Evers signs NIL bill that gives Badgers state funding, with a tweak
· Yahoo Sports
MADISON – The Wisconsin Badgers will now receive taxpayer support as they adapt to a changing college sports landscape.
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Gov. Tony Evers signed legislation that will provide $14.6 million in taxpayer funding for the UW athletic department along with codifying many existing NIL practices. It came with a partial veto to tweak some of the precise language regarding the funding.
The partial veto removes what Evers described in his official letter to the Assembly as “potential confusion created by referring to ‘maintenance’” in the funding that is intended to alleviate facility debt service. He said that "greater flexibility is necessary to ensure this funding can be used effectively and allow the system to maximize the state's investment."
While UW-Madison will receive the largest chunk of state funding for athletic facility debt service, the law allocates an additional $200,000 each to UW-Milwaukee and UW-Green Bay’s athletic departments for the same purpose.
Evers' partial veto did not affect any of the other aspects of the legislation, which formalizes existing rules around athletes’ ability to profit off their name, image and likeness. It also forbids athletes from endorsing tobacco, alcohol, gambling or illegal activity and creates a new public records exemption for NIL agreements and revenue allocations.
The bill passed the Assembly with a 95-1 vote and the Senate with a narrower 17-16 vote. The Senate opposition included both Republicans and Democrats.
“This support is critical as UW-Madison navigates an increasingly uncertain college sports landscape while maintaining our unwavering commitment to competitive excellence, education and broad-based opportunities,” UW chancellor Jennifer Mnookin said in a statement after Evers’ approval of the bill.
UW athletic director Chris McIntosh previously said that the Badgers would be forced to “reevaluate our expectations of our competitive success” or “reevaluate the number of opportunities that we provide” without the legislation.
“In the absence of this legislation, we will be at a point in which everything is on the table in terms of increasing revenues and reducing expenses,” McIntosh said in March.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Tony Evers signs NIL bill that gives funding to Badgers, with a tweak