Republican state Rep. Dixon McMakin’s proposed bill makes no fiscal sense and only subverts the purpose of higher education in Louisiana.

The bill would exempt college athletes from state income tax on earnings from Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deals. These deals can be negotiated individually or through group agreements facilitated by universities or third parties.

While exact NIL earnings aren’t always public, some can be substantial. For example, LSU gymnast Livvy Dunne, despite modest athletic credentials, earns at least $4 million annually, thanks to her exceptional marketing skills. Even so, given Louisiana’s tax rates, this exemption may not cost the state more than eight figures annually.

But that misses the point, something McMakin clearly fails to grasp. He claims the bill would attract talent and keep Louisiana’s universities “competitive”—a move mirrored by other states, some of which lack state income taxes entirely.

Yet just what kinds of talent and competition are important to him, athletics or academics? Has he forgotten the reason we have universities and have taxpayers pony up about half of their costs is to provide the best tertiary education possible for state taxpayer families? That it isn’t about building institutions around a priority of first having the most successful sports teams possible?

This backward logic insults taxpayers, who shouldn’t face reduced services or higher taxes just to help universities win more competitions. That does next to nothing to improving student retention and graduation with a quality degree.

While some state funding trickles into intercollegiate athletics, the majority of sports programs rely on private, voluntary donations. Unlike direct appropriations, McMakin’s proposal would create a tax loophole beyond the legislature’s control—a move evading accountability that any tax expert would call bad fiscal policy.

Some might argue that successful sports teams could generate enough revenue to offset state costs that go into athletics, and even contribute to academic funding. For instance, in 2022 (latest data available) LSU was one of just 12 public universities (there may have been more; a few states can shield this data and private schools aren’t obligated legally to report it) to not only cover its athletic subsidies but also transfer $8 million to academics.

But this is a crapshoot, not sound fiscal policy. The tradeoff between forgone tax revenue and potential ticket sales or championship bonuses is unpredictable—and unlikely to pay off. Tax policy experts will contend that broad-based tax breaks on a general set of activities are far more effective at spurring economic development than niche loopholes benefiting a select few.

And when this strategy fails, universities suffer. In 2022, LSU ranked sixth in athletics-generated revenue, but my alma mater, the University of New Orleans, was at the very bottom of the known list of 232 schools. The silver and blue’s athletics deficit exceeded $2 million, with expenses double its revenue, worsening the school’s financial struggles. As much as I want to see the Privateers succeed, I refuse to support state tax giveaways to prop up college athletics.

(And if you think I’m some sort of academic scold looking down on intercollegiate athletics, as an example come around my place weekends and some weeknights this spring where we can watch on television or listen to on radio University of Oklahoma Sooner softball while I’m wearing a shirt extolling the virtues of one of the 2013, 2016, 2017, 2021, 2022, 2023, or 2024, or all of the 2021-22, 2021-23, or 2021-24 national championship teams. I don’t miss a pitch as my alma mater goes for five in a row, which would be the ninth all time and eighth in the last 12 championship years).

Universities exist to teach a knowledge base, foster critical thinking, and develop communication skills to express these products—not to win sports contests. Tax policy should prioritize academic success, not athletic victories. Any serious policymaker interested in real reform should reject McMakin’s bill outright.