Tax breaks for Louisiana college athletes on NIL money punted under budget pressure
The new video display scoreboard in Tiger Stadium's north side as seen from the Pete Maravich Assembly Center on Sept. 13, 2024. (Matthew Perschall for Louisiana Illuminator)
Louisiana lawmakers have pumped the brakes on exempting college athletes' name, image and likeness compensation from income taxes as they work to approve a lean state budget.
Two legislators who filed bills to exempt NIL payments from income taxes have said they will not pursue votes on their legislation, citing perception issues with giving well-paid student-athletes a tax break while tightening the belt on critical state services.
'It didn't seem like there was an appetite for creating a new deduction,' Rep. Rashid Young, D-Homer, said. 'It's partly perception and then partly real dollars.'
Young's House Bill 168 would have exempted the first $12,500 of student-athletes' NIL income from state taxes. It would have aligned the exemption with the standardized deduction offered to every other Louisiana resident. It's not clear if this legislation is necessary for the athletes to receive the deduction, but Young said he wanted to make sure they get it.
House Bill 166 by Rep. Dixon McMakin, R-Baton Rouge, would have exempted the entirety of an athlete's NIL income from state taxes.
Both lawmakers said they would consider bringing back the legislation depending on the outcome of a study on name, image and likeness deals that lawmakers will undertake.
Young's House Resolution 15 will create an NIL task force that will bring together lawmakers, college athletics officials, student-athletes and private business to discuss related issues and make recommendations to the legislature. Additional proposals are expected next year.
Young said he hoped to get more transparency on athletes' NIL compensation. Louisiana laws exempt information related to NIL deals from public disclosure.
Fiscal analyses for the two bills note that Louisiana's four higher education systems have 427 athletes with NIL deals worth a combined $17 million for the 2024-25 school year. Athletes are only required to report deals worth more than $600, meaning this is not a full picture of NIL compensation for Louisiana athletes.
Though legislators are not taking action this year, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry signed an executive order Tuesday that aims to give colleges and universities legal cover to directly pay college athletes.
The order purports to prohibit the NCAA, an athletic conference or another organization with oversight of college athletics from taking action against Louisiana schools that directly compensate athletes or facilitate NIL deals for them.
NCAA rules currently prohibit the paying of players, but athletes are allowed to make money through NIL endorsement deals.
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