Aubrey’s Analysis

In recent college news, the “Protect College Sports Act” passed the U.S. Senate 77-22. However, that doesn’t make it a law just yet, and the House is on recess until after the November midterm elections.

So, let’s break this bill down for anyone who may not keep up with the NCAA or college athletics. Essentially, it’s a way for the NCAA to gain some sort of control over what’s being called the “Wild West Era” of college sports.

The bill would guarantee one free transfer for college athletes. After that, they must sit out for one year before becoming eligible to play again. It grants colleges and universities $27.5 million in additional retention spending on top of the House settlement revenue-sharing structure.

The NCAA also gets limited antitrust protection to enforce rules around eligibility, transfers and compensation due to recent lawsuits brought on by college athletes. But players also receive federal protection for scholarships, health care and NIL rights.

There will be no more seven- to eight-year super seniors as athletes are limited to only five years of eligibility nationwide, and coaches would be restricted from leaving for another FBS job in the middle of the season (Lane Kiffin). Although NIL is staying, there will be a new structure that will tighten the rules around booster/associated-entity payments.

So why does this matter?

College is the bridge between high school and professional. NIL was a way for colleges to almost “bid” on a high school athlete for them to attend and play at that respective university for a sum of money.

Although not every high school athlete gets the chance to sign with a DI university, this information is crucial for how they will have to navigate that road if the bill becomes law.

They may sign with a university and get the chance to transfer, but that choice of a new college becomes a lot harder when you get one free opportunity. The second transfer means sitting out for a year, and playing time is vital to getting your name known in the big leagues.

With tighter rules around booster/associated-entity payments, there may also be a reduction in how much money can be offered to a high school athlete when choosing where to play. Will it still be millions, or now a couple hundred thousand? Only time will tell.

There is some pushback about the bill, so again, this may not come to fruition. As an outsider, a sports fan and a journalist, here’s my opinion on the whole thing.

NIL was passed so that players may receive compensation from brands like EA Sports when they wanted to bring back the classic NCAA football game. Rather than back in the day where players were referred to by only their number, their names would be engraved into the game, for which they would receive payment for that use.

Because of the wording, colleges found loopholes and began pushing the limits of NIL (which is why we are now in the political realm with sports). The solution, in my eyes, is you leave the NIL for businesses who wish to use the name, image and likeness of a specific athlete for brand deals.

Scholarships will still be offered, but the leftover revenue goes toward recruiting. That way, universities can go recruit the players they want, but that money replaces scholarships and goes toward education rather than in their pockets or a luxury car. After all, college is utilized for furthering education.

We will know more about the bill once November comes around, but I would keep a close eye on it if I was a high school athlete.