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Louisiana athletics leaders looking to get ahead of NIL issues
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BATON ROUGE - A legislative task force made up of athletics leaders from across the state, student-athletes and high school coaches met Tuesday to try to get ahead of future name, image and likeness issues.
Nearly every university in the state had a seat at the table Tuesday. The goal was to pinpoint challenges for student-athletes signing NIL deals. These deals allow student-athletes to make money off of their name, image and likeness.
Rep. Rashid Young, a former student-athlete, is now an advocate for them.
"At this point, my passion really is about protecting students and making sure they have opportunities to grow beyond the classroom," Young said.
Today's high school student-athletes live in a world that didn't exist when Young was in college.
Michael Victorian, an attorney, helps student-athletes transition from high school to college and navigate NIL deals.
"Families need someone that's immersed in that world to help them walk through that process," Victorian said. "I'm like a guide."
The task force will make recommendations to lawmakers on changing current laws. Young said he wants to make sure deals made with students are fair.
At the university level, officials raised concerns that overregulation could drive student-athletes out of Louisiana.
"We're going to listen to our higher ed institutions and make sure Louisiana stays competitive," Young said.
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