College coaching contracts getting attention of Congress
Sen. Richard Blumenthal said Wednesday night that the recent flurry of what he termed “outrageously astronomical” contracts for college football head coaches could end up reigniting Congressional interest in helping athletes obtain improved health-care coverage and other benefits.
In the past week, LSU, Michigan State and Penn State, respectively, have made 10-year agreements with Brian Kelly, Mel Tucker and James Franklin that have a combined total value of at least $280 million. In addition, Southern California has made a deal with Lincoln Riley that likely is just as lucrative as any of those three, if not moreso, although the private school is not required to disclose the specific terms.
“This latest round of contracts is … definitely getting attention in the Congress,” Blumenthal, D-Conn., told USA TODAY Sports. It “may give us a real opportunity to seek a bipartisan consensus for this kind of bill of rights” for college athletes.
Blumenthal and Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., introduced legislation that would have provided an array of specific benefits and protections for athletes near the end of the previous Congressional session. A number of those proposals, including a revenue-sharing plan for athletes, encountered significant resistance from schools and from Republicans. They have not reintroduced the measure this year, instead seeking to gain support from Republicans for a scaled-back version.
Asked how a bill could be put together and passed in the face of continued resistance, particularly from schools, Blumenthal said: “Let me put it this way: There are a variety of different points of leverage, such as taxes, antitrust treatment and so forth. … They’d love antitrust protection, so maybe it’s a combination of carrots and sticks.”
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The NCAA and its member conferences and schools have been lobbying for any type of federal college-sports bill to include protection from antitrust litigation, especially in the wake of this summer’s Supreme Court ruling in the Alston antitrust case. Antitrust provisions also would be the only avenue to putting any kind of brakes on coaches’ compensation.
On the tax issue, the entire college-sports industry benefits greatly from the NCAA, schools, conferences and many bowl games being set up as non-profit organizations. That shields revenue from taxation and allows donations to schools, including boosters’ donations to athletics programs, to be tax-deductible.
Blumenthal said Wednesday night that Congress is facing so many other issues as this year closes that “nothing will happen” on Capitol Hill regarding college sports in 2021, but things could change in January.
“I think we need to circle back,” Blumenthal said. “I’m just going to be really honest with you, between now and the first of the year … there just isn’t the oxygen for it. We have the National Defense Authorization Act, our defense budget. We have the continuing resolution to keep the…
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