In a move that could lead to massive change in college sports, two U.S. senators from opposing political parties have proposed an amendment to the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 that would allow colleges to pool their media rights in an effort to grow revenue and "stabilize" college sports.
The proposed legislation is bipartisan and came on Friday, March 6, from Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO), both members of the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. They released a discussion draft of the "College Sports Competitive Act," which would amend the Sports Broadcasting Act, a 65-year-old law that exempted professional sports leagues from antitrust laws and allowed them to pool their television rights but didn’t do the same for college sports.
Hayes: At Trump college sports roundtable, most powerful man in free world decides to punt
The proposal comes as college sports faces a crisis of huge new expenses from revenue-sharing with players, up to $20.5 million per school starting in 2025 under terms of the House vs. NCAA legal settlement.
“If we don’t address the revenue problem, college sports, as we know and love them, will slowly disappear,” Schmitt said in a statement. “This is a serious problem, and Congress needs to provide real solutions to help alleviate the pressure being put on schools. Allowing conferences and universities to voluntarily pool and sell their media rights together can unlock new revenue streams while preserving the broad-based athletic programs that make college sports the institution it is today.”
