The state of Florida updated its NIL legislation on Thursday, pulling back on restrictions while allowing universities to provide additional entrepreneurial workshops to their players.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed HB 7B: Intercollegiate Athlete Compensation and Rights into law with Florida State football coach Mike Norvell, Florida football coach Billy Napier and players from both schools in attendance.
Among the biggest changes: Schools, teams and coaches will be allowed to help facilitate deals for players. Under current NCAA rules, schools cannot pay players directly or use name, image and likeness deals as inducements for recruiting or retention.
“Further to Governor DeSantis’ commitment to return higher education to the basics — academics and truth — this legislation gets our college athletes focused on building a future with an added focus on entrepreneurship,” the Governor’s office said in a statement to ESPN.
Florida became one of the first states to sign NIL legislation into law in 2020, but because it was on the front end of NIL, legislators put in guardrails to help protect both universities and players from running up against NCAA rules.
In the views of many in the state, those guardrails ended up being too restrictive. Some states never passed NIL legislation, while others, like Alabama, completely repealed their state laws and deferred to the guidance the NCAA has put forward.