Big-time college sports are halfway toward the federal bailout they crave. The rest of the trip is unlikely to happen anytime soon.
The US Senate passed the Protect College Sports Act on Monday evening by a vote of 77 to 22. The bill is now before the US House of Representatives.
Earlier today, SI.com’s Pat Forde cited an anonymous source who said there was a “0.0 percent chance“The House will pass the bill before the midterm elections.
While Democrats are widely expected to take control of the House in November, the question then becomes whether they will conduct meaningful business before Congress next meets in January.
So there is still a long way to go before the NCAA and its members obtain antitrust exemption and other benefits intended to avert catastrophe. Even though college football is more popular and profitable than ever.
It’s chaos, they say. From whose point of view? Stakeholders, after years of being exploited by a system that denied them the opportunity to meaningfully participate in the value they generate, are doing well. It’s not chaotic for them; it’s the free market that works.
But schools apparently can’t be trusted to balance their budgets, which is bullshit. Every American business faces an ongoing challenge: adapt or fail. Instead of expecting administrators to find a better way to share the pie and/or spend within their means, they want artificial restrictions on what players can earn.
This is not how it should be. And despite the Senate vote, that may not be the case.
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