Reports circling regarding a draft of a potential Congressional bill on college sports

[Voltopia]

From out of nowhere, multiple outlets are suddenly reporting on a proposed bill making its way to introduction in Congress. The legislation is apparently poised to grant the anti-trust exemption so many have clamored for. It is worth noting that this is the starting point for a bill; the road to passasge is both complex and arduous. Could be years. Could be less than a year. It all depends on the motivation of those involved. Passing this bill would represent an act of bipartisan effort in an era of severe partisanship, so that might actually help it? Interesting to speculate.

Congress could soon introduce a very NCAA-friendly bill

New bills shows Congress's most direct plan yet to empower NCAA on post-House rules

Congress introduces bill addressing national guidelines for college sports

Someone already summarized the points from the article, so I'm going to copy that here for sake of efficacy -

• Fully deputize the Collegiate Sports Commission (or another entity) to enforce the settlement rules, such as requiring athletes disclose third-party name, image and likeness deals worth more than $600 and allow the prohibition of compensation that is not considered fair market value
• Allow an entity to establish a revenue-sharing cap; the one instituted by the settlement begins at around $20 million for the 2025-26 academic year
• Pre-empt state NIL laws with this national NIL law
• Allow the NCAA, conferences or another entity to establish and enforce rules around transfers, eligibility length and the paying of recruits
• Declare that college athletes are not employees
• Require athlete agents to register with an entity such as the CSC or NCAA

Alongside the anti-trust exemption itself, the comment about creating rules around transfers and eligibility is the most significant one to me. Restoring the colleges' power to shape the system would go quite a ways toward stabilizing some of the current problems.

 

[TheVolsFrog]

It was only a matter of time. I'm sure schools got in their Congressmen ears, not counting the ones that do like sports add in it's legal to bet on sports. Some type of stabilization was going to happen instead of the wild wild west it is now

Not sure how the NIL thing will work. Probably needs to get rid of collectives and make kids get an agent and find marketing opportunities vs this pay for play we have now

Agree there needs to be some rules about transfers and eligibility, I could see transferring to get playing time and other reasons before NIL came in the form it has but now that they're getting paid there needs to be some protections to the school

 

[LegionnaireOfTheMiserable]

Hopefully they get someone with some sense to draft the whole thing. Could be the fix we need if, and only if, it is written correctly. But this is Congress we are talking about, so I’m sure there will be a lot of ridiculous pork included and also probably some exploitable loopholes that render the thing toothless.

 

[JCHateSteve]

I wish they'd adress the portal and wait a minute to see if the system stabilizes. One variable at a time.

 

[lastlapuncle]

Why would ANYONE want congress to have a bill governing anything college sports?We've had the ncaa,a do nothing group that allowedmoney thieving to be the rampart of its being.Why now,a do nothing congress to mess everything up?

 

[Batman1948]

Why would anyone want congress to have a bill governing anything college sports? We've had the NCAA, a do-nothing group that allowed money thieving to be the rampart of its being. Why now, a do-nothing congress to mess everything up?

Fixed it for you----much easier to read now.

I guess the simple answer is because something must be done to save college sports and Congress may have the clout to get it done.

 

[Delmar]

Folks have said all along that it would take an antitrust exemption for a lot of these ideas to work. It’s still hard for me to understand how the players aren’t “employees” when the school is paying them directly but I guess there many ways to define things.

I also find it hard to believe that Congress would waste their time with something like this when they have much more important business to argue about. But since they are as big a bunch of screwups as the NCAA, I guess it follows that they’d try. It can’t be any worse than the situation we have now so maybe it’s worth a try.

 

[TNnative]

Congress getting involved? Really don't know what to think. Except they have other stuff to worry about.

But if it is NCAA friendly? Those people's track record is not really that positive. Sheet, they have been the biggest problem for years. And our government is going to restore power to those monkey's Fn a football? Child please!

 

[Okie]

I will believe that they are going to do something helpful after the law goes into effect and is shown to be helpful 10 years later.

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

Folks have said all along that it would take an antitrust exemption for a lot of these ideas to work. It’s still hard for me to understand how the players aren’t “employees” when the school is paying them directly but I guess there many ways to define things.

