Congress tees up the College Athletes Protection and Compensation Act

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - Lawmakers are taking the field in the debate over whether to pay college athletes.

Top stars generate millions for their schools - but often get little in return.

According to the NCAA, only about 2% of college athletes go pro. Lawmakers now want to make sure that those who have the talent are able to make money off their participation in college sports. And for those that those who don’t go pro, they are able to succeed outside of the arena.

Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) says, “The world of college sports is at a crossroads”

Along with Cruz, Senators Jerry Moran, John Thune, and Joe Manchin are serving up new legislation that will aim to help student athletes bank-shot their celebrity. Senator Ted Cruz is one of the sponsors of the College Athletes Protection and Compensation Act.

“I think it is good that young men and young women have worked incredibly hard to develop fantastic skills that in turn can generate enormous economic activity, should be entitled to enjoy the fruits of their labor”

They hosted a roundtable Tuesday, to get input from coaches, school leaders and student athletes. While most agreed student stars should be able to cash in on their name, image and likeness, school leaders worried about putting athletes on the payroll.

Greg Byrne is the Athletic Director for the University of Alabama.

“If you look at the numbers for us at the University of Alabama with our 19 sports outside of football, men’s basketball, I mentioned we lost collectively almost $40 million and we funded that through our our revenue from a football men’s basketball standpoint”

The legislation is still in its first round draft, but the hope is to enshrine name image and likeness rights, establish a medical trust fund for injured athletes, and prioritize educational outcomes for life outside of the stadium.

James Phillips is the Commissioner for the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).

“Graduation rates matter. 98% of these young men and women, maybe 99, are not going to play professional sports. Why would we discount that? But there’s a needle we can thread to make sure that we aren’t ignoring that 1%. That’s really good.”

Cruz hopes when a bill does make it to the finals, it will have bi-partisan support.

Separately, the men’s basketball team at Dartmouth College voted to unionize, joining the SEIU.

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