Congress weighs major college sports overhaul as Saban testifies

Añadido: 2026-06-04

[00:00:00]who I will not.

[00:00:01]>> Some big names in the college athletics world are backing a bipartisan congressional bill that aims to save college sports. That includes Hall of Fame college football coach Nick Sabin.

[00:00:11]He told senators he's worried the current system allowing multiple transfers and huge name image and likeness or NIL paydays for mostly football and basketball players has become payforplay and it's killing other sports. If you had the biggest, baddest Ferrari that you could ever have and it was going 150 miles an hour toward the Grand Canyon, somebody needs to tap the brakes. And I think that's what we all need to do here.

[00:00:36]>> The bill introduced last week expands on executive orders signed by the president. It would institute a salary cap to pay players, restrict transfers to one free move per college career with a 5-year eligibility window, and also prevent coaches from taking new jobs midseason. We do so much partisan stuff here. It's like Thunderdome a lot of times, right? You got your red jersey on and your blue jersey on. This should not be one of those things.

[00:01:00]>> Pack 12 Commissioner Terresa Gould said women's competitions and non-revenue Olympic sports were being sacrificed to pay for sports like football and basketball.

[00:01:09]>> That money has to come from somewhere.

[00:01:12]So, it's either going to come from the central campus or it's going to be taken away from other programs. The Congressional Black Caucus came out against the bill, saying schools need to speak out against a recent Supreme Court ruling that changed the Voting Rights Act. Part of its statement read, "Institutions that profit from black talent in black communities have a responsibility to stand with those communities when their fundamental rights are under attack."

[00:01:37]>> I've been hearing a lot of serious concerns about the bill from student athletes and their families, uh, labor unions and civil rights organizations.

[00:01:47]The bill still seemingly has a long way to go. Another major sticking point is the ability for conferences to pull their media rights money together.

[00:01:54]Something supporters say would create competitive balance. Two powerhouse conferences though, the SEC and the Big 10, formally opposed the bill ahead of Wednesday's hearing. Reporting in Washington, I'm Matt Gulka.