Mississippi House passes bill that would remove taxes from student-athletes’ NIL money

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - Mississippi lawmakers are passing legislation to encourage top college athletes to stay in the state.

The House passed a bill, HB 4014, on February 25, that would make all money earned from Name, Image, and Likeness tax-free for student-athletes who have NIL deals.

It still has to go through the Senate, but if it becomes law, players at schools like Ole Miss and Mississippi State would keep every penny from their NIL endorsement deals.

Supporters of the bill say that it would give Mississippi a massive recruiting edge over schools in neighboring states.

“The NIL is something that is taking the country kind of by storm in the college sports arena the last few years,” Rep. Trey Lamar said. “There’s other states doing it. I believe Mississippi needs to remain competitive in that arena.”

Arkansas passed a similar bill last year, and Tennessee already has no state income tax, as do Florida and Texas.

Mississippi is already set to remove its income tax in the coming years, but this bill would allow student-athletes to reap the rewards first.

Ole Miss Professor Dr. Brennan Berg, who has studied NIL and its impact, said the push is less about gaining ground and more about not losing it.

“In some of the research I’ve led, we’ve distinguished between there’s a difference between gaining a competitive advantage versus avoiding a competitive disadvantage,” Berg said.

Berg said for many college athletes, NIL represents a rare window to earn money during their athletic careers.

“If you are a college athlete now and you can just earn a few extra thousand, few extra $100, even as a college student, that can make a world of difference for a lot of people, you know, on a student budget or coming from low socioeconomic backgrounds,” Berg said. “It really helps and just relieves the financial stress.”

The bill has drawn criticism from some representatives who questioned why college athletes would receive a tax exemption while teachers and other working Mississippians continue to pay income taxes.

Berg acknowledged the concern.

“Most people in the state who are working and saying, I’m still paying income taxes, even though I know eventually that’s going to be phased out in the state — I’m still this year, you know, paying my income taxes,” Berg said. “So that’s a fair argument.”

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