As SCORE Act Vote Gets Canceled, a New College Sports Bill May Emerge

For the second time in less than a year, House leadership canceled an officially scheduled vote on the SCORE Act. A vote to pass the NCAA-backed legislation was scheduled for this week, but House leadership pulled it off the schedule on Monday night. But another college sports bill might have a better chance of making it to the president’s desk.

Senate Commerce Committee chairman Ted Cruz (R. , Texas) and ranking member Maria Cantwell (D. , Wash.

) are in deep negotiations for a bipartisan bill. But as of Tuesday morning a deal had not been reached, a source familiar with the discussions told Front Office Sports. A Tumultuous Year on Capitol Hill The SCORE Act has been endorsed by the NCAA and power conferences, as it largely reflects their interests.

The bill would offer antitrust protections for the NCAA to set its own rules on eligibility, transfers, and athlete compensation; pre-empt state NIL laws; and prohibit college athletes from being deemed employees, and therefore having the right to collectively bargain. But the bill has had a troubled path to the House floor. A vote tentatively scheduled for September was delayed; Then, in December, House leadership scheduled the bill for a floor vote, but canceled it just a few hours before.