I also find it hard to believe that Congress would waste their time with something like this when they have much more important business to argue about. But since they are as big a bunch of screwups as the NCAA, I guess it follows that they’d try. It can’t be any worse than the situation we have now so maybe it’s worth a try.

This is likely the start of a good thing though how badly Congress messes it up until they get it right remains to be seen.

Like pro sports, they can put college athletes in a "special employee category" with various rules that let players and schools negotiate a lot of the specifics but keep some reasonable guardrails.

What survives from traditional college athletics and what is blended in from pro sports is new territory so there's lots to get right and lots to get wrong.

Hopefully these power mad Congress members don't try to micromanage this but establish a framework to let the "next generation of college athletics" morph over time without them having to stay involved every few years.

I'm cautiously hopeful.

 

[Chad F]

Congress is a disaster.

If there truly is an effort by them to address this, it is either (a) a deliberate attempt to distract us all from the fact they have devolved into two raving lunatic groups shouting extremist nonsense at each other . . . or (b) some sort of wanton try at further lining their pockets with our money.

Or it’s both.

I’d say we deserve better but these clowns are a reflection of just how ridiculous our society has become.

 

[feathersax]

Folks have said all along that it would take an antitrust exemption for a lot of these ideas to work. It’s still hard for me to understand how the players aren’t “employees” when the school is paying them directly but I guess there many ways to define things.

I also find it hard to believe that Congress would waste their time with something like this when they have much more important business to argue about. But since they are as big a bunch of screwups as the NCAA, I guess it follows that they’d try. It can’t be any worse than the situation we have now so maybe it’s worth a try.

Congress gonna help....gulp.

 

[MinisterofDef#92]

Will be interesting to watch this play out...and even if Congress does ultimately pass some sort of bill which exempts them from anti-trust laws it doesn't mean SCOTUS won't strike it down.

 

[Brave Volunteer]

Here's what the bill needs to establish to restore order and...well...sanity to college football...

1.) 5 years to play 4, period. No exceptions. No medical redshirts. No hardships, no, this player's dad or mom died. The minute you enroll and step on campus, your clock starts. Players get one redshirt year only. Whether its used for development or injury, that's up to the university, but no more extending this for every exception under the sun.

2.) Players are afforded a one-time no penalty transfer to any school, but only after they've completed at least 2 years at their initial school of choice. Any transfer before that, a player must sit for a year. Same for players who seek to transfer more than once. The only exception is If a player graduates early and still has a year of eligibility left, they may transfer at no penalty as well.

3.) NIL needs to be restored to its original intent. Collectives need to go away completely and players need to hire agents ON THEIR OWN to help them seek out lucrative NIL deals, and businesses need to actually provide proof of value for the player's services.

4.) Academic standards for college athletes need to be restored and actually enforced. These players need to be STUDENT athletes in more than name only. I find it highly suspicious that we never hear of any players losing their eligibility due to poor grades anymore. The Thornton Center is good but its not THAT good!

5.) Part of the payment agreement from universities to athletes needs to include post-season participation. Either bonus incentives need to be tied to post season or If a player opts to sit out of a bowl game or playoff game, he forfeits his payment or part of his payment from the university.

 

[CINCYVOL]

I’m with the government and I’m here to help you. Because they do so well on everything else.

 

[Brave Volunteer]

I’m with the government and I’m here to help you. Because they do so well on everything else.

Sadly I dont see any other solution if we ever hope to restore college football back to some semblance of what it used to be.

 

[UT97Vol]

Why would ANYONE want congress to have a bill governing anything college sports?We've had the ncaa,a do nothing group that allowedmoney thieving to be the rampart of its being.Why now,a do nothing congress to mess everything up?

It's already epically f'd up. There are only two ways forward.

One is a Congressional anti-trust exemption. The other is a collective bargaining agreement. Without either of these two things happening the House Settlement is a ticking time bomb.

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

Will be interesting to watch this play out...and even if Congress does ultimately pass some sort of bill which exempts them from anti-trust laws it doesn't mean SCOTUS won't strike it down.

