Inside Trump’s college sports lobbying push
Semafor • • sports
Key Points:
- President Donald Trump is actively pushing for the Senate’s bipartisan college sports bill, using his influence and enlisting sports figures like Nick Saban to gain support among lawmakers.
- The legislation aims to create a national framework for college athletic deals, addressing chaos caused by legal battles but stops short of defining student-athletes as employees.
- The bill, led by Senators Ted Cruz, Eric Schmitt, and Maria Cantwell, has bipartisan backing but faces skepticism from some Democrats and Republicans, including concerns over conference realignment and state control of women’s sports.
- Trump views the bill as a legacy achievement that balances competing interests in college sports while improving opportunities for athletes, but its passage is uncertain with key senators still undecided or opposed.
- If passed, it could be a significant bipartisan accomplishment of the current Congress and a major legislative win for Trump ahead of the 2024 election.
