Authored by: Bennett Vest

Abstract

With Name, Image, and Likeness (“NIL”) laws and revenue sharing providing increasing opportunities for collegiate athletes to make money, there is also the risk that state and local governments are likely to try to cash in on this newfound wealth. For decades, states and local governments have assessed  “jock taxes” against nonresident “professional athletes” for games they played within their jurisdictions. As such, jock taxes have required professional athletes, coaches, and support staff to pay taxes in multiple states, in addition to their state of residency income tax.

For decades, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (“NCAA”) has maintained that collegiate athletes are amateur student-athletes, but recent changes to NIL laws and university revenue sharing have cast doubt on this definition. This paper argues that collegiate athletes are “professional athletes” under jock tax statutes because they can receive compensation through NIL and revenue sharing directly from the university. If collegiate athletes are considered professional athletes under jock tax statutes, then collegiate players, coaches, and staff are also subject to jock taxes. Jock taxes would disproportionately affect the “team behind the team,” such as equipment managers, athletic trainers, video production, and other support staff members, at a disproportionate rate. This article also argues that if collegiate athletes and staff members are subject to jock taxes, those jock taxes violate state uniformity clauses, the Commerce Clause/Dormant Commerce Clause, the Due Process Clause, and the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution.