At the heart of much of what has changed in the last five years in college athletics is an interpretation in courtrooms that the NCAA has run afoul of U.S. antitrust laws.
From monetization of name, image and likeness, to eligibility rules and the ability to transfer, U.S. antitrust concerns have led to a Wild West scenario across the college sports landscape.
New bipartisan legislation from the U.S. Congress could bring about substantial changes to college sports, including a limited antitrust exemption which would allow the NCAA to create and enforce rules.
Sens. Maria Cantwell and Ted Cruz reached an agreement Wednesday on a comprehensive bill that would grant the NCAA a limited antitrust exemption related to athlete transfers, eligibility and a compensation cap.
The bill is named the Protect College Sports Act. The full 111 page text of the legislation can be found here. This is the beginning of what is likely to be a drawn out process that will involve significant negotiation resulting in modifications before enough votes can be secured to pass a law.
Here are some of the core tenets of the bill as it currently stands.
- Implements a floating cap on total compensation;
- Permits only one transfer before a player must miss a season of eligibility. A second or more transfers are permitted under certain conditions, such as a head coach leaving;
- Establishes a five-year eligibility length for college athletes;
- Prohibits professional athletes, including those who have competed internationally, from participating in college sports if they earned compensation in their pro careers beyond prize money;
- Grants legal protection to the NCAA and College Sports Commission to enforce strict standards in prohibiting third-party NIL deals that lack a valid business purpose;
- The bill is neutral on athlete employment and leaves open the possibility for athletes to eventually be deemed employees and collectively bargain;
- It precludes the creation of a so-called “super league”;
- Creates an agent registry limiting fees to 5%;
- Permits the pooling of media rights;
- Bars coaches from leaving their team before the season ends;
- Creates a national standard for NIL by preempting state law;
- Intended to curtail the spending “arms race” to protect the future of Olympic and women’s sports;
- Provides athletes with guaranteed medical care and scholarships.
While imperfect, this legislation obviously has the potential to bring some much-needed stability to college sports.
We’ll continue to follow the legislative process as it unfolds.
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