A victory for sanity has occurred in the state of Mississippi.
Nearly two weeks after it was first reported that the Mississippi House of Representatives was considering making the name, image, and likeness (NIL) earnings of college athletes untaxable, a state senate committee has killed that bill, at least for now.
“I don’t know about the rest of you on this committee,” Sen. Dean Kirby, R-Pearl, said of the House bill, “but I’ve had several constituents that have called me that are not happy at all about this bill.”
The bill to kill NIL taxes was brought before Kirby’s Senate Finance Committee on Monday.
What it would have done is eliminate taxes on NIL earnings by college athletes retroactive to January 1.
One of the bill’s proponents in the House, Rep. Trey Lamar, R-Senatobia, urged passage of the measure to strengthen Mississippi schools in the current recruiting environment.
“NIL is taking the country and coming by storm,” Lamar said on Feb. 25. “Other states are doing it, and I believe it’s time that Mississippi starts doing this as well.”
Lamar’s concerns about the competitive imbalance that Mississippi schools such as Ole Miss and Mississippi State face in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) are well-founded. Currently, five SEC schools can offer athletes tax-free NIL deals, either because of laws exempting NIL earnings or because they are located in states that do not levy state income taxes.
Enough members of the Mississippi House agreed with those concerns that the measure passed and reached the Senate. However, after Kirby’s admonition ot other senators about the concerns of his voters, the bill was defeated unanimously.
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