Five U.S senators have met several times over the past six weeks in “serious negotiations over drafting a federal bill to regulate college sports compensation,” according to Ross Dellenger of YAHOO SPORTS. The senators involved are Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Jerry Moran (R-Kan.). Cruz and Booker are “essential to any advancement of a bill,” with Cruz the chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, the body that mostly controls college sports legislation, and Booker a former Stanford football player and a leading voice among Democrats in the Senate. Discussions between Cruz and Booker “reignited in March after stalling last spring,” though “hurdles remain unresolved in a bipartisan agreement.” A framework of a bill is expected to include three main concepts:
- A “limited antitrust protection” that, in part, “codifies the House settlement to allow the NCAA and power conferences to enforce eligibility and transfer rules as well as rules around the new revenue-sharing structure.”
- A clause “deeming athletes as students and not employees” with a “possible sunset on that provision after a set number of years.”
- A “pre-emption of existing NIL state laws, many of which contradict the settlement and/or NCAA rules.”
A source said, “They’re as close as they’ve been, but they’ve been close before.” While the White House has not publicly taken a stance on the issue, multiple college and congressional officials mentioned that President Donald Trump is “aware of the situation and has spoken to multiple college sports stakeholders about college sports legislation.” A source said, “He wants to help. He wants to help save college sports” (YAHOO SPORTS, 4/13).
