The Federal NIL Police

An element of the NCAA’s and Power 5’s quest for preemption is the claimed need for a national enforcement entity. In 2019 and through 2020, the NCAA argued that it—and it alone— should serve that role if Congress federalizes the NIL market. Now, with the NCAA’s diminishing relevance as a national regulator, NCAA and Power 5 lawyers, lobbyists, and advocates like Linda Livingstone call for a “truly independent” federal enforcement entity. This vague, appealing characterization is yet another NCAA/Power 5 smokescreen. This episode analyzes the legislative proposals Big 12 lobbyists are promoting in Congress behind closed doors and the structure of the “independent” entities responsible for regulation and enforcement in a federalized NIL marketplace.