Ten professional sports unions—led by their umbrella organization, the AFL-CIO—have come out with major criticisms of the Protect College Sports Act, according to a statement shared with Front Office Sports Thursday.
The statement came in the middle of a Senate Commerce Committee markup to consider amendments to a fresh version of the bill. The Commerce Committee voted 19-9 to send it to the full Senate floor Thursday morning.
The bill, introduced by Sens. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) and Maria Cantwell (D., Wash) and co-sponsored by Sens. Eric Schmitt (R., Mo.) and Chris Coons (D., Del.) would codify NIL and revenue-sharing rights, as well as health and safety standards and Olympic sports protections. But it would also establish limits on player compensation, transfers, and eligibility, give the NCAA and conferences antitrust protections to enforce these rules, and overrule any conflicting state laws.
College athlete advocacy groups have come out against the bill, saying it would implement restrictions on players that would normally be negotiated through collective bargaining.
And until this week, professional sports unions had refrained from taking a stance.
