It’s still far from law, but three senators on Thursday released a bill that would standardize the name, image and likeness across the country.

The intent is to address issues with money-making activities by athletes that have come to light since the NCAA lifted the ban on NIL compensation in 2021, and to establish federal standards and regulations for the health and safety of athletes who would violate state laws.

Sens.’s proposed College Athletes Protection & Compensation Act. Cory Booker (DN.J.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) would create the College Athletics Corporation, a non-governmental entity that would have investigative and subpoena powers.

The company would advocate transparency by maintaining a publicly available database of all athlete endorsement contracts broken down by sport, gender and ethnicity. A certification process would be introduced for anyone wishing to represent athletes in NIL deals.

This bipartisan proposal represents a major step forward and I am grateful for working with Senators Blumenthal and Moran, Booker said in a statement. It would make college athletics fairer, safer and more equitable, empowering more young people to succeed in the sport and beyond.

The NCAA has refused to establish rules that set a national standard for NIL since a

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a unanimous Supreme Court vote two years ago upheld a lower court decision that NCAA restrictions on education-related benefits for college athletes violated antitrust law.

Nowhere else in America can companies agree not to pay their employees a market rate based on the theory that their product is determined by not paying their employees a market rate, Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh wrote in a concurring opinion. The NCAA is not above the law.

Since that emphatic rebuke of business as usual in college sports, congressional commissioners have lobbied Congress to regulate NIL. Congress has been slow to respond, however, with nearly a dozen bills dying in the first step in the legislative process.

Meanwhile, a slew of state laws were passed that created a confusing and fundamentally unfair playing field. Many of the laws are toothless, seemingly designed to give schools in those states a competitive edge in recruiting and retaining top players.

The reality is that only Congress can fully address the challenges facing college athletics, Southeastern Conference Commissioner Greg Sankey said at SEC media days this week. “Congressional action is the only way to provide a national uniform standard for name, image and likeness activities and draw the boundaries that don’t simply become pay for play.”

In a rare display of bipartisanship, the three senators have taken the first step toward a federal solution.

Included in the bill’s draft:

Athletes would keep their scholarship until they complete their undergraduate degree, as long as they maintain good academic standing and do not transfer. Schools should provide athletes with at least 15 hours a year of financial literacy and life skills training that would count as college credit. Schools would be prohibited from discouraging athletes from choosing rigorous academic majors. College athletes can compete in drafts through professional leagues without losing their NCAA eligibility if they decide to return to school within seven days of the end of the draft. A medical trust fund for sports-related injuries would be developed, requiring schools to cover athletes’ medical expenses out of pocket for two or four years, depending on the school’s athletic revenue.

[Athletes] need a level playing field with guarantees of economic opportunity, educational outcomes and essential healthcare, Blumenthal said in a statement.