Just as the most vocal skeptics of the Score Act within College Sports decided to promise their support for the account, another is introduced by one of the most fiery critics of potential legislation that took its way through the House of Representatives.
Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Together with Sens. Cory Booker (DN.J.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), On Monday, the Athlete Fairness Enforcement Act student introduced.
The Safe ACT includes changing the sports broadcast Act to allow schools and conferences to bundle media rights, an idea that some people praise as a way to finance the rising costs for athletic departments, although the potential solution has achieved skepticism by many in the university sports.
The bill also calls for creating a new committee within the NCAA to “maximize income for all schools and conferences” that would not be checked by the richest competitions. All conferences on their own media rights are currently negotiating.
Cantwell and other critics of the ACT score, a dual bill that came into the house in July, but has not yet come to the ground for debate or mood, have said that it allows the Big Ten and SEC to build too much power and wealth.
“It is a new path ahead because of the zero landscape that currently looks like an escalation of the richest, largest schools that can pay the most money for the best athletes,” said Cantwell.
The score law would codify and strengthen a new system for sharing income that had been agreed by the NCAA and Power Conferences as part of a settlement of $ 2.8 billion of three antitrust procedures last summer. For the first time, schools can now pay athletes directly, with a limit of around $ 20.5 million this year.
Within university sports there were some concerns about whether the score law in combination with the new NCAA management model – which gives more voices than ever to the Power 4 conferences – can lead to smaller schools from Division I. be pushed.
But revisions of the language in the bill were made to tackle those worries last week, and earlier Monday 10 Mid-Major Conferences sent a letter to the congress that promised their support for score.
Ten division I conferences that had expressed concern about the score law regarding NCAA Governance sent a letter to the congress to support the bill.
Tweaks were made to the language in the bill to tackle their worries last week.
Remarkable development. pic.twitter.com/qxorzauibf
– Ralph D. Russo (@Ralphtrussoath) September 29, 2025
“We are looking forward to the rapid passage in the house and wearing the momentum and dual support for modernizing and stabilizing this unique American tradition of university sports to the Senate,” the letter said.
With those conferences completely on board, all 32 division I competitions appear to be united behind the account.
The Score Act offers some antitrust protection to the NCAA and conferences with which they can rule university sports without the threat of constant lawsuits. It also prevents university athletes from being considered employees, creates a national standard for name of name, image and similarity compensation and guarantees a number of long -term health care and other benefits for athletes.
The NCAA and College Sports Leaders have been lobbying for years at the congress for a federal law to help them prevent legal challenges and to regain control of governance and making rule.
Cantwell told the athletics that she wanted to introduce the safe action before a possible government was closed later this week as Democrats and Republicans on an expenditure law. The safe act of Cantwell reflects some elements of the Score Act, but does not respond to employment status.
“Those closest to the university sports-including student athletes and leaders of the American colleges and universities at all levels at all levels of congress to take consistently taking action to tackle the actual threats for collegial athletics,” said Tim Buckley, NCAA Senior Vice President for Externne matters. “This includes protecting student athletes against being forced to become employees, and to ensure that academic standards and other commonsense rules can be used consistently.
pic.twitter.com/efgipcbic4
– Ralph D. Russo (@Ralphtrussoath) September 29, 2025
The most striking difference is to change the Sports Broadcasting ACT, a travel supporters believe that the road will plain for more than 130 large university football schools to significantly increase their income from the media rights.
Billionaire Oilman and Texas Tech Booster Cody Campbell have also defended the idea. His Saving College Sports Television advertisements often ran on Saturday during the first few weeks of this university football season.
Sponsors of the Score Act have said that linking changes to the Sports Broadcasting Act to the account would stop progress. Although Cantwell and Campbell have recommended projections of a huge windfall of extra income in the media, many others are skeptical that would actually be the case.
In particular, the Big Ten and SEC, which have the most valuable media rights, have not shown an interest in the idea. And even if the SBA is changed, conferences would not be forced to bundle their rights under the Safe Act.
Campbell’s plan also calls for the government to create an entity to replace the NCAA and to supervise the pooled mediaettes.
The safe action keeps the NCAA involved, although the association would take on a new role. The NCAA has the media rights for its championship events, including March Madness, but has no involvement in the play-off of the University Football or in selling the rights of events in the regular season in college sports.
Even if the score law has a mood in the house, it probably doesn’t seem to win the 60 votes needed to pass the Senate.
Cantwell said that the safe law could be part of negotiations when the score law comes to the Senate.
“I think these guys thought they could just take a concept and hurry it up,” said Cantwell. “And we think we have been more attentive to the big problem and how to solve it.”
(Photo: Kevin C. Cox / Getty images)
#Score #Act #recovering #Senate #Critics #launching #bill #reform #College #Sports