Senator warns of ‘Power 2’ owning college sports if NCAA-backed SCORE Act becomes law

A Democratic U.S. lawmaker sent a letter to leaders at the more than 350 Division I schools across the country Monday, warning of a two-tier college sports system with haves and have-nots if a proposed bill to regulate the industry passes without changes.

In the letter, Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington, the ranking member of a committee that oversees college sports, says the SCORE Act would “incentivize a Power 2 conference system that will create inequities for other conferences and leave behind small to mid-sized schools.”

The “Power 2” she references is the Big Ten Conference and Southeastern Conference, which share the decision-making power for the future of the College Football Playoff, which with its $7.8 billion media-rights deal is the single-largest financial driver of all college athletics.

The House is expected to vote on the SCORE Act next month. It would provide the Indianapolis-based NCAA a limited antitrust exemption, override state laws designed to regulate name, image, likeness payments and prevent athletes from becoming employees of their universities.

Cantwell argued against those parts of the bill, while also focusing on language that she said would lead to the removal of the 22% cap on revenue-sharing implemented by the recently approved lawsuit settlement. This school year, the 22% cap equals $20.5 million that can be paid out to players, but some schools will be able to exceed that by using third-party deals that have to be approved by the newly created College Sports Commission.

“If passed, the SCORE Act will entrench the current arms race to recruit and retain athletes and leave small and mid-sized schools unable to compete for championships and postseason games, along with the inability to earn the increased revenue that comes with those opportunities,” Cantwell wrote.

Though crafters of the bill have touted bipartisan support in the House—Reps. Janelle Bynum, D-Ore., and Shomari Figures, D-Ala. are among the backers—Democrats have largely framed it as a giveaway to the NCAA, which supports it, at the expense of athletes, who would lose the right to challenge the system on a number of fronts.

Cantwell noted media reports that Pac-12 schools that were previously part of what was then known as the Power Five will receive 63% less in revenue from TV rights than before the latest round of conference realignment.

She also pointed out a new arrangement in the Atlantic Coast Conference that calls for 60% of the league’s distribution to be based on viewership ratings that are largely driven by football and men’s hoops—a provision designed to appeal to its highest-profile teams.

“Ultimately, the broad antitrust exemption in the SCORE Act would widen existing inequities among schools and conferences, creating long-term instability for schools of all sizes,” Cantwell said.

The SCORE Act would need the backing of at least seven Democrats in the Senate to pass as a standalone bill, though there’s a chance it could be attached to a larger piece of must-pass legislation, which would diminish their chances of making substantive amendments.