Texas senator aims to help NCAA regulate athlete payments - ESPN

College sports officials spent the past four years seeking federal legislation to block student-athletes from gaining employee status and letting the NCAA impose limits on how much money schools and boosters may give to their athletes. With Republicans taking control of Capitol Hill this month, the odds of the NCAA getting its wish are better than ever.

The new Republican leader of the influential Senate Commerce Committee told ESPN that one of his «major priorities» this session is to pass a law to help the NCAA regulate the booming market for college athletes without running afoul of federal antitrust restrictions. A bipartisan group of senators is drafting a measure to help prevent a split among NCAA schools.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said he's not interested in saving the NCAA. Instead, he said he wants to give college sports the legal runway they need to save themselves. «College sports is in crisis right now,» Cruz said. «If Congress doesn't act, we risk seeing devastation.»

The new Senate majority leader, John Thune, R-South Dakota, previously has introduced legislation addressing how college athletes are paid, and now he is positioned to move a bill forward.

The NCAA turned to Congress after antitrust lawsuits by athletes limited its ability to maneuver. Those lawsuits and other legal challenges convinced lawmakers they needed to take action. Until now, a partisan divide blocked tangible progress. With one political party gaining control of the House, Senate and White House, politicians from both parties are signaling readiness to negotiate and take action.

«The political stars seem to be aligning,» said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut, who has previously worked on bipartisan bills aimed at reforming college