2022 South Carolina Code of Laws
Title 59 - Education
Chapter 158 - Intercollegiate Athletes' Compensation For Name, Image, Or Likeness
Section 59-158-10. Definitions.
For the purposes of this chapter:
(1) "Athlete agent" means a person who is registered with the Department of Consumer Affairs pursuant to Section 59-102-60 or Section 59-102-80. If an athlete agent is an attorney, then he must also be a member in good standing of a state bar association.
(2) "Athletic booster" means a person or entity that has participated in or has been a member of an organization promoting an institution of higher learning's intercollegiate athletics program.
(3) "Compensation" means any remuneration, in cash or in kind, whether provided at the time or at any subsequent date, to a student athlete. "Compensation" does not mean any grant, scholarship, fellowship, tuition assistance, or other form of financial aid provided to a student for pursuing a post-secondary education.
(4) "Institution of higher learning" means any post-secondary educational institution, including a technical or comprehensive educational institution.
(5) "Intercollegiate athlete" means an individual who engages in, is eligible to engage in, or may be eligible in the future to engage in an intercollegiate sport. If an individual is permanently ineligible to participate in a particular intercollegiate sport, then the individual is not an intercollegiate athlete for the purposes of that sport.
(6) "Intercollegiate sport" means a sport played at the collegiate level for which eligibility requirements for participation by an intercollegiate athlete are established by a national association that promotes or regulates collegiate athletics.
(7) "Name, image, or likeness activities", "name, image, or likeness contract", "NIL activities", or "NIL contract" means an agreement in which an intercollegiate athlete participating in intercollegiate sports authorizes a person to use his name, image, or likeness and, in return, receives consideration. This term shall include, but is not limited to, endorsement contracts.
(8) "Recruit or solicit" means an attempt to influence the choice of an athlete agent by an intercollegiate athlete or, if the intercollegiate athlete is a minor, a parent or guardian of the intercollegiate athlete. "Recruit or solicit" does not mean giving advice on the selection of a particular athlete agent in a family, coaching, or social situation unless the individual giving the advice does so because of the receipt or anticipated receipt of an economic benefit, directly or indirectly, from the athlete agent.
(9) "Team contract" means any agreement between an intercollegiate athlete and an institution of higher learning that could impact the intercollegiate athlete's eligibility to participate in an intercollegiate sport, including, but not limited to, scholarship agreements or participation agreements.
(10) "Third party" means, with respect to an intercollegiate athlete, any entity other than the institution of higher learning in which the intercollegiate athlete is enrolled.
(11) "Third-party endorsement" means an intercollegiate athlete's public support for, approval of, or recommendation of a product or service, including, but not limited to, social media influencer marketing opportunities; personal appearances; and digital content creation, distribution, and promotion of athletic-related business activities. "Third-party endorsement" does not mean the use of an intercollegiate athlete's name, image, or likeness in news reports, commentary, entertainment, or advertisements that is incidental to such uses; the broadcast of a sports contest; the rebroadcast of a sports contest; a brief video or audio clip of a sports contest; or anything that violates a registered or licensed copyright or trademark.
HISTORY: 2021 Act No. 35 (S.685), Section 1, eff July 1, 2021.
Editor's Note
2021 Act No. 35, Section 7, provides as follows:
"SECTION 7. This act takes effect for each institution of higher learning in this State upon the earlier of July 1, 2022, or certification by the Attorney General to the Governor of the enactment of rules consistent with the provisions contained in this act by the institution of higher learning's collegiate governing body [July 1, 2021]. Upon certification by the Attorney General, the provisions of this act are suspended until the General Assembly takes further action."
