Sens Marsha Blackburn, Maria Cantwell hustling to protect college athletes' finances in murky NIL world

EXCLUSIVE: Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., program to spell to bat for assemblage athletes to assistance unafraid their futures by investing their name, representation and likeness (NIL) earnings.

Blackburn and Cantwell introduced the Helping Undergraduate Students Thrive with Long-Term Earnings (HUSTLE) Act, according to a merchandise obtained by Fox News Digital. The senators said assemblage athletes would get the accidental to enactment wealth into "tax-advantaged concern accounts for pupil athletes, necessitate trustees to supply fiscal education, and found regulations to forestall abuse."

The senators vowed that the HUSTLE Act would besides assistance assemblage athletes amended their fiscal literacy and amended navigate the Wild West of NIL.

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Virginia violative lineman Drake Metcalf (60) reacts successful the archetypal fractional of the Atlantic Coast Conference title NCAA assemblage shot crippled against Duke, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, successful Charlotte, North Carolina. (AP Photo/Jacob Kupferman)

"College athletes are present earning billions of dollars from their name, image, and likeness—and rightly so. We indispensable empower these students to safeguard their fiscal aboriginal and support themselves against rogue agents," Blackburn said successful a statement. "The HUSTLE Act would let assemblage athletes to put their net successful a tax-advantaged relationship that grows implicit time, fortify fiscal education, and make safeguards to forestall exploitation by dishonest agents."

Cantwell hoped that assemblage athletes would nary longer beryllium taken vantage of by "unscrupulous agents."

"This measure focuses successful connected the fiscal information and information of assemblage athletes who – yet – are earning compensation for their name, image, and likeness (NIL)," Cantwell added. "Many of these athletes volition beryllium successful a unsocial concern wherever they volition gain NIL income during a comparatively little play of their careers. Our measure volition acceptable up a circumstantial NIL Account wherever they tin acceptable speech immoderate of that income and physique semipermanent savings.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., speaks arsenic U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies earlier the Senate Judiciary Committee successful the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill connected Oct. 7, 2025 successful Washington, D.C. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

"The measure besides volition support athletes and their NIL net against fiscal exploitation by unscrupulous agents. Since athletes person been capable to gain NIL, immoderate person been victimized by agents who person charged shockingly precocious commissions oregon person tried to instrumentality ownership of the athlete’s intelligence spot rights. Our measure volition rein successful these abuses and necessitate agents to registry with a state."

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Under the HUSTLE Act, assemblage athletes volition beryllium capable to usage NIL net up to the yearly gift-tax exclusion magnitude to an NIL concern account, allowing their funds to turn tax-free. The measure would let up to $35,000 successful unused NIL relationship funds to beryllium rolled implicit into an IRA oregon status relationship erstwhile the jock has been retired of assemblage athletics for astatine slightest a year.

Trustees would beryllium required to supply fiscal acquisition to guarantee athletes cognize however to negociate their money. The HUSTLE Act would besides nonstop the Treasury Department to gully up regulations to forestall maltreatment and exploitation, study and way publication limits and specify different expenses.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, left, and Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., during a confirmation proceeding successful Washington, D.C., connected Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The HUSTLE Act would besides update the Sports Agent Responsibility and Trust Act. Athlete agents would person to registry with a authorities earlier being capable to correspond athletes successful NIL deals. Agent fees would beryllium capped astatine 5% and certify their registration to whichever diversion relation that governs the athlete’s sport.

Deceptive practices would beryllium banned, and nationalist governing bodies would beryllium required to enactment unneurotic an online registry of registered and certified jock agents to summation transparency for athletes and their families.

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey was among those who endorsed the HUSTLE Act.

"The Southeastern Conference is grateful for the continued engagement of lawmakers successful addressing the evolving needs of student-athletes," helium said successful a statement. "The HUSTLE Act represents a constructive attack by establishing tax-advantaged NIL concern accounts that promote fiscal education, semipermanent savings, and liable absorption of earnings.

UConn defender Azzi Fudd (35) drives to the handbasket arsenic DePaul defender Devin Hagemann (7) defends successful the archetypal fractional of an NCAA assemblage hoops game, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, successful Storrs, Connecticut. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

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"We admit Congress’s sustained bipartisan committedness to processing national, accordant standards that enactment student-athletes and heighten their opportunities successful this rapidly changing environment."

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