Louisiana task force to tackle NIL policy in changing athletic landscape

by Piper Hutchinson, Louisiana Illuminator
July 24, 2025

A new Louisiana legislative task force on name, image and likeness issues is formulating a plan to tackle the problems the burgeoning industry has brought amid a time of turmoil for college athletics. 

The study committee was created in House Resolution 15 by Rep. Rashid Young, D-Homer, a former Grambling State football player who will chair the task force. Made up of athletics directors, business leaders and college athletes, the group is tasked with making recommendations for future state laws on NIL and athlete compensation. 

Only within the past four years have college athletes been permitted to profit off of their name, image and likeness. NCAA rules adopted in 2021 allowed them to strike endorsement contracts like their professional counterparts, ranging from small-dollar deals with local businesses to multi-million dollar agreements with large corporations. 

While many have celebrated the new rules, which allowed unpaid athletes the ability to access some of the profit being made off college sports, others believe the influx of money has opened the floodgate to NIL deals that essentially amounted to paying players for their performance on the field, which is not permitted. 

This summer, a federal judge approved a settlement in the case House v. NCAA that will allow schools to pay their student-athletes directly. While the new payment mechanism is called “revenue sharing,” many colleges that do not make a profit with their athletics program will still pay their players to maintain a competitive advantage. 

At the first meeting of Young’s task force Thursday, members expressed frustrations with the new reality of college athletics. 

“I’ve seen so many changes through the years with the NCAA and how they have allowed this to get out of control, and now we have to try to put it back to some reasonableness,” John Curtis Christian High School football coach J.T. Curtis said. 

Along with the ability to pay players, the House ruling resulted in the creation of the College Sports Commission, a private oversight organization to which athletes must submit their NIL deals for approval. 

Taylor Jacobs, LSU’s associate athletic director of NIL & strategic initiatives and one of the university’s representatives on the task force, said the new reporting system has not been easy and has delayed approval of some deals. Requests filed in the days after LSU won the College World Series on June 22 still have not been approved by the commission, she said. Because interest in deals spike after a national championship, those athletes may have missed their window of opportunity, Jacobs explained. 

Whether colleges can find a way to legally compensate international athletes without jeopardizing their visa status is another issue facing colleges in Louisiana and elsewhere. Young said the problem might require seeking partners in the federal government to solve. 

The task force comes after two bills to exempt college athlete’s NIL income from state taxes stalled in the state legislature earlier this year. The proposals created perception concerns as legislators were being asked to tighten state spending. 

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. The task force is likely to recommend a version of this bill. 

Its recommendations are likely to cover more than just college athletics. Two members representing high schools expressed concern that state law does not regulate how their athletes can be compensated for their name, image and likeness. 

Young said legislation will probably be filed to protect children who engage in these deals. 

The task force is expected to meet monthly until it submits its report to the legislature in January. The next regular session starts in March 2026.

Members of the task force include: 

• State Rep. Rashid Young, D-Homer
• Keli Zinn, LSU executive deputy athletics director
• John Hartwell, University of Louisiana Monroe athletics director 
• Heath Schroyet, McNeese State athletics director
• Jonathan Terrell, Nicholls State athletics director
• Grady Smith, Woodlawn High School principal
• Chandler LeBoeuf, Louisiana Community and Technical College vice president of education 
• State Rep. Tehmi Chaisson, D-Lafayette
• Jolee Liles, NIL specialist for the Louisiana Department of Justice
• Amaya Messier, LSU beach volleyball player
• Verge Ausberry, LSU executive deputy athletics director
• Lucas Morgan, LSU Shreveport athletics director
• Ben Robichaux, Southeastern Louisiana baseball player
• Bryan Maggard, UL Lafayette vice president for intercollege athletics  
• Keira Miracle-Tilford, Southern University softball player 
• Philippe Carter, Southern University assistant athletic director
• Sheridan Cooper, Southern University at New Orleans director for compliance 
• Brandon Shelvin, a NIL collective executive
• Kennedy Jones, Grambling interim director for civil rights and Title IX
• David Aubrey, AT&T Louisiana president 
• Colis Temple III, Board of Regents member

Louisiana Illuminator is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Louisiana Illuminator maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Greg LaRose for questions: [email protected].