The opportunity for athletes in the state of Florida to earn compensation based on their Name, Image and Likeness (NIL), scheduled to go into law on July 1, 2021, may be delayed by a year.
As the Florida Legislature wraps up its 2021 legislative session (scheduled to end April 30*), Florida Senate Bill 1028 was intended for changes to charter schools, but additional provisions were latched on as amendments — notably, one delaying the state’s NIL compensation law to be delayed at least a year. SB 1028 then passed Wednesday evening.
*A special session will be held in May to discuss the state’s partnership with the Seminole Tribe in bringing legalized sports gambling to Florida
“No one, including most people in Tallahassee, had any warning or expectation that an amendment would be proposed and snuck into a charter schools piece of legislation at the last minute,” Darren Heitner, a Florida-based sports lawyer, said to Forbes.