SCORE Act gains support from conservative groups

More than 20 conservative organizations have expressed support for the Student Compensation and Opportunity through Rights and Endorsements (SCORE) Act, according to a letter to the Speaker of the House, Rep. Mike JohnsonR-La., obtained by PK Press Club Digital.

The SCORE Act would give the NCAA a limited antitrust exemption in hopes of protecting the NCAA from potential lawsuits over eligibility rules and would prohibit athletes from becoming employees of their schools.

“The SCORE Act is the free market, individual liberty, and limited government solution to the ‘name, image and likeness (NIL)’ problem in college athletics,” the letter states.

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“In 2021, the NCAA v. Alston case before the Supreme Court allowed schools to gain the freedom to offer additional education-related benefits to students, which paved the way for an expansion of NIL rights. In the years since, a patchwork of confusing state laws have been passed that call for a federal solution to create unified, consistent NIL rules for everyone. »

Groups in favor of the SCORE Act said the bill was the “common sense way” to establish rules and avoid confusion of state laws in the NIL era.

“RH 4312 prohibits litigators from suing under federal or state antitrust law. It also provides that athletes receiving zero compensation do not have to be employees of those universities, protecting them from mandatory unionization. This means that student-athletes can be treated as small business owners, not union workers,” the letter added.

Conservative groups have touted the SCORE Act as a better plan than the Student-Athlete Fairness and Enforcement (SAFE) Act, which was overwhelmingly supported by Democrats. The SCORE Act has at least gained some bipartisan support in the House.

The SAFE Act proposes to rewrite the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 to allow conferences to pool media rights. Supporters say it could inject billions into college sports.

North Carolina State’s Caden Fordham (1) celebrates after the sack of North Carolina quarterback Gio Lopez (not pictured) during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Raleigh, North Carolina, Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)

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“The left’s proposed framework for regulating NIL would be a disaster. Known as the ‘SAFE Act,’ it would open the door for trial lawyers to frivolously sue athletic departments and conferences,” the conservative groups said. “It could also require that student-athletes be classified as employees, which would force many of them to unionize, simply using the predicate of zero pay.

“Oddly, the SAFE Act would also create a socialized contract on college sports media, imposing a national governing council to negotiate for all colleges. Washington bureaucrats should not be in the business of negotiating sports television and streaming rights.”

Leaders of the Center for a Free Economy, 60 Plus Association, Constitutional Rights PAC, Parkview Institute, DL Maradona Foundation, US Policy, Southeast Texans for Liberty, National Taxpayers Union, Family Business Coalition, Frontiers of Freedom, Tradition, Family, Property, Founding Principles Coalition, America First PACT, American Commitment, Competitive Enterprise Institute, Southwest Public Policy Center, Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council, Hispanic Leadership Fund, Inventor’s Project, Gator PAC and Committee to Unleash Prosperity.

“Thirty-one Division I athletic conferences with a diverse range of members, from schools with small budgets to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), have publicly endorsed the SCORE Act as the solution to protecting opportunities for student-athletes. The path forward is clear. We urge you to support the SCORE Act and oppose big government’s SAFE Act,” the letter read.

The SCORE Act calls for schools to share revenue, consistent with the terms of the House agreement, at 22 percent “if these rules provide that such pool limit is AT LEAST 22 percent of the average annual athletic revenue of the 70 highest earning schools.”

Senator Ted Cruz supported the SCORE Act. (Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)

The SCORE Act prohibits schools from using tuition to fund zero payments.

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The bill was introduced in July and received the senator’s support. Ted CruzR-Texas.