As the dust settles on the thrilling college football national championship game between Indiana and Miami, a growing chorus of US lawmakers from both political parties is calling for tighter regulations on the burgeoning “name, image and likeness” (NIL) deals that have fueled the over-commercialization of student-athletes.
The game itself saw the Indiana Hoosiers pull off a stunning upset over the heavily favoured Miami Hurricanes. However, the real controversy has centered around the staggering sums of money reportedly spent by both teams on NIL contracts this season – with Miami quarterback Carson Beck estimated to have an NIL valuation of $3.1 million, and his Indiana counterpart Fernando Mendoza valued at around $2.6 million.
“We have way too many gaps in the process. I’m all for the players making money, but there’s got to be some rules that play into it,” lamented Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville, a former college football coach. Tuberville argued that the NCAA should have been “running it the right way, giving money to players out of revenue sharing” rather than the current free-for-all.
Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren echoed these concerns, telling The Hill that she “sure won’t support any legislation that gives the NCAA even more authority, which is exactly what they’ve been looking for.” Republican Senator Ted Cruz also acknowledged the “crisis” facing college sports, calling for action to “protect students and their NIL rights, but we need to preserve college athletics for years to come.”
Last year, lawmakers scuttled the SCORE Act, a bill designed to regulate the amounts schools could spend on NIL deals and the care provided to student-athletes. Republicans argued at the time that the legislation would give more power to top universities and donors.
With the financial stakes spiraling ever higher, it’s clear that policymakers on both sides of the aisle believe urgent reforms are needed to rein in the excesses of the current system and restore the proper balance between athletics and academics in US college sports.
