As members of Congress launch yet another effort to wield control over college athletics, advocates for student-athletes are making it known that they strongly oppose new legislation being considered.
Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., held a hearing Wednesday for the bipartisan Protect College Sports Act, which would give the NCAA an antitrust exemption so it could enforce several rules that have been legally challenged.
It’s just the latest proposal aimed at changing the rules that allow college athletes to make money off their names, images and likenesses, or NIL. The SCORE Act has stalled, having been roundly criticized for potentially harming student-athletes. And so has, it seems, the more player-friendly Student Athlete Fairness and Enforcement Act.
The latest legislation comes as President Donald Trump pushes to return college sports to the pre-NIL era, in which many former players have said they were exploited. The president has hardly been able to contain his displeasure over the new system, which has led to some rather awkward moments.
The new bill would allow schools to establish caps on how much they can pay athletes, as ESPN explained, and also limit players’ eligibility to five years and the number of times they can transfer.