I've had some time to consider yesterday's Senate hearing on the Protect College Sports Act.
It framed robust
#NIL and collective activity as threats to competitive balance and Olympic sports.
But NIL is not the crisis. It's not the culprit of "chaos." It doesn't require anyone to "save college sports."
It is the market correction to decades in which institutions and the NCAA profited from athletes without providing them meaningful compensation.
Any federal legislation must strengthen, not constrain, athlete NIL rights and mobility.
Preempting strong state laws, imposing artificial distinctions between "legitimate" deals and market arrangements, or layering new transfer restrictions cannot and must not be done in the absence of bargaining with athletes.
Athletes built the value. People seem to be missing that point. They believe coaches deserve riches and athletes should be pleased with whatever pittance they're provided. No. Athletes deserve a framework that treats them as the principal stakeholders and not as afterthoughts.