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Bill would update Montana NIL law to follow House v. NCAA settlement and let universities oversee athlete payments
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Summary
Senate Bill 271 updates Montana’s 2021 NIL law to align with a recent House v. NCAA settlement; universities support the change to provide student athletes contractual guidance and administrative oversight while preserving protections around team agreements and journalistic coverage.
Senate Bill 271, sponsored by Senator Ellie Boldman, would update Montana’s 2021 name‑image‑likeness (NIL) framework to align state law with a settlement in the case House v. NCAA and allow postsecondary institutions to oversee certain athlete compensation arrangements rather than leaving those responsibilities solely to unaffiliated nonprofit collectives.
Boldman told the committee the 2021 law restored athletes’ NIL rights and that the 2024 settlement provides additional guardrails and oversight options for campuses that the sponsor said universities requested. "It brings our current state law in line with a court case... House versus the NCAA," she said.
Representatives of both Montana State University and the University of Montana testified in support. Tracy Ellig (Montana State University) described the campus role in guiding students through contracts and valuations and said SB271 would increase the support campuses can provide. Dave Kuntz (University of Montana) said the universities have staff to manage payments and that parity with peer states helps recruitment.
Committee members asked whether existing third‑party collectives (for example, "Bobcat Collective" and "Grizzly Collective") would be displaced; university witnesses said the bill does not force collectives out of existence and that campuses and collectives can work together. On value and scale, university testimony gave examples: one year’s tuition and fees are about $32,000 for an out‑of‑state student and roughly $8,000 for a resident; available transparency in their conference suggests NIL deals run about $2,500 on average.
The hearing also covered history (deputy commissioner Hallen Hollenbaugh reviewed how revenue flows prompted the House settlement), press and student‑media implications (university witnesses said journalistic coverage and alumni magazines are not commercial NIL deals and would not be prohibited), and tax treatment (witnesses said NIL arrangements are income and subject to tax reporting; scholarship tax treatment depends on IRS rules). The committee closed the hearing without a vote.