Gov. DeSantis is enlisting Governors in NIL, transfer portal reform push

When it comes to the transfer portal and name, image and likeness (NIL) compensation for college athletes, the Governor of Florida says he’s looking to forge an interstate compact to curb problems that have hurt college sports in his view.

“I think what’s happened with this transfer portal, it’s like, it’s almost like yearly free agency, you know? You play for one team and you’re going to say, ‘Well, I can make more money here or there.’ So, I think there needs to be a framework in place,” Gov. Ron DeSantis told a crowd at St. Petersburg College.

“I’ve talked to some other Governors about maybe how we can kind of come together on some things. I don’t think Congress is ever going to address this. They can’t address anything.”

We requested more information on which Governors DeSantis discussed the issue with, when the discussions happened and what the agreement might look like, but the Governor’s Office didn’t offer a response before publication.

“We need to get this name, image and likeness and transfer portal straightened out. I signed one of the first NIL bills,” DeSantis added. “My view was if they’re selling your jersey with your name on it and they’re making money off of you, you have a right to do this as an American.”

As the Governor’s Office noted last year when the most recent bill earned DeSantis’ signature, the law stipulates “that athlete agents who represent intercollegiate athletes for contracts related to the use of their NIL must protect the student from unauthorized or exploitative use of their NIL or their right to publicity” and “that a postsecondary educational institution, including an athletic coach, is not liable for any damages to an intercollegiate athlete’s ability to earn compensation for use of their NIL as a result of decisions that are routinely taken in the course of intercollegiate athletics.”

DeSantis has griped about student athletes having too much leverage and about Florida programs in recent months on numerous occasions.

“I think this whole NIL may need some guardrails and the transferring has gotten out of hand. You know, transferring once? Fine, you shouldn’t have to sit out. But to just treat it like a free agency where you don’t know who’s going to come back each year, I think that’s diluted college sports,” he said this Spring.

“Football’s changed where you have, like, you get paid for name, image and likeness and stuff, which we supported in Florida. If people are going to make money off you, like, whatever. But now it’s like, they sit out the bowl games and they do all this other stuff and a lot of Florida State’s players didn’t even play. We’ve got to do something about that. I don’t know if that’s the right thing,” DeSantis said in Waukee, Iowa, during his failed presidential campaign.