Overview

• Sens. Maria Cantwell, Cory Booker and Richard Blumenthal introduced the Student Athlete Fairness and Enforcement Act, which would amend the Sports Broadcasting Act to allow college conferences to jointly sell media rights.
• The proposal establishes federal NIL standards, pre-empts state laws and codifies parts of the House settlement, including a 22% cap on school revenue shared with athletes.
• Athlete protections include the ability to transfer twice without sitting out, a 10-year scholarship guarantee, five years of post-eligibility medical coverage and agent registration with a 5% fee cap.
• The bill requires local, non-exclusive access to football and basketball broadcasts and would force reconveyance of rights if women’s and Olympic sports are not materially carried, while directing new revenues to maintain 2023–24 scholarship and roster levels in those sports.
• The measure debuted without Republican co-sponsors; Sen. Ted Cruz, who controls Senate Commerce action, was reportedly unaware of its filing, and the bill omits the antitrust shield and employment limits sought in the House’s SCORE Act.