Sen. Britt meets with SEC Commissioner, Alabama and Auburn coaches on NIL

WASHINGTON, D.C. (WTVY) - U.S. Senator Katie Britt (R-Alabama) spent time this week meeting with coaches and administrators from the University of Alabama and Auburn University, as well as SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey, to discuss their feelings and advocacy for establishing federal rules for name, image, and likeness (NIL) deals.

On Wednesday, Senator Britt met with Auburn representatives, which included university president Chris Roberts, athletic director John Cohen, head football coach Hugh Freeze, head men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl, and head women’s basketball coach Johnnie Harris.

The following morning, Britt talked with Sankey as well as Alabama representatives such as university president Stuart Bell, athletic director Greg Byrne, and head football coach Nick Saban.

During both meetings, Britt said they discussed the challenges the current NIL structure plays on the future of college athletics, a structure described as “broken across the country” in a press release from her office. NIL deals gained major prominence in 2019 with California becoming the first state in the country to allow student-athletes to enter into personal business deals to profit off of their image, with other states and the NCAA later following suit.

“What we have right now is essentially a race to the bottom,” said Senator Britt. “With every state coming up with their own rules and regulations, what we’re left with is this hodge-podge across the country. We heard from coaches about how challenging it is to work and recruit across jurisdictions in this confusing, rapidly changing environment.

“What they’re asking for are simply some rules of the road that apply across the board. I want to ensure that student-athletes and fans are able to enjoy the collegiate athletics experience that our families love, from revenue generating sports to our women’s sports and Olympic sports.”

Britt mentioned how there are many advocates from the SEC asking Congress to pass legislation to set a national standard of rules and regulations for NIL that would solidify the framework that is vastly different from state-to-state.

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