SCOTUS in the Alston decision specifically suggested that the NCAA needed Congress to give the NCAA some kind of Antitrust Exemption and legal justification for their business practices.

I'm no fan of Congress but they'll need to be involved to override state NIL legislation and such or nothing will change because each state will try to pass favorable NIL laws as TN has done.

 

[Delmar]

This is likely the start of a good thing though how badly Congress messes it up until they get it right remains to be seen.

Like pro sports, they can put college athletes in a "special employee category" with various rules that let players and schools negotiate a lot of the specifics but keep some reasonable guardrails.

What survives from traditional college athletics and what is blended in from pro sports is new territory so there's lots to get right and lots to get wrong.

Hopefully these power mad Congress members don't try to micromanage this but establish a framework to let the "next generation of college athletics" morph over time without them having to stay involved every few years.

I'm cautiously hopeful.

Maybe so. When it comes to Congress or the NCAA, color me cynical when it comes to making intelligent decisions. I’ll believe it when I see it.

 

[Brave Volunteer]

It's already epically f'd up. There are only two ways forward.

One is a Congressional anti-trust exemption. The other is a collective bargaining agreement. Without either of these two things happening the House Settlement is a ticking time bomb.

At this point I'm actually for Congressional intervention because it's the only shot of restoring college football back to some semblance of what it used to be (not completely, but as close as we can realistically get).

Collective bargaining IS a solution, but that would mean college football as we used to know it would be lost forever, and that would be a shame. I'm sure most of us would adjust to the new reality, as we already have at this point. But if I had my choice I would reset everything back to as close to pre-NIL/transfer portal standards as I could.

 

[CINCYVOL]

I’m with the government and I’m here to help you. Because they do so well on everything else.

 

[GUNTERSVOL]

I’m with the government and I’m here to help you. Because they do so well on everything else.

But unfortunately they look great compared to the judicial branch. In the end they need to segregate the FEW bigtime schools from the rest and return D3, D2, and majority of D1 to a modified amateur model. Let the pro division do their own TV deals and pay the big boys that are actually pro potential types. Simply do not let pros on the fields and courts with amateurs. Those worthy will get on those teams from HS or lower divisions and get paid. Pro FB and rest amateur or pro BB and rest amatuer by school OK. Just don’t count in all sports . Just kick open doors to real pros in ALL sports like BB and no reason to mix the models. One and dine or none and done and EVERYBODY has their chance at the big ring with pay.

Division P(ay) draft seems fair. Not playing school needs to have it’s cost. Have that a couple a weeks before signing day and those that don’t make it go the old route. Can’t need more than 30% of pro headcount roster spots to cover the legitimate contenders. BB and baseball already have minor leagues for the worthy. Force NFL to open up and life should be good. COLLEGE AMATEUR SPORTS ACT and away we go.

 

[smoltie29``]

Rather they be working on a border bill

 

[Firebirdparts]

Why would ANYONE want congress to have a bill governing anything college sports?We've had the ncaa,a do nothing group that allowedmoney thieving to be the rampart of its being.Why now,a do nothing congress to mess everything up?

In business, collusion and price fixing is the most elegant move you can make. That's why they outlawed it.

The people with the money want congress to have a bill creating the anti-trust exemption so that the money being paid to athletes can be capped. REAL NIL can never be capped now, but the settlement includes creating a commission to approve or deny NIL deals once they have this exemption. If they determine you are paying fake NIL money, they will tell you that you are not allowed to pay that player that money. That's the plan.

People like money. The people paying (the universities here) have a better lobby than the players. Far better.

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

Maybe so. When it comes to Congress or the NCAA, color me cynical when it comes to making intelligent decisions. I’ll believe it when I see it.

I'm definitely cynical of Congress but they're the only entity with the ability to actually stop the Antitrust lawsuits and rein in NIL.

The smart schools are ramping their underground payment systems again, I suspect, and nobody loves and ignores that kind of graft more than Congress so I suspect it comes back fast and strong in whatever system they come up with.

Traditional college athletics, paying under the table, will probably make fans happier because out of sight, out of mind.

Dumb, but true.