New proposal from House of Representatives could reign in NIL chaos in college athletics

A new bill introduced in the House of Representatives calls for regulation in college athletics as leaders search for answers in the new era of Name, Image and Likeness.

The SCORE Act, introduced to the House last week, aims to provide the NCAA with antitrust protections, pre-emption of state laws that regulate NIL payments and a ban on making student athletes employees of their schools, according to a report from the Associated Press.

The bill comes on the heels of the House settlement, instituted on July 1. Schools can now share up to $20.5 million directly to players this year in a revenue share model. Additionally, the NCAA is set to pay $2.8 billion to current and former athletes for use of their NIL.

Seven republicans and two democrats are listed as co-sponsors of the SCORE Act, which primarily intends to impose national standards on NIL payments that continue to rise in the aftermath of the settlement.

If passed, the bill will also ban schools from using "athletic fees" imposed on students to fund athletic departments. Schools like Clemson, Tennessee and Arkansas have already implemented similar costs this year.

As football and basketball are set to receive the majority of the $20.5 million revenue-share cap, non-revenue sports would be protected by the SCORE Act, in part, by a requirement on schools to maintain at least 16 sports if one coach makes more than $250,000 a year.

According to the report, the bill has a "fair chance" at passing in the House but a "slim" chance of pasisng in the Senate, where the SCORE Act would need at least seven Democratic votes.