Arkansas makes NIL money tax free

[Crimson1967]

Arkansas Passes Legislation to Allow NIL Payments to Go Tax-Free

Higher education institutions in Arkansas just received game-changing news regarding the student-athlete recruitment business. In a successful attempt to balanc

www.si.com

I can think of a few other occupations that deserve tax free status more than college athletes.

Be sure to comment before this gets moved to the political board.

 

[BamaNation]

There should be a requirement that to get any NIL money you have to take a personal finance course each semester that NIL money is "earned". Giving an 18 yr old $1MM to $3MM tax free. What could go wrong? Should have been tax free up to the cost of attendance for the university not covered by tuition scholarship. That would be fine. Everything else? You gotta pay The Man like all of us non-millionaire salary working folks.

The tail is truly wagging the pig.

 

[Tubafore]

Many people other than college athletes make money off their NIL. Arkansas's state residents' net worth is gonna shoot through the roof with nothing to show for it because every (for hyperbole only) celebrity spokesperson will buy a little patch of land, put a mailbox on it, and claim that as their home residence.

 

[mrusso]

I fear Alabama (and others) will follow along eventually. I'm working to get my employer to convert me to an NIL contract so I too can benefit from the tax break.

 

[some_al_fan]

Alabama has a similar bill under consideration: https://alison.legislature.state.al.us/files/pdf/SearchableInstruments/2025RS/HB240-int.pdf

 

[Cruloc]

Clown world

Absolute buffoonery

 

[mdb-tpet]

What a dumb race-to-the-bottom world we are living in. This is absurd. People getting 6 and 7 figure checks simply do not need to get tax breaks, or we should just quit taking taxes altogether and enjoy becoming West Somalia.

 

[Cruloc]

I doubt my employer will let me reclassify my position as NIL and thereby have no withholding on my income.

My son is in college, small scholarship, no NIL.....but these guys get a full ride scholarship and NIL payouts that will now have no tax.

We will soon have Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho running things, if we don't already.

 

[Tubafore]

Alabama has a similar bill under consideration: https://alison.legislature.state.al.us/files/pdf/SearchableInstruments/2025RS/HB240-int.pdf

I see this only applies to student athletes. I guess that kills my loophole of having a small plot of land with a mailbox for tax purposes.

 

[OconeeTide]

How in the world is that fair? Work my whole life getting taxed, yet these kids just get handed millions of dollars tax free?

 

[4Q Basket Case]

Keep in mind, the income is still subject to federal income tax. Up to the social security cap, it's also subject to that tax -- though at the dollars involved, that's not a big percentage of the total.

Regardless, this isn't about fairness. It's about recruiting. Several states that have major college football programs have also had no state income tax for decades -- Texas, Tennessee and Florida. There may be others, I don't know.

Regardless, states that do have income tax don't want to cede a recruiting edge to the ones that don't.

 

[colbysullivan]

Clown world

Absolute buffoonery

yOuR jUsT mAd KiDs FiNaLlY bE gEtTiNg PaId

Man, it pained me to type “you’re” like that

 

[Bamabuzzard]

If I'm a taxpayer of these states, I would push my senator to vote it down. This is ridiculous. These kids are already getting millions of dollars in benefits that doesn't even include NIL money. No way am I letting them not pay state taxes on NIL money.

 

[Cruloc]

yOuR jUsT mAd KiDs FiNaLlY bE gEtTiNg PaId

Man, it pained me to type “you’re” like that

Now they can get some bling.

I've had this conversation with a friend who had a son that played D1 ball, full scholarship. He always has said the kids didn't have money to live, eat, go out etc. I always said....these kids have a full ride to college and access to all sorts of free stuff, great medical benefits and all they have to do is put in the work.

I never have had a problem with giving the kids some spending money, but this crap we're doing now is absurd. And I know you were making a joke and I'm now going on a rant, but this crap is so irritating to me.

So many of these kids were already entitled because most of the kids joining the Power conferences were the big dogs at their high schools. Now we have to give them huge sums of money that they have no clue how to handle. These amounts of money are windfalls to their families, its like winning the lottery.

