Senator Richard Burr proposes a bill to tax scholarships for college athletes who earn money by name, image and likeness

WASHINGTON, DC (WBTV) – U.S. Senator from North Carolina Richard Burr continues to push for the idea of ​​taxing the scholarships of college athletes who earn money by name, image or likeness.

On Wednesday, Senator Burr introduced the NIL Scholarship Tax Act, a bill that would force college athletes to choose between a tax-free scholarship or the ability to earn money for their name, image or likeness (NONE).

As a backdrop, on July 1, new NCAA rules came into effect, allowing student-athletes to benefit from their name, image and likeness, following the enactment of state laws. across the country and the United States Supreme Court ruling that the NCAA’s restriction of certain student-athlete benefits violated antitrust laws. The NCAA says these rules will be in place until Congress passes federal legislation setting a uniform standard for name, image and likeness compensation.

Most states that have adopted these rules state that compensation for a student’s name, image, and likeness will not affect a student-athlete’s scholarship eligibility.

But for Senator Burr, he thinks there should be legislation to “protect the integrity of amateur athletics in colleges and universities across the country.”

“College athletes have the unique opportunity to compete for their school while receiving a quality post-secondary education,” said Senator Burr. “The recent NCAA decision to rescind its long-standing ban on outside pay will fundamentally change the landscape of varsity athletics.

Senator Burr says the premise of the bill is that if a student chooses to earn money through their name, image and likeness “based on their connection to their school,” their scholarship should be subject to federal income tax.

Under this bill, student-athletes earning less than $ 20,000 in external remuneration would continue to receive their scholarship under the same tax regime; however, students earning more than $ 20,000 per year would be required to include their scholarship in Adjusting Gross Income for Federal Income Tax.

“As one of two former scholarship athletes serving in the US Senate, I remain concerned that the NCAA action ignores the fact that only a handful of income-generating sports financially support the majority of non-income sports. income on college campuses. Some students continue to play professionally, but the vast majority do not. The majority of student-athletes rely on their college education for their future income. The principle of this bill is simple: if a student chooses to monetize their name, image and likeness based on their connection to their school – in some cases earning them $ 1 million or more per year – their scholarship should be subject to federal income tax. . It is essential that we help protect the successful college sport model that has provided students with educational and professional opportunities for over a century, ”said Senator Burr.

This is not the first time that Senator Burr has mentioned the taxation of college athletes who earn money by the image or likeness of their name.

In 2019, Senator Burr tweeted that if students could make money from their image while in school, then their scholarships should be treated as income.

“If college athletes want to make money from their image while in school, their scholarships should be treated as income. I will introduce legislation that subjects scholarships to athletes who choose to “cash in” to income tax, “reads Senator Burr’s 2019 tweet.

Read the invoice below:

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