Congress Fumbles College Sports

Washington Wants the Whistle

The Cruz-Cantwell “Protect College Sports Act of 2026” is pitched as a bipartisan rescue mission for a collegiate athletics system already gasping under NIL chaos, antitrust pressure and conference realignment absurdity.

The recent Congressional hearing framed the bill as a way to “restore order” by giving lawmakers a stronger role in regulating athlete compensation and its huge marketplace. After decades of universities, coaches, and broadcast companies turning college sports into a multibillion-dollar free-for-all, Congress now claims it can fix its plight.

As much as I wish this were satire, it is anything but.

After all, nothing says “efficiency and clarity” like inviting Congress to step in and officiate a game it has no business being in.

Taxpayers Should Not Fund Minor Leagues

There is no denying that the college sports landscape is a dumpster fire, and every sports reporter, broadcaster, and fan that I spoke with believes Congress needs to stay out of it. One proposal floating through the frustration is clear as it is concise: cut all federal funds and loan support to any university that pours more than pocket change into its semi-professional sports empire.

If schools want to run minor league franchises, that is their business. Just don’t bill the taxpayers for it.

Considering the broad dysfunction in Washington, lawmakers need to stay out of NCAA business until they can tame the federal deficit.

Moreover, they should forfeit their salaries until they do.

The Old Model Is Gone

There remains a nostalgic faction that pines for the 20th century model of college athletics, where athletes received scholarships without pay and were required to attend class while broadcast revenues supported other sports programs and even academics.

Yet somehow, we are all expected to stand by with straight faces and wait for its triumphant return. That will never happen. That epoch of sports history is dead and cremated.

Such melancholy ignores the numerous lawsuits that exposed how players earned nothing, while coaches and administrators collected multimillion-dollar salaries.

Such an imbalance made reform inevitable and any return to pure amateurism impossible.

College Sports Became Big Business

The antitrust precedent prevents the NCAA from imposing compensation limits without collective bargaining. With billions in media revenue at stake, athletes in revenue-producing sports will never accept a system where they do not share in the profits. NIL deals have only accelerated this shift.

College sports morphed into professional minor leagues some time ago and should be treated as such. Solutions include taxing athletic departments as unrelated business income, removing their tax-exempt status, or designating them as for-profit subsidiaries.

Since antitrust law and interstate commerce are inherently federal domains, Congress cannot avoid involvement.

Some insist only federal law can impose salary caps, standardize NIL, and salvage competitive balance in a system they see as unsustainable.

A Purist Fantasy

How about a purist return to academics first, with no scholarships and no pay?

Such an idea is truly naïve, as the economic incentives are much too powerful. Coaches’ salaries that were once capped by unwritten norms have exploded with players naturally wanting their share of the booty.

There are just some things Congress needs to leave alone, which guarantees they won’t.

Whether the solution lies in deregulation, taxation, collective bargaining, or federal legislation, the issue remains deeply contested.

However, nearly everyone agrees on one point: whatever Congress does next, it will almost certainly leave the dumpster burning hotter than before.