HR 4312119th CongressIn Committee

SCORE Act

Introduced: Jul 10, 2025

Sponsor: Rep. Bilirakis, Gus M. [R-FL-12] (R-Florida)

Technology & Innovation

Standard Summary

Comprehensive overview in 1-2 paragraphs

The SCORE Act establishes a federal framework to protect and regulate name, image, and likeness (NIL) rights for student athletes and promote fair competition in intercollegiate athletics. It guarantees student athletes the right to enter NIL deals and to hire an agent, limits how schools or conferences can restrict NIL activities (with certain exceptions), and creates a new oversight structure through interstate associations to govern NIL-related rules, data collection, and enforcement. The bill also imposes requirements on colleges to provide extensive student-athlete support (academic, medical, life-skills, and career services), sets a maximum pool on NIL-related payments funded through conference revenue, and requires transparency around student fees and athletic program funding. It preempts conflicting state laws and includes enforcement pathways for states, plus ongoing reporting and a feasibility study led by the Federal Trade Commission. In short, SCORE aims to give student athletes clearer NIL rights, curb potential abuses or inequities in compensation, require institutions to provide robust support and health protections, and create a national governance and data framework to oversee NIL activity and funding across colleges.

Key Points

1Protects NIL rights and representation
2- Student athletes may enter NIL agreements and hire an agent; institutions cannot broadly restrict these rights, except to the extent a deal involves prohibited compensation or conflicts with a code of conduct or existing contracts.
3- Athletes must have privacy protections for NIL deals; agreements over $600 must be written with specified disclosures and termination provisions.
4- Athlete agents must disclose whether they are registered with an interstate intercollegiate athletic association (IIAA) and, if applicable, with the school’s association; agents not registered must obtain written consent from the athlete (or parent/guardian for minors).
5Creation and enforcement of a NIL “pool” and agent controls
6- Interstate associations may set rules for NIL disclosures, data collection (aggregated and anonymized), prohibited compensation, recruiting timelines, and transfer rules.
7- A pool limit is established to cap total compensation that institutions may provide to student athletes, calculated as a percentage of college sports revenue (and monitored for compliance). One provision sets a floor around 22% of revenue from the top 70 earning member institutions.
8- A cap on agent compensation (not more than 5% of the athlete’s NIL compensation) and a requirement to standardize agent disclosure and registration processes.
9Strong requirements on institutions (student-athlete support)
10- Institutions must provide comprehensive academic support and career counseling, including mental health, strength/conditioning, nutrition, NIL-related legal advice, financial literacy, and transition processes.
11- Institutions must provide medical benefits for injuries related to intercollegiate athletics, mental health services, independent medical care oversight, and insurance coverage for medical expenses for a period after graduation (at least 3 years, unless there is a code-of-conduct violation).
12- Grant-in-aid protections must be maintained regardless of athletic performance, injury, or NIL compensation.
13- A degree completion program must be offered for former student athletes who received aid but did not graduate, with financial aid tied to the student’s prior aid levels.
14- Institutions with staff earning above a set threshold ($250,000 in base salary, adjusted annually) are covered by these requirements, and by July 1, 2027, each covered institution must field at least 16 varsity sports teams.
15Governance, data, and liability
16- IIAs can create rules on disclosures, data sharing, dispute resolution, and recruitment windows; governance must include representation from student athletes and non-top-70 institutions on decision-making bodies.
17- A council must serve as the primary deliberative body and include representatives from each member conference.
18- An important liability provision protects compliance with IIA rules under antitrust law.
19- Employment status: student athletes are not considered employees of institutions, conferences, or IIAs solely due to participation.
20Transparency, preemption, and oversight
21- Student athletic fees: colleges must publicly disclose how fees are used to support intercollegiate athletics, including a breakdown of uses and the share covered by fees, with annual updates by Oct 15.
22- Federal preemption: states cannot maintain conflicting laws about NIL rights, compensation, or the duration/eligibility standards for student athletes; this Act would supersede conflicting state measures.
23- Reports and oversight: the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will study the creation of a federally run program to certify and regulate agents, with a final report and recommendations within a year of enactment; IIAs must submit biennial compliance reports to Congress, and the Comptroller General will conduct periodic investigations.

Impact Areas

Primary group/area affected- Student athletes: explicit NIL rights, ability to hire agents, and protections around NIL deals; access to formalized, written agreements; extended medical and mental health benefits post-graduation; career and financial literacy support; and protections around the duration of NIL agreements.Secondary group/area affected- Colleges/universities and athletic departments: must comply with NIL disclosures, offer expanded support services, manage the pool of NIL funds, and adjust staffing, transfer, and recruiting policies to align with SCORE provisions.- Interstate intercollegiate athletic associations: gain authority to establish and enforce NIL rules, collect data, manage pool limits, and oversee governance structures with athlete representation.- Athlete agents and associated entities: subject to new disclosure and registration requirements, potential caps on compensation, and a future FTC-regulated framework for agent standards and oversight.- States and consumers: states face preemption of conflicting laws; taxpayers and the general public may see changes in how college athletics are funded, regulated, and overseen, including more data transparency on athletic spending and student fees.Additional impacts- Financial implications for institutions: implementing enhanced support programs, medical coverage, degree completion programs, and the 16-team minimum at some institutions will require budgeting and potential reallocation of resources.- Recruiting and transfer dynamics: new rules and disclosures could influence how student athletes choose schools and how transfers are managed, including transfer eligibility and notice requirements.- Legal and regulatory landscape: a federally centered approach with antitrust-safe rules could reshape existing state laws and NCAA-like governance; ongoing reporting will shape future policy decisions.- Privacy and data use: aggregated data sharing and NIL disclosures raise considerations about privacy and how data about student athletes is collected and used.

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