States Weigh NIL Tax Breaks to Attract Top College Athletes

This year’s Final Four in the men’s NCAA Basketball Tournament had more in common than being No. 1 seeds: Their home states either already give student athletes a tax break on earnings from endorsements and marketing tied to their personal brands, or are trying to enact one.

Legislators in Duke’s home state of North Carolina and Auburn’s Alabama are floating bills that would partially or fully exempt student-athletes’ earnings from name, image, and likeness deals from income taxes. Such bills—also circulating in Georgia and Illinois—are designed to help colleges and universities compete for athletic talent with the likes of the ...