The governor said he would support a more restrictive version of the measure, however
COLUMBIA, S.C. โ South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster has vetoed a bill that would have shielded colleges and universities from disclosing the money they give college athletes under NIL deals.
McMaster made his decision known Wednesday night on H. 4902, which would have exempt public disclosures of ย revenue-sharing payments made by a public college and university.ย
Universities can now pay athletes directly, up to $20.5 million this year, through a revenue-sharing model, in addition to athletesโ own NIL (name, image, likeness) deals.
The proposal would codify an exemption to the stateโs Freedom of Information Act, allowing public colleges to keep individual Name, Image and Likeness and revenue-sharing contracts confidential. Universities would only be required to disclose the total amount spent on all athletes for these deals, while details about what an individual athlete or sport receives would remain exempt from public records laws.ย
McMaster said he doesn’t mind if deals with individual athletes are exempt, but the public should be able to know how much a school is spending on their athletic program. He said the legislation goes too far by exempting all records related to revenue sharing.ย
“This legislation presents a conflict between serious concerns and a clear principle,” McMaster wrote. “One the one hand are privacy rights of student-athletes and the competitive interests of our State’s collegiate athletics teams. One the other hand is the right of the People to know how public funds are being spent.”
Athletic directors say making individual contracts public would put South Carolina schools at a competitive disadvantage.
But McMaster said if lawmakers send him legislation that strikes a better balance between protecting athlete’s privacy and the public’s right to know he would sign it immediately.ย
During debate on the bill ย in the legislature there briefly was concern that schools might be using public money to give to players. ย But last month, athletic directors from the University of South Carolina, Clemson University and Coastal Carolina University testified that no state-appropriated funds are being used to pay athletes.
