Reporter's Notebook: Congress targets college sports 'Wild West' as NIL compensation fight heats up

Some epic drama in the first two weeks of the college football season.

Florida State whipped Alabama. And we haven't even talked about Bill Belichick's coaching debut at North Carolina.

So settle in for quite a season between now and mid-January.

But there could be new rules off the playing field. Congress may attempt to referee what collegiate athletes can earn from their own name, likeness and image, better known as NILs.

"Without clear rules and an enforcement mechanism, the NIL landscape has become akin to the Wild West," said Rep. Russell Fry, R-S.C.

There are competing bills in the House and Senate to address compensation for student-athletes. The House bill, prepped over the summer by the Energy and Commerce Committee, sets a national standard for NILs and allows schools to directly pay athletes. That would supersede a bevy of differing rules which change from state to state.

"We've already seen states competing with one another to get a leg up. And that patchwork is threatening the values and the balance that makes college sports so special," said Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich.

She has reservations about the current House bill.

But the score is far from settled.

"Whether or not we should allow student-athletes to be considered employees under the law, the ramifications of that would be pretty profound," said Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind.

Most House Democrats oppose the plan. They believe it inhibits the rights of college athletes - as workers.

"This bill bans student-athletes from First Amendment rights to form unions, also guaranteed by the National Labor Relations Act," said Rep. Darren Soto, D-Fla. "They have basic rights. Like the right to organize."

Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., is the top Democrat on the Senate Commerce Committee. She said the House Energy and Commerce Committee bill rolls back money for minor sports, women's programs and only benefits major conferences like the Big 10 and SEC. She claims the bill will trigger "a conflict" between sports that earn money at schools and those that don't.

"You have to have a college to have college sports," said Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., the top Democrat on the Energy and Commerce Committee. "And the way we're going with this administration, I don't even know if there's going to be any colleges or universities worth fighting for."

Pallone added that the committee's focus was misguided amid questions about education and healthcare.

"Yet Republicans are ignoring them. And instead would rather talk about college sports," said Pallone. 

Republicans on the Energy and Commerce panel supported the package, but Democratic support was limited. In addition, players associations for Major League Baseball, the NFL, NBA, NHL and Major League Soccer all oppose the legislation. They believe the bill inhibits college athletes from negotiating a fair wage.

The "pay" and "NIL" issues have vexed top collegiate athletic officials for years. The NCAA and many schools have long pushed for congressional intervention.

"We feel like there's a better destination and a stabilization coming forward. But we need the help of Congress and national legislation," said ACC commissioner Jim Phillips on Fox News earlier this year.

Former Alabama football coach Nick Saban echoed Phillips during an interview with colleague Bret Baier.

"Now we just have state legislation, and every state is different," said Saban. "We need some kind of federal standard and guidelines that allow people to enforce their own rules."

Pallone may have questioned the priorities of his committee focusing on paying student-athletes, but other lawmakers question why the NCAA itself couldn't settle the pay-for-play fight.

"I think if they had had stronger management, if they made some decisions early on, we wouldn't be in this position," said Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C. "It's unfortunate that Congress has to step in at all."

However, the North Carolina Republican added he was "deeply concerned about the future of college sports if we don't act."

That's why Rep. Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., wants Congress involved - even if she opposes the current House plan.

"We simply cannot turn to the same entities that created the broken and inequitable system of the past to serve as the stewards of a new system," said Clarke.

Attorneys general from Florida, Ohio, New York, Tennessee and the District of Columbia are worried about antitrust provisions in the House plan. The Big West Conference believes the legislation is skewed toward major conferences.

So this fight may spill into overtime on Capitol Hill.

Congress could vote sometime on legislation refining NILs. Or lawmakers may again punt - as they've done for several years now.

But this is a lower priority for Congress. Lawmakers must avoid a government shutdown by Oct. 1, and they may need to wrestle with another government funding round later this fall.

The college football season just started, but the real challenge is whether Congress will address this issue before the National Championship Game on Jan. 19, 2026.