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07/28 17:25 CDT College NIL bill includes $25 million 'retention pool' but is
that enough to sway Big Ten, SEC?
College NIL bill includes $25 million 'retention pool' but is that enough to
sway Big Ten, SEC?
By EDDIE PELLS
AP National Writer
A reworked Senate bill designed to regulate college sports proposes to more
than double the amount of money schools could share with players as part of a
flurry of revisions designed to win the support of the Big Ten and Southeastern
Conferences.
Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti said Tuesday at his conference's football
media days that he was waiting to review the new language in the Protect
College Sports Act, and the hope is that the new version of the bill "provides
a lot more help than not."
Among the key changes would be up to $25 million devoted to a "retention" pool
that would allow schools to pay athletes already on their rosters to stay. That
would be in addition to the $21.3 million schools are allowed to spend this
season. Some $5 million of the new money would be devoted to women's sports.
"That's all very specific language that has to work together with the (House)
settlement, so we need to see the language on all of that," Petitti said.
The House settlement, which dictates the terms of revenue sharing, calls for
22% of certain revenues to be shared with the athletes. The retention pool
figures to drastically change that math. Also uncertain is how it would impact
name, image and likeness compensation from third parties, which allows schools
to blow past the cap and many agree is the reason costs of assembling football
and basketball rosters are spiraling out of control.
Jeffrey Kessler, the plaintiffs' attorney in the House case, told The
Associated Press: "I would have to see the specific provisions of the entire
bill to evaluate any issues with the settlement."
An outline of the changes made to the bill, a copy of which the AP obtained,
also included changes the conferences sought over Olympic and women's sports;
avoiding creation of so-called super leagues; language that would prohibit
colleges from paying high schoolers until they enroll; and making sure
conferences won't be required to participate in a media rights pooling
arrangement the bill would allow.
Two other key points the conferences seek are refined language about limiting
lawsuits over eligibility issues and preempting state statutes that guide NIL
payments in favor of one uniform national law.
In speaking about the ramifications of the bill, Tennessee athletic director
Danny White told AP this week that the best way to deal with the lawsuit issues
is to let players collectively bargain.
"Even if they do act, there's still a lot of issues that they won't address and
they probably can't address legally," White said.
There have been conflicting reports about how likely the bill is to reach the
Senate floor, where it will need 60 votes to pass and move on to the House.
Last week, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, said it was
unlikely the bill would reach a vote before the Senate's begins its recess Aug.
7.
The recent action might have changed the calendar.
"There's a long list of areas where we'd like to see some improvements, but
like the commissioner said, we also recognize that we're not going to get
everything that we'd like," said Josh Whitman, the athletic director at
Illinois who was chair of the NCAA board of directors through June. "And so
ultimately, we'd like to see something put together in a package where the
benefits outweigh some of the potential negatives."
___
AP Sports Writers Steve Megargee in Chicago and Teresa M. Walker in Nashville,
Tenn., contributed.
___
AP college sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports
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