I 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 8304 
To provide for a limitation on liability for certain institutions regarding 
limitations on compensation to student athletes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 8, 2024 
Mr. FRY (for himself, Mr. MOORE of Alabama, Mr. DUNCAN, Mr. NORMAN, 
Mr. WILSON of South Carolina, Mr. TIMMONS, Mr. GUEST, Mr. NEHLS, 
and Mr. JORDAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Education and the Workforce 
A BILL 
To provide for a limitation on liability for certain institutions 
regarding limitations on compensation to student athletes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protect the Benefits 
for Athletes and Limit Liability Act of 2024’’ or as the 
‘‘Protect the BALL Act of 2024’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
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(1) The term ‘‘academic stipend’’ means a pay-
ment made to a student athlete by (and only by) an 
institution not exceeding $5,980 in or attributable to 
any academic year. 
(2) The term ‘‘intercollegiate athletic associa-
tion’’ shall mean any organization or association 
with multiple conferences or institutions as members 
that arranges championships and sets rules for na-
tional sports competition between Varsity Intercolle-
giate Teams. 
(3) The term ‘‘compensation’’ shall include all 
forms of payment and remuneration, in cash, bene-
fits, awards and in any other form, including pay-
ments for licenses of or use of name, image, and 
likeness rights or for such other State or Federal in-
tellectual or intangible property rights as are cur-
rently or may hereafter be recognized judicially or 
enacted by statute, but does not include the paying 
or providing the following to any student athlete: 
(A) Tuition, room, board, books, fees, and 
personal expenses paid or provided by an insti-
tution up to the full cost of attending such in-
stitution, as defined in section 437 of the High-
er Education Act of 1965, and calculated by 
such institution’s financial aid office applying 
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the same standards, policies, and procedures for 
all students, including such amounts paid or 
provided by such institution for both under-
graduate and graduate studies at such institu-
tion. 
(B) Pell Grants and other governmental 
grants unrelated to participation in varsity 
intercollegiate sports competition. 
(C) Health insurance and the costs of 
healthcare, including health insurance and 
healthcare costs wholly or partly self-funded by 
an Association, Conference, or institution. 
(D) Disability and loss of value insurance, 
including disability and loss of value insurance 
that is wholly or partly self-funded by an Asso-
ciation, Conference, or institution. 
(E) Career counseling and job placement 
services and guidance available to all students 
at an institution. 
(F) Payment of hourly wages and benefits 
for work actually performed (and not for par-
ticipation in intercollegiate athletics) at a rate 
commensurate with the going rate in the local-
ity of an institution for similar work. 
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(G) Programs to connect student athletes 
with employers and to facilitate employment op-
portunities, provided the financial terms of such 
employment opportunities are consistent with 
those offered to similarly situated employees 
who are not student athletes and that such pro-
grams are not used to induce a student athlete 
to attend an institution. 
(H) Payment of an amount not to exceed 
the academic stipend to any scholarship athlete 
who is enrolled at such institution during the 
entire season of competition for a varsity sport. 
(4) The term ‘‘conference’’ shall mean any or-
ganization or association with solely institutions as 
members that arranges championships and sets rules 
for sports competition between varsity intercollegiate 
teams. 
(5) The term ‘‘institution’’ shall mean any ‘‘in-
stitution of higher education’’ as that term is de-
fined in section 101 of the Higher Education Act 
(20 U.S.C. §1001). 
(6) The term ‘‘student athlete’’ shall have the 
same meaning as in section 2 of the Sports Agent 
Responsibility and Trust Act (15 U.S.C. §7801). 
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(7) The term ‘‘varsity sports team’’ shall mean 
a sports team of student athletes organized by an in-
stitution to compete against teams of student ath-
letes organized by other institutions at the highest 
and most competitive level of intercollegiate competi-
tion in which student athletes from the institution 
compete, and shall not include sports teams tradi-
tionally characterized as intramural or club teams. 
(8) The term ‘‘name, image, and likeness 
rights’’ means rights recognized under Federal or 
State law that allow an individual to control and 
profit from the commercial use of his or her name, 
image, likeness, and persona, including all rights 
commonly referred to as ‘‘publicity rights’’. 
SEC. 3. IN GENERAL. 
An institution, interstate intercollegiate athletic asso-
ciation, or conference shall not be in violation of any law 
or regulation, and shall not be subject to any manner of 
claim or cause of action, whether class, individual or other-
wise, or any liabilities whatsoever, including under any 
Federal or State law for— 
(1) the adoption of, agreement to, enforcement 
of, or compliance with any rule or bylaw of an inter-
state intercollegiate athletic association, conference, 
or institution that limits or prohibits a student ath-
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lete from receiving compensation from an interstate 
intercollegiate athletic association, conference, insti-
tution, or other person or entity; 
(2) restricting the eligibility of a student athlete 
who violates a rule of the institution, interstate 
intercollegiate athletic association, or conference 
from participation on a varsity sports team; or 
(3) complying with an agreement, under-
standing, rule, or bylaw adopted by an institution, 
conference, or association (or a combination of con-
ferences or institutions) that is reasonably con-
templated under Federal law. 
Æ 
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