I can't wait to see the money that gets thrown at some high profile 6th grade QB prospect. No state taxes on that either, but my income will have state taxes.

This crap will ruin a lot of kids and a lot of their families.

Rant over, sorry.

 

[DzynKingRTR]

Now they can get some bling.

I've had this conversation with a friend who had a son that played D1 ball, full scholarship. He always has said the kids didn't have money to live, eat, go out etc. I always said....these kids have a full ride to college and access to all sorts of free stuff, great medical benefits and all they have to do is put in the work.

I never have had a problem with giving the kids some spending money, but this crap we're doing now is absurd. And I know you were making a joke and I'm now going on a rant, but this crap is so irritating to me.

So many of these kids were already entitled because most of the kids joining the Power conferences were the big dogs at their high schools. Now we have to give them huge sums of money that they have no clue how to handle. These amounts of money are windfalls to their families, its like winning the lottery.

I can't wait to see the money that gets thrown at some high profile 6th grade QB prospect. No state taxes on that either, but my income will have state taxes.

This crap will ruin a lot of kids and a lot of their families.

Rant over, sorry.

no need to apologize for the rant. No taxes on NIL is an absolute insult to anyone that went to college and paid their on way thru college by working one or even two jobs at the same time just to get by. I did this and it almost killed me. No taxes to worry about would have been helpful in a very small way.

 

[RollTide_HTTR]

Keep in mind, the income is still subject to federal income tax. Up to the social security cap, it's also subject to that tax -- though at the dollars involved, that's not a big percentage of the total.

Regardless, this isn't about fairness. It's about recruiting. Several states that have major college football programs have also had no state income tax for decades -- Texas, Tennessee and Florida. There may be others, I don't know.

Regardless, states that do have income tax don't want to cede a recruiting edge to the ones that don't.

This

 

[Elefantman]

Well the down side to this is, you got to live in RcanSaw

 

[colbysullivan]

Now they can get some bling.

I've had this conversation with a friend who had a son that played D1 ball, full scholarship. He always has said the kids didn't have money to live, eat, go out etc. I always said....these kids have a full ride to college and access to all sorts of free stuff, great medical benefits and all they have to do is put in the work.

I never have had a problem with giving the kids some spending money, but this crap we're doing now is absurd. And I know you were making a joke and I'm now going on a rant, but this crap is so irritating to me.

So many of these kids were already entitled because most of the kids joining the Power conferences were the big dogs at their high schools. Now we have to give them huge sums of money that they have no clue how to handle. These amounts of money are windfalls to their families, its like winning the lottery.

I can't wait to see the money that gets thrown at some high profile 6th grade QB prospect. No state taxes on that either, but my income will have state taxes.

This crap will ruin a lot of kids and a lot of their families.

Rant over, sorry.

Yep

 

[mdb-tpet]

Now they can get some bling.

I've had this conversation with a friend who had a son that played D1 ball, full scholarship. He always has said the kids didn't have money to live, eat, go out etc. I always said....these kids have a full ride to college and access to all sorts of free stuff, great medical benefits and all they have to do is put in the work.

I never have had a problem with giving the kids some spending money, but this crap we're doing now is absurd. And I know you were making a joke and I'm now going on a rant, but this crap is so irritating to me.

So many of these kids were already entitled because most of the kids joining the Power conferences were the big dogs at their high schools. Now we have to give them huge sums of money that they have no clue how to handle. These amounts of money are windfalls to their families, its like winning the lottery.

I can't wait to see the money that gets thrown at some high profile 6th grade QB prospect. No state taxes on that either, but my income will have state taxes.

This crap will ruin a lot of kids and a lot of their families.

Rant over, sorry.

This dumb loophole will be abused to the hilt by some. Like you said, a 6th grader's NIL can now be a tunnel for tax free earnings for their parents. I expect sports gambling money to find it's way through all of this somehow soon just to make matters worse.