Latest college sports bill gets White House backing

A bipartisan Senate bill backed by the White House and major stakeholders provides the “clearest path yet for codifying NCAA rules into law and shielding the organization from antitrust challenge.” A presidential committee on college sports, chaired by Yankees President Randy Levine and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, is “coordinating a unified letter of support.” The bill itself is authored by Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), and it represents the “first moment in years when Congress, the White House and stakeholders across college sports are genuinely aligned on the need for federal intervention.” Sources said that the bill is “expected to supplant the long-gestating SCORE Act as the NCAA’s best chance yet to pass legislation in Congress.” The SCORE Act is “set to be on the House floor THIS week,” though lawmakers believe it will “fall short of the 60 votes needed to clear the Senate.” That is why the White House is “now pushing this separate, bipartisan alternative.” The exact contents of the Cantwell-Cruz bill “remain unclear,” but a memo suggests it will “incorporate elements from the White House committee’s draft framework, including antitrust protections and explicit prohibitions on NIL-based salary-cap circumvention” (CBSSPORTS.com, 5/15).