Student Athlete Employment, NIL Bill Clears Two House Committees

A bill seeking to prohibit collegiate athletes from becoming employees and limit the NCAA’s antitrust liability is heading to the House floor after two congressional committees voted to approve it.

The House Education and the Workforce Committee voted 18-17 Wednesday to approve the legislation—known as the “SCORE Act” (H.R. 4312)—which would cement some terms of a landmark settlement between the NCAA and college players, and bar athletes from obtaining employment status.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee greenlit a similar version of the bill 30-23 along party lines. The two measures will have to be reconciled in the House Rules Committee.

The underlying settlement allows colleges to pay athletes from a pool of around $20 million annually and is already facing several appeals from objectors, some of whom say it violates Title IX and harms female athletes. The legislative push is largely driven by fears that the ongoing litigation, along with conflicting state laws and regulations around name, image, and likness, is destabilizing the college sports industry.

“We all agree that student athletes deserve to be compensated for their contributions to college athletics but the current environment and risks exploitation of student athletes the absence of uniform NIL regulation,” said Rep. Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) during the labor committee hearing. “It’s time to bring stability to college sports.”

This is the second time that a bill banning student athletes’ employment has passed through the committee stage after GOP members approved similar legislation last year.

Democratic and some Republican members criticized the bill for giving a legal shield to the NCAA while providing few protections for athletes.

“Congress should be working to help lift and protect college athletes but unfortunately, that’s not what they’re doing today,” said Ranking Member Bobby Scott (D-Va.) during the markup. “Republicans are seeking to jump the gun and eliminate potential labor rights, including those to a minimum wage, a union, and compensation for injuries and disabilities.”

Rep. Michael Baumgartner (R-Wash.) voiced the strongest GOP criticism of the bill, telling the House Education and Workforce Committee that it was the “wrong solution at the wrong time,” and urged his colleagues to withdraw the legislation.

“There should be a better solution. It should be a solution that fundamentally considers the issues of student athlete welfare, academic purpose, competitive balance, and sustainability in Olympic sports,” he said. “On all those measures, the SCORE Act comes up short.”

The committee’s GOP members also blocked several amendments that would have sought to provide clarification on athlete compensation in relation to Title IX, and increase athlete participation in advisory counsels.