Future of college sports is in Congress’ hands

OPINION:

The politics of Washington make it easy to lose sight of the critical work at Congress’ feet, particularly at a time when major headlines include a government shutdown and impeachment hearings. Despite this, there is growing momentum on a bipartisan issue we cannot allow ourselves to be distracted from: name, image and likeness in collegiate athletics.

It has been just over two years since the status quo that prohibited student-athletes from benefiting from their name, image and likeness, or NIL, changed. To date, over 30 states have passed their own laws governing NIL in collegiate sports. While student-athletes receiving compensation for their efforts is on its face a welcome sign of progress, the current NIL landscape is posing a serious threat to the long-term sustainability of college sports. And Congress is starting to take notice.

Through the NIL debate over the last couple of years, parties on all sides of the issue agreed on one thing: NIL payments should be for legitimate name, image and likeness activities such as billboards and television commercials but should not be “pay to play.”

Unfortunately, much of college recruiting is controlled by the highest bidder. Unregulated third parties ignore NCAA prohibitions on inducement and seek to purchase the commitment of student-athletes with NIL offers with few or no restrictions and little to no oversight.

Because there’s no federal NIL standard, states are in a race to the bottom with laws that create a patchwork regime to game the system and turn a blind eye toward blatant pay-to-play arrangements.

This current dynamic levies extraordinary pressure on small schools and universities that already struggle with recruitment and cultivating third-party groups with the resources to supplement athletic departments. And this is only the tip of the iceberg.

Legislation mandating direct revenue sharing from university budgets to student-athletes and legislation classifying student-athletes as employees are already under consideration. If passed, athletic departments will simply not have the resources to sustain the non-revenue-generating sports that allow universities to remain compliant with Title IX and to provide the foundation for the United States to compete in Olympic sports at the highest levels.

Congress alone has the ability to pass national NIL legislation that creates uniform standards for each university, provides transparency and accountability for collegiate recruiting, and safeguards the long-term viability of the Olympic sports at the bedrock of collegiate athletics and for the tens of thousands of athletes who build their academic and athletic careers around them.

Serving in Congress provided me with insight into the dysfunction of Washington, but it also taught me the importance of capitalizing on the rare opportunities to make a difference in people’s lives. This Congress is at an inflection point, and my message is simple: Work together to pass meaningful legislation that strengthens college athletics and student-athletes’ opportunities to succeed.

A number of bills have already been drafted or introduced, some of which by friends and former colleagues of mine and all of which by public servants willing to lead on this imperative issue. Momentum is building, but far too many members remain on the sidelines. We cannot allow collegiate recruiting to continue devolving into free agency. Without congressional action, student-athletes, universities, and the sports we love will suffer.

Congress must pass national standards for NIL. The collegiate sports landscape will only worsen until it does.

• Ryan Costello represented Pennsylvania in the House of Representatives from 2015 to 2019. He served on the House Energy and Commerce Committee.