SCORE Act
Sponsored By: Representative Bilirakis
In Committee
Summary
Creates a national framework protecting student‑athletes' ability to sell their name, image, and likeness (NIL) and sets a cap on total institutional NIL payments through a revenue‑linked pool limit. It would also cap agent fees at 5% and require institutions and athletic associations to provide health, academic, and career supports while standardizing written contracts and privacy rules.
Show full summary
- Student athletes: Student athletes would have the right to sign NIL deals, hire agents, and keep NIL agreement details private. Any deal over $600 must be in writing and includes a termination right beginning six months after the athlete is no longer enrolled.
- Institutions and conferences: Institutions subject to the bill would need to provide medical care for participation injuries, mental health services, academic support, and career counseling and must maintain grant‑in‑aid during the grant period. These institutional duties apply when a coach's base salary exceeds $250,000 or annual athletic revenue reaches $20 million, and institutions must field at least 16 varsity teams.
- Agents, associations, and third parties: Agents face a 5% fee cap plus new registration and disclosure rules enforceable by state attorneys general. Interstate intercollegiate athletic associations would set and monitor a pool limit equal to 22% of the average annual sports revenue of their top 70 member institutions and would have authority to adopt related competition and recruitment rules.
Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
10 provisions identified: 8 benefits, 1 costs, 1 mixed.
More health and scholarship protections for college athletes
If enacted, covered schools would have to pay out‑of‑pocket medical costs for sports injuries while you are enrolled and for at least 3 years after you leave, unless you left for a code‑of‑conduct violation. Schools would also need to provide mental‑health services and use independent medical staff for return‑to‑play decisions. Your athletic scholarship would have to be honored for its full term even if you are hurt, play poorly, or earn NIL income. Former athletes could get yearly aid equal to their average athletic scholarship to finish a bachelor’s degree, for up to 7 years, if they meet academic progress and conduct rules.
Minimum pay pool for college athletes
Associations would have to set a compensation pool limit at no less than 22% of the average annual sports revenue of the top 70 member schools. If an association has fewer than 70 members, the average of all members would be used. Associations would also have to monitor payments tied to that pool.
Lower agent fees and stronger safeguards for athletes
If enacted, agents could not charge you more than 5% of your endorsement or NIL pay as a fee. Agent contracts would need a clause letting you end the contract starting six months after you stop being enrolled. Agents would have to disclose in writing whether they are registered; if not, you (or a parent if under 18) would need to give written consent before the agent can help. Associations could set agent‑registration rules, and the FTC would study options for an independent program to set standards and certify agents, reporting to Congress within 1 year.
Big‑program colleges must add teams and services
This bill would set which schools the rules cover: those with $20,000,000+ in athletics revenue, a coach paid over $250,000, or a donor giving $50,000+ in their lifetime, with each dollar test adjusted by CPI each July 1. Covered schools would have to provide broad academic, career, financial‑literacy, legal/tax access, mental‑health, nutrition, and transfer‑guidance services to athletes. Schools could share compliance work with conferences or associations. Covered schools would need at least 16 varsity teams by July 1, 2027, and would have to certify compliance to keep participating in federal student‑aid programs.
Clear NIL rights and fair contract rules for athletes
This bill would bar schools and conferences from blocking your NIL deals, except for prohibited pay or school contract conflicts. If a NIL deal pays more than $600, it would need a written contract with key terms and a right to end it six months after you are no longer enrolled. It would define what counts as compensation (including NIL and other IP) and what does not (like Pell Grants, scholarships, insurance, and general career services). Associations could set what pay is prohibited and create dispute processes, and you would keep eligibility while a dispute is ongoing. Associations could collect and share anonymized NIL data and require timely deal disclosures from athletes.
Easier one-time transfers with credit answers for athletes
Each athlete would get at least one transfer where they can play right away at the new school if they meet academic rules. The new school would have to tell you in writing, before the transfer finishes and if you ask, which of your credits will count toward your program.
Limits and reporting on student athletic fees
Starting July 1, 2026, if a school made $50,000,000+ in media rights revenue in the most recent fiscal year, it would be barred from using student fees for athletics in the next fiscal year. Starting in the 2028–2029 academic year, if the school’s two‑year average (from two and three years prior) is $50,000,000+ in media rights, it would face the same bar for the following year. Schools would also need to post by October 15 each year how much they charge students for athletics, what the fees fund, and what share of costs those fees cover (starting in the 2026–2027 year).
More athlete voices and federal oversight
This bill would require association boards and committees to include at least 20% current or recent athletes, with men and women equally represented and each from different sports, and at least 30% from schools outside the top 70 earners. Associations would need a council of conference representatives. The Government Accountability Office would study Olympic sports within 2 years and review compliance every 5 years. Associations would also report to Congress within 180 days and then every 2 years on compliance trends and recommendations.
Playing alone would not make you an employee
If enacted, simply playing on a varsity team would not, by itself, make you an employee of your school, conference, or the athletic association. Other facts or contracts could still matter, but participation alone would not create employee status.
National NIL rules override states, new enforcement
If enacted, federal rules would override any conflicting state or local laws on athlete pay, benefits, employment status, and NIL releases for game broadcasts. State attorneys general could sue to stop violations and seek damages or other relief. Rules made under the bill’s section 6 would be shielded from antitrust lawsuits, while other laws would still apply.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Bilirakis
FL • R
Cosponsors
Bynum
OR • D
Sponsored 7/10/2025
Guthrie
KY • R
Sponsored 7/10/2025
Walberg
MI • R
Sponsored 7/10/2025
Jordan
OH • R
Sponsored 7/10/2025
Figures
AL • D
Sponsored 7/10/2025
McClain
MI • R
Sponsored 7/10/2025
Fitzgerald
WI • R
Sponsored 7/10/2025
Fry
SC • R
Sponsored 7/10/2025
Williams (TX)
TX • R
Sponsored 7/14/2025
Westerman
AR • R
Sponsored 7/14/2025
Flood
NE • R
Sponsored 7/22/2025
Cuellar
TX • D
Sponsored 8/19/2025
Gonzalez, V.
TX • D
Sponsored 8/22/2025
Gooden
TX • R
Sponsored 8/29/2025
Suozzi
NY • D
Sponsored 8/29/2025
Carter (GA)
GA • R
Sponsored 9/3/2025
Haridopolos
FL • R
Sponsored 9/3/2025
Cline
VA • R
Sponsored 9/3/2025
Barr
KY • R
Sponsored 9/8/2025
Grothman
WI • R
Sponsored 9/9/2025
Del. Plaskett, Stacey E. [D-VI-At Large]
VI • D
Sponsored 9/10/2025
Moskowitz
FL • D
Sponsored 9/10/2025
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
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