Watching Ted Cruz and Maria Cantwell sit on the same side of a table has an almost theatrical quality. Both the Washington Democrat and the Texas Republican will freely admit that they seldom agree on anything. However, it seems that collegiate athletics are an exception. The two senators met with athletes, coaches, and administrators on a Wednesday morning in Washington to argue that their comprehensive new bill is more than just sound policy. The only policy with a reasonable chance of passing into law is this one.
At a time when college athletics feels truly disoriented, the Cruz-Cantwell college sports bill is introduced. The NCAA discreetly allowed name, image, and likeness compensation in 2021, and since then, the system has been making do on the fly—and not very smoothly. A patchwork of state NIL laws, which differ greatly from North Carolina to California, are used by coaches to recruit. Ten years ago, the rate at which athletes transfer would have seemed unimaginable. While many are not, some are completing their degrees. Maybe no one anticipated that things would become so complicated so quickly.
The Big South Conference commissioner, Sherika Montgomery, put it simply. She described a “widening of the gap” as a result of recruiting across three states, each of which operates under its own NIL regulations. That’s a cautious statement, but the truth is that smaller programs are lagging behind larger ones, and the regulations meant to level the playing field are actually making matters worse. The bill would eliminate those disparities at the state level with a single national standard, which seems simple until you consider how infrequently anything in Washington truly is.
Boston University swimmer Gannon Flynn clarified the stakes. He talked about witnessing athletes transfer four, five, or six times during their college careers in order to pursue better deals and larger platforms while standing in front of senators. “It’s impossible to get those degrees,” he replied. That is somewhat depressing because it shows how college athletics’ initial promise is gradually eroding. Flynn sounded less like a lobbyist and more like someone who genuinely cares about the sport he loves when he warned about a future without legally binding regulations.
Cruz, on the other hand, is pushing quickly and forcefully. He has suggested that the bill might become law before the start of the following school year, which is an ambitious timeline considering the already packed schedule of congressional recesses and Republican opposition in the House. He admitted that Republicans only have 53 seats and that 60 votes are required to end the filibuster. That math is challenging. Sen. Chris Murphy has expressed serious concerns that the bill caps athlete compensation while leaving coaching salaries untouched, so it’s still unclear if enough Democrats will sign on.
The Big Ten and SEC conferences’ opposition is noteworthy; these are powerful voices. Concerned about racial representation being used as a weapon in college sports politics, the Congressional Black Caucus has also requested a pause by the Senate Commerce Committee. The Senate’s proposal is problematic, according to House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, especially when it comes to whether athletes should be treated like employees. Conversations have previously been derailed by that one unresolved issue, and it may do so once more.
As this develops, it’s difficult to get rid of the impression that everyone agrees that the current state of affairs is unsustainable and that the only point of contention is what should take its place. Cruz keeps asking himself, “What’s the alternative?” It’s a fair challenge. The House bill is at a standstill. The NCAA is losing legal battles. State laws continue to proliferate. The Cruz-Cantwell framework has public support from President Trump, which gives it momentum but does not guarantee votes.
It is genuinely unclear if the bill will make it from roundtable optimism to a Senate floor vote. However, two senators who are at odds on almost everything have at least acknowledged that college athletics cannot continue to govern themselves through improvisation. At the very least, that seems like a worthwhile beginning.
