Letter to Frank Pallone, Chairman of House Energy & Commerce Committee and Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Ranking Member of House Energy & Commerce Committee - Gonzalez Leads Letter to House Energy and Commerce Committee Requesting a Hearing on Name, Image, and Likeness

Letter

Dear Chairman Pallone and Ranking Member McMorris Rodgers:

We write to request a hearing on state laws allowing for student athletes to capitalize on their name, image, and likeness ("NIL"). Many of these laws are slated to go into effect today and the House of Representatives has yet to hold any hearings to consider the importance of a federal NIL standard.

In Fall 2019, the NCAA announced they would work to provide student athletes with guidance on how to capitalize from their NIL under league rules, proposing to create new rules no later than January 2021. Yesterday, the NCAA finally made good on this promise by announcing they would allow for all student athletes to capitalize on their NIL beginning today. Despite this momentous step forward, there must be federal legislation to set a uniform standard across the nation, preserve the spirit of college athletics for future generations, and most importantly, protect student athletes who find themselves facing a convoluted and unfair patchwork of state laws.

The Energy and Commerce Committee is uniquely positioned to address this issue which at its heart is centered around fair commercial activity and market involvement for student athletes. To the credit of the United States Senate, three different Senate Committees have held hearings on this topic last Congress and the Senate Commerce Committee has held two hearings on NIL last month. It is unfortunate that the House of Representatives has so far failed to have any hearings on an issue so important to student athletes and institutions of higher education.

The time for action on this issue is now. Student athletes have long deserved the right to profit from their NIL. Delaying a federal standard for this right to student athletes across the nation is inequitable. We respectfully request the Committee hold a hearing at its earliest convenience to consider the issue. Thank you, and we look forward to working with you to find a fair, timely solution for all student athletes.

Sincerely,