to be in violation of section 2 of the No Foreign NIL Funds Act pursuant to section 2(c) of such Act; and
“(ii) in the case of an institution that appealed such determination pursuant to section 2(c)(2)(B) of such Act, was unsuccessful in appealing such determination.”
Penalties for covered entities— A covered entity who commits a violation of this section shall be subject to the penalties imposed under subsections (b) and (c) of section 206 of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) to the same extent that such penalties apply to a person that commits an unlawful act described in section 206(a) of that Act.
Sec. 3 Prohibition on Certain State-Controlled Investments in Collegiate Athletics Revenue Streams
Prohibition— No institution of higher education, athletic conference, media rights distributor, or bowl or post-season football organization may—
enter into, renew, or maintain any contract, partnership, joint venture, naming-rights agreement, sponsorship, or media-rights arrangement that involves direct or indirect financing, ownership, or material participation by a foreign country; or
engage in covered activities with a foreign country.
Disclosure requirement— Any person subject to subsection (a) shall annually disclose all contracts and ownership information for any entity of a foreign country that provides such person with financial consideration for covered activities to the Secretary of the Treasury, in coordination with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, and the Secretary of Education.
Civil penalty— A person who commits a violation of this section shall be subject to the penalties imposed under section 206(b) of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) to the same extent that such penalties apply to a person that commits an unlawful act described in section 206(a) of that Act.
Sec. 4 Definitions
In this Act:
Athletic conference— The term athletic conference means any organization that is not an athletic association and that—
has 2 or more institutions of higher education as members; and
arranges championships for college athletic competition or sets rules for college athletic competition.
Bowl or Post-season Football Organization— The term bowl or post-season football organization means any legal entity, association, partnership, or other organization that contracts with one or more institutions of higher education or athletic conferences for the purpose of administering, organizing, producing, promoting, or broadcasting post-season intercollegiate football competitions recognized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association or its successor, including the College Football Playoff.
Covered activities— The term covered activities means any activity generating or affecting revenue in intercollegiate athletics in relation to the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I men’s or women’s athletic programs, including—
the naming rights to conferences, post-season events, or athletic facilities;
the sale or licensing of broadcast or streaming media rights;
a conference-wide or institutional sponsorship agreement;
a joint venture or capital investment related to athletic media, data, or a content platform; and
an amateur athletic competition, contest, tournament, or match (both competitive or exhibition).
Covered entity— The term covered entity means any of the following:
An institution of higher education.
A student athlete.
An organization, collective, booster group, agent, or any other entity that solicits, receives, or manages funds on behalf of, in affiliation with, or under the direction of an institution of higher education (including an athletic department or varsity sports team of such institution) for the purpose of funding, or creating or identifying opportunities relating to, name, image, and likeness agreements for the student athletes of such institution.
Entity of a foreign country— The term entity of a foreign country means a corporation, partnership, association, or organization—
supervised, directed, owned, controlled, financed, or subsidized, in whole or in part, by a foreign country; and
not organized under or created by the laws of the United States or of any State or other place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States and does not have its principal place of business within the United States.
Foreign country— The term “foreign country” means any country except the following:
A country that is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Australia.
New Zealand.
Ireland.
Institution of higher education— The term institution of higher education has the meaning given the term in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001).
Media Rights Distributor— The term media rights distributor means any entity, including a broadcast network, cable network, streaming service, digital platform, satellite service, or other distributor, that acquires, licenses, sublicenses, or otherwise controls rights to transmit, stream, broadcast, exhibit, or publicly distribute college athletic competitions or related content.
Name, image, and likeness agreement— The term name, image, and likeness agreement means a contract or similar agreement under which a student athlete licenses or authorizes, or a contract or similar agreement that otherwise is in relation to, the commercial use of the name, image, or likeness of the student athlete.
National of a foreign country— The term national of a foreign country means any individual who is a citizen of a foreign country but is not a citizen of or alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United States of America.
Student athlete— The term student athlete means an individual who—
is enrolled at an institution of higher education; and
participates in a varsity sports team of such institution.
Varsity sports team— The term varsity sports team means an entity composed of an individual or group of individuals enrolled at an institution of higher education that is organized by such institution for the purpose of participation in intercollegiate athletic competitions.