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The New Jersey bill to allow student-athletes to earn compensation from the use of their name, image or likeness, and also obtain professional representation, including attorneys and agents, without impacting their scholarship eligibility, cleared another legislative hurdle and appears to be fast-tracked for passage.

A-2106, known as the New Jersey Fair Play Act, introduced Jan. 14, was approved by the Assembly Higher Education Committee by a 4-2 vote on March 5 and now goes before the full Assembly.

If it passes the lower chamber, it heads to Gov. Phil Murphy's desk for signature since the Senate version, S-971, passed on Feb. 10 by a 21-11 vote.

"Athletes are the faces of the industry. They are the ones out there on the field, putting in the work that will attract spectators and create opportunities for businesses to profit," Assemblywoman Lisa Swain, D-Bergen, a prime sponsor, said in a statement after the March 5 committee vote. "It's only fair that they have the right to earn compensation for their work."

Assemblyman Christopher Tully, D-Bergen, and Benjie Wimberly, D-Passaic, are also sponsors.

If signed by Murphy, New Jersey would become only the second state in the country to provide for compensation of collegiate student-athletes. Last September California signed into law similar legislation to compensate student-athletes and provide avenues for them to do so.

The New Jersey bill advances as the National Collegiate Athletic Association begins exploring plans to allow student-athletes to earn money from their name in some capacity. While the association currently bars any such compensation, last year it announced it would adopt a policy allowing college athletes to financially benefit from their name, image and likeness within two years. Stacey Osburn, director of communications for the NCAA, told the Law Journal in a recent email that the NCAA's Board of Governors in October 2019 voted unanimously to permit students participating in athletics the opportunity to benefit from the use of their name, image and likeness in a manner consistent with the collegiate model. All three NCAA divisions were directed to immediately consider modernization of bylaws and policies, with each division to create any new rules beginning immediately, but no later than January 2021, Osburn said.

The New Jersey measure states: "The bill provides that a student-athlete who enters into a contract providing compensation to the student-athlete for use of his name, image, or likeness must disclose the contract to an official of the four-year institution of higher education, to be designated by the institution."

It adds: "An institutional team contract may not prevent a student-athlete from using the athlete's name, image, or likeness for a commercial purpose when the athlete is not engaged in official team activities."

But there are limits under the bill. Student-athletes would not be able to earn compensation when their image is used in connection with certain industries: adult entertainment, alcohol, gambling of any kind, including sports betting, lottery, or betting connected to video games, online games, and mobile devices, tobacco and electronic smoking, pharmaceuticals, controlled dangerous substances or firearms.

"Every day, student athletes generate massive amounts of value for their schools, leagues, the NCAA, and their for-profit partners. But the group that works and sacrifices the most to generate that value—the student athletes themselves—do not see a single penny," Tully said in a statement after the committee vote. "The New Jersey Fair Play Act finally corrects the fundamental imbalances that have existed in collegiate athletics for far too long."

Added Wimberly: "For all of their hard work, these students deserve a piece of the pie. It should also be allowable for them to be fairly compensated."

Sponsors of the Senate bill are Sen. Joseph Lagana, D-Bergen, Sen. Sandra Cunningham, D-Hudson, and Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg, D-Bergen.

Under the measure, a four-year institution would be prohibited from joining the NCAA or any athletic association, conference, or other group or organization with control over intercollegiate athletics, if it prohibited college athletes from earning compensation from their name, image or likeness; prevented a student-athlete from obtaining professional representation in relation to contracts or legal matters; or interfered with compensation reaching a student-athlete.

In turn, a student-athlete earning compensation would be required to disclose the contract to a college official.

If signed by Murphy, the bill would take effect immediately and first be applicable in the fifth academic year following enactment.