The College Athletes Bill of Rights – A Promise of Equity

As the tumultuous year that was 2020 came to a close, a bright light began to shine on the rights of college athletes.  On December 17, 2020 Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), and Brian Schatz (D-HI) introduced the College Athletes Bill of Rights, one of five bills brought forth over the course of a year.  Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) and Congressman Steve Cohen (D-TN) introduced a companion bill in the House.  This comprehensive effort to require compensation and health and welfare protections for athletes would significantly disrupt the current amateur status the NCAA clings to with a tenacity that fails to recognize the inherent inequity of this system.  Of significant note, the bill would permit athletes to enter contracts with brands and participate in endorsements; overturning the prohibition on athletes profiting from their own image and likeness, a fundamental measure of exploitation of athletes who cannot earn from their own endeavors.  This legislation is one of several proposed to address the growing voice demanding compensation for college athletes.  The proposals vary in scope with Booker’s being the most comprehensive. Booker’s bill carefully contemplates the realities of college sports, including the exploitation of Black athletes which generates significant income for the NCAA while preventing many athletes from reaching their own success, obtaining appropriate healthcare, or completing their education after entering professional sports.  For many students, completion of a meaningful degree becomes secondary to the pressures to excel in their sport and advance to professional athletics.  The bill’s educational promise would ensure that all college athletes receive a scholarship for as many years as it takes to receive an undergraduate degree.  This key provision removes the stigma often associated with athletes who do not graduate, putting in its place an opportunity to be an athlete in the prime of their physical condition and complete their education on a timeline that is preferential to the athlete.  It also removes the pressure to choose between an education and a professional sports career. Student-athletes, depending on the revenue generated by their sport, may also see direct payments based on the success of their sport.  For now, it appears this revenue distribution would be limited to football, men’s and women’s basketball, and baseball as only those sports which generate revenue above and beyond scholarships paid are eligible for distribution.  The profits would be distributed equally ensuring that even those athletes who do not progress to a professional career would receive compensation for their contribution to a successful college program.  In addition to potential direct payments, colleges will provide extended healthcare to athletes for up to five years after their eligibility expires.  This has long been a concern for athletes who may suffer significant injuries as a result of their involvement in college athletics only to be thrown into a merciless and expensive medical system to the point they are no longer eligible to participate, many continuing to require treatment for injuries sustained in college. The bill also addresses restrictions placed on athletes’ movement between schools.  The current onerous transfer process and restrictions on participation in professional activities would be amended to provide more choice to the athlete which follows trends in employment law enabling more movement by employees and disfavoring restrictive employment covenants. If enacted, the collective provisions of this bill could not only change the face of college sports, but positively impact the lives of the athletes by providing entertainment at what can be a high cost physically, emotionally, and academically.  These protections are intended to ensure healthy athletes have access to medical care, continuing education, and freedom to determine their own path as well as access to actual financial payments from the most successful sports.  It is one more, large, step forward in a year in which progress towards equity has marched on and conversations about the framework of our country have begun to see shifts and openings to positive, productive change. Other bills introduced addressing athlete rights include  The College Athlete Economic Freedom Act (addressing compensation for use of athlete name and likeness), Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn); Amateur Athletes Protection and Compensation Act (addressing name and likeness revenue, restrictions on transfers, and permitting athletes to return to school and retain amateur status in some circumstances) Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan); The Collegiate Athlete and Compensation Rights Act (addressing endorsement and sponsorship eligibility, national framework for compensation), Senator Roger Wicker (R-miss).