Jim Phillips demands national NIL legislation after congressional roundtable with Nick Saban, Cavinder Twins
ACC commissioner Jim Phillips was one of several dignitaries of college athletics, along with former Miami women’s basketball stars Haley and Hanna Cavinder, who visited Washington D.C. this week in order to work towards finding consensus, bipartisan legislation surrounding name, image, and likeness rules in collegiate sports. Joined by former Alabama head football coach Nick Saban, Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne, The Collective Association president Russell White, and NIL attorney Darren Heitner for a roundtable discussion.
Phillips joined ESPN’s Rece Davis during the ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament on Thursday and discussed what this week’s House Education & The Workforce Committee’s legislative hearing entailed, and what he’d like to see change surrounding NIL.
“Rece we need national legislation for NIL. NIL is a wonderful thing for student-athletes, it is a modernization of college sports,” Phillips said Thursday. “It’s America, if you have a name, or an image, or an ability you should be able to monetize that for you and your family. There is no hesitation about that. But we have entered an interesting competition Rees, and in order to have that kind of level of play, you have to have rules that govern it.”
Many figures in collegiate athletics have clamored for nationwide NIL legislation, as different states utlizing their own rules surrounding name, image, and likeness have also caused issues in recruiting. With NIL having a major unwarranted impact on recruiting both at the high school level and out of the NCAA transfer portal.
But Phillips is confident that certain government officials on Capitol Hill and beyond share similar concerns and could potentially start working towards uniform, nationwide NIL regulation.
“And so whether it was Senator Cruz, or Senator Moran, or Senator Booker, or Blumenthal, they have all believed that that be the case,” Phillips said. “So I am hopeful that we can get some help here in D.C. and I’m thankful for it, but our student-athletes deserve it.
“We also had the Cavinder twins, who are former ACC student-athletes at Miami, they have been able to monetize quite a bit, their name, image, and likeness, and good for them,” Phillips added. “But they have also have lived it and understand this idea of national legislation.”
There’s no doubt that something needs to be done regarding the current unorganized NIL marketplace as it continues to have a major impact on the college sports landscape. But the question still remains, when will Congress intervene given the list of mounting issues overall that pertain to the United States, especially with an incoming election kicking off right around the corner.
“So I look forward to that day because that will make college athletics better. Right now there’s total chaos, it’s being used strictly as a recruiting inducement in a lot of places. That’s never been the intention for name, image, and likeness Rece,” Phillips concluded.