The commissioners of the Power 5 conferences are on board with a new bipartisan NIL bill.

B1G commissioner Tony Petitti joined with his ACC, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC counterparts to release a joint statement endorsing the new bill introduced by Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) called the College Athletes Protection & Compensation Act.

“As members of the Autonomy Five Conferences, the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, and SEC applaud Senators Blumenthal, Booker, and Moran for their thoughtful work on legislation to protect and benefit student athletes, the statement opens. “Given the ever-changing landscape of college athletics, developing a federal standard that will preserve college athletics and serve as a uniform name, image, and likeness (NIL) standard for athletes and institutions across the country is now essential. We are pleased to see that momentum continues building in both the Senate and the House to address this issue. Our conferences welcome additional efforts in the future, and we look forward to engaging with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to continue making progress on bipartisan legislation in Congress.”

Front Office Sports recently detailed the highlights of the 50-page bill introduced by Blumenthal, Booker and Moran. The act includes the formation of the College Athletics Corporation (CAC) to enforce NIL rules. The CAC would consist of a 15-member board of directions, including 5 athletes either current or within the last 10 years. The CAC would conduct investigations and give out punishments to schools that violated NIL rules.

The CAC would certify agents athletes can hire for NIL purposes. Under the bill, an underclassman with an agent could enter the draft and potentially return to school if they go undrafted. The undrafted athlete would have to apply within 7 days and not have received any compensation for a league, team or agent.

The bill also has schools providing lifetime scholarships and postgraduate medical care for 2–4 years, depending on annual athletic revenue.