JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri is adopting new legislation that allows the state’s universities to be involved in securing endorsement deals for their student-athletes, a move that comes after the NCAA last year allowed college athletes to begin cashing in on their name, image and likeness (NIL).
The legislation, signed Thursday by Missouri Gov. Mike Parson and passed last month by the Missouri General Assembly, allows university employees, including athletic coaches, to be involved in sourcing deals for their athletes. It follows the NCAA’s policy shift in July 2021 to allow athletes nationwide to earn income from their name, image and likeness, reversing long-held policies that prohibited university students from profiting off their status as student-athletes.
Since the NCAA’s policy change, more than two dozen St. Louis-area companies have entered the upstart NIL industry, a figure that is likely low and certain to get significantly larger as the market evolves and gains more clarity. The emergence of NIL deals has created a new field of play for university athletic departments, which have had to ensure they meet the constant moving target of NCAA and state rules regarding NIL policies while also developing ways to educate students and businesses on the opportunities created by the new policy.
Under the legislation signed into law Thursday, university employees will be able to "identify or assist" athletes in sourcing potential deals. The legislation, effective Aug. 28, states that university employees can’t serve as NIL agents for student-athletes or receive income from businesses involved in the deals. They also can't be at meetings where compensation for the deals is negotiated or finalized, the legislation says.
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