The so-called “Protect College Sports Act” had stalled, thanks in large part to lingering objections from the Big Ten and the SEC. On Friday, it all changed.
Via Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports, the Big Ten and SEC reached an agreement with lawmakers regarding the bill that would ostensibly restore some order to the chaos flowing from decades of rampant antitrust violations. While also picking the pockets of those who play the most profitable sports.
President Trump got directly involved in the effort to smooth out the lingering issues. Senator Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) told Dellenger that a vote of the full Senate is expected next week. With a one-month recess looming, the Senate was running out of time to get something done before the midterm elections in November.
The bill, if passed by the Senate, would still need to be passed by the House of Representatives. If passed, it would give the NCAA and the various conferences a limited antitrust exemption, allowing the one-time transfer rule to be implemented and create a stricter revenue-sharing cap.
It would also prevent coaches from leaving their teams before a season ends — a/k/a “the Lane Kiffin Rule.”
The sticking points related to preventing schools from circumventing the limits on spending. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), one of the bill’s sponsors, called it a “hard cap.”
Which will be a hard pill for the players to swallow. Their earning potential is about to be restricted, without collective bargaining or any real representation in the legislative process. But that wrinkle has been lost in the rhetoric aimed at making Americans think that, without Congressional intervention, sports swimming in cash (like football and basketball) would be in danger of collapsing.
Then there’s the reality that the restrictions on player pay in the high-revenue sports will help subsidize the low-revenue sports. With all the current talk of socialism and communism, the concept of capitalism is about to go out the window when it comes to the folks who have the skills to play the college sports that make the most money.
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