We recently discussed a number of updates in the world of name, image and likeness (NIL) rights. Among those recent developments was the signing by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp of an executive order that, inter alia, prohibited the NCAA and athletic conferences from taking “adverse action” against Georgia schools for directly compensating their athletes for NIL.
On November 18, 2024, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed Executive Order 2024-08D, a similar executive action designed to “ensure a fair and level playing field for Ohio’s postsecondary educational institutions and their student-athletes” while the proposed settlement to resolve the Carter, House, and Hubbard federal antitrust cases is pending in the Northern District of California. Gov. DeWine’s order permits “any postsecondary educational institution in the State of Ohio” that is “covered” by the proposed settlement to “offer compensation or compensate an intercollegiate student-athlete for the use of such student-athlete’s NIL” provided that state funds are not used for such purposes.
The Georgia and Ohio orders are very similar with respect to their core functions: allowing schools to directly compensate their players. However, the order enacted by Gov. Kemp is broader in that it allows schools to “facilitate[e] compensation,” which can be read as permitting schools to work directly with student-athletes to secure NIL compensation with third parties.
Executive Order 2024-08D is set to expire when the Carter, House, and Hubbard settlement goes “into full operational text.” Its full text can be found here.
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