Big 12, NCAA urge senators to pass federal standard for student-athlete pay

WASHINGTON — Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby told senators on Tuesday that states passing laws allowing college athletes to make endorsement money will destabilize the NCAA. He asked the Senate to step in and create uniform restrictions.

“I fear that if we adopt a process that permits per se ‘play for pay’ or any proxy for ‘pay for play’ we will find ourselves changing the team chemistry that has made college athletics so special,” Bowlsby said at a hearing of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Manufacturing, Trade, and Consumer Protection.

Bowlsby’s comments came during the first-ever Senate hearing on student-athlete compensation. Bowlsby testified along with NCAA President Mark Emmert and several college athletic officials.

Bowlsby and Emmert were in agreement for much of the hearing, arguing that schools in states allowing endorsement deals for student-athletes would be able to use money to entice players to sign with them over schools in states without such laws.

California passed a law in September that will allow players to hire agents and get endorsements once it goes into effect in 2023. Other states are considering similar legislation.

“If implemented, these laws would give some schools an unfair recruiting advantage and open the door to sponsorship arrangements being used as a recruiting inducement. This would create a huge imbalance among schools and could lead to corruption in the recruiting process,” Emmert said. “We may need Congress’ support in helping maintain uniform standards in college sports.”

The senators at Tuesday’s hearing seemed mostly unimpressed with the NCAA’s argument, urging the organization to quickly enact changes to allow athletes to be paid before the government does it for them.

“We’ve got a situation where states are moving forward, and we need to address the issue,” said Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., the chairman of the full Senate Commerce Committee.

The NCAA already is taking steps to address the calls for greater NCAA athlete compensation, saying last fall it would allow players to “benefit” from their name, image and likeness. NCAA rules governing the change are expected to be revealed in April.

Emmert said the NCAA is working as “quickly as possible,” but Sen. Richard Blumethal, D-Conn., encouraged states to continue moving forward with their own legislation because the NCAA is “late to this game.”

“Everyone is profiting off of the fame, likeness of student-athletes except the athletes themselves,” he said.

Even Texas legislators are following California’s lead.

Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano, tweeted in September that when the Texas Legislature convenes in 2021, he’ll work on “similar legislation here in Texas that frees our collegiate athletes and allows them to earn money from the use of their own names, images & likenesses.”

In Washington, U.S. Rep. John Ratcliffe, R-Heath, is co-sponsoring a bill that would expose NCAA members to more taxes if they don’t allow athletes to be compensated.

The NCAA, Big 12 and Atlantic Coast Conference spent a combined $750,000 last year on lobbying to communicate to lawmakers that federal “guardrails” are needed to prevent state legislators from destabilizing the NCAA, according to a report from The Associated Press.

“The NCAA is going to fight for the status quo,” Ramogi Huma, executive director of the National College Players Association, told AP.

Huma testified at Tuesday’s hearing, telling senators the NCAA’s argument that student compensation will destabilize the NCAA is a distraction because schools in power conferences already have a significant recruiting advantage.

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., and Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, also formed a working group in December to discuss options for student-athlete compensation. The group met with Emmert that month.