From middle school, we learned this:
1. It’s not cool to be a bully.
2. It’s soft for a bully to pick a fight, lose control and then call in backups.
And that’s what’s happening now as the NCAA tries to handle its mishandling of the changing landscape that empowers student-athletes.
The so-called power football schools have hijacked the NCAA. They hog the television revenue and postseason berths. Collectively, they have declared themselves the “power” conferences. In football, they usurped the Big East. They pillaged the Pac-12, then scorched what remained of a historically proud conference.
Then the courts got involved. Players were allowed to cash in on their names, images and likenesses. The House vs. NCAA judgment created a revenue-sharing mandate in which schools could make direct payments to student-athletes (notably football and men’s basketball players) from a pool of up to $20.5 million a year. Players could transfer multiple times without penalty. The not-so power schools were able to scrape up money and opportunities to attract former 4-star athletes from the transfer portal. Indiana used transfers to win a national football title. Vanderbilt showed it was more than a school of brainiacs. High school players retained agents disguised as advisers. State courts have issued rulings contrary to NCAA guidelines.
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Quite a mess.
And with the NCAA’s support, now federal lawmakers are involved. They want a national rule on NIL deals, a hard cap on revenue sharing, limits on transfers, a cap on agents’ fees, and for schools to be allowed to “join a voluntary collective to negotiate certain media rights” (whatever that means).
And while there is no overt tie between power schools and the bipartisan co-writers of the Protect College Sports Act, former Alabama head coach Nick Saban is among the vocal supporters of the measure. Doubt Saban is stumping for the likes of Louisiana Tech, UTEP or Hawaii.
The proposal, which eventually will end up in Congress’ lap, has some valid suggestions.
Of course, schools should provide medical coverage after a player’s eligibility has expired. In the past, arthroscopic surgeries sometimes required ensuing procedures. Even though studies indicate the need for follow-up procedures has lowered with advanced techniques and quality surgeons, there should not be a statute of limitations on the long-term impact of being hit by 240-pound linebackers.
And, of course, schools should provide opportunities to earn a degree long after the player’s eligibility has expired. Wasn’t a degree part of the recruiting pitch?
Certifying an agent and capping the commission at 5% might be problematic. Through collective bargaining, NBA agents are capped at 4% on player contracts; NFL agents are limited to 3%. But most student-athletes use parents and relatives as “advisers.” Sorry, Pops, thanks for sending me to all the football clinics, but you’re going to have to register with the NCAA.
The proposal would uphold the NCAA’s newly implemented rule allowing players five years to play five seasons. That makes sense. It’s cleaner. Although that rule does away with redshirting, it leaves little room for exemptions. UNLV head coach Dan Mullen said the rule should have been implemented in January, giving players the option to enter the 2026 NFL Draft or return to school for a fifth season. Instead, many fourth-year seniors believed they exhausted their eligibility at the end of the 2025 season, participated in NFL campus but did not make the active roster, and were told they could not utilize their fifth NCAA season.
Also, there should be exemptions. Some players have missed time because of family emergencies. A UH player suffered a knee injury in the spring and faces the possibility of not being able to use his fifth — and final — NCAA season. If he can’t be cleared this year, he is deserving of another season.
The proposal to cap revenue sharing at the current limit, with adjustments for inflation, is prudent financially. It’s probably unnecessary because most schools, particularly the Group of 6, can’t come close to the $20.5 million total. The Mountain West’s top spenders are estimated to be at $10 million annually. Hawaii needs fundraisers and prayers to meet its $5 million pledge.
And it’s too late to turn back the clock. For years, schools have under-compensated student-athletes — conditions that were reversed through court actions. The reason salary caps work in pro sports is because they are negotiated through collective bargaining. But that can’t happen in college sports until the NCAA recognizes student-athletes as business partners.
Student-athletes also should not lose the right to transfer multiple times without penalty. The proposal would limit players to one transfer free of penalty. But as long as coaches, athletic directors and school presidents are not held to restrictions on salaries or free movement, the same should not be expected of student-athletes.
In an ideal scenario, schools would restrain their spending, divide national TV revenue equally, award College Football Playoff berths to the champions 10 FBS conferences, and take care of players medically and academically after their eligibility expires.
For now, the federal government has been called to take on the fight.
