SEC, Big Ten release joint statement supporting the Protect College Sports Act

Jul 10, 2017; Hoover, AL, USA; The Southeastern Conference logo is shown on the Hyatt Regency Birmingham-The Winfrey Hotel during SEC media days at Hyatt Regency Birmingham-The Winfrey Hotel. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

The SEC and the Big Ten released a joint statement Friday showing support for the Protect College Sports Act.

“The Big Ten Conference and Southeastern Conference support the Protect College Sports Act as currently drafted, following detailed and productive negotiations with Senators Cruz, Cantrell and Schmitt and their respective staffs,” the joint statement read. “We appreciate the substantial work that has gone into this effort.”

The Protect College Sports Act is a bill that pushes requirements for name, image, or likeness (NIL) agreements for college student-athletes and provides a limited antitrust exemption for schools and conferences to pool and sell certain college sports media rights.

According to Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger, the latest revisions made to the act to get the Big Ten and SEC on board includes legislation that creates a $22.5 million retention pool for schools to use on retaining athletes plus the $21.3 million original cap in addition to $5 million to be spent only on women and non-revenue sports.

The University of Alabama and Auburn University both previously released a joint statement in opposition of the act.

A vote on the US Senate floor for the bill is expected to come next week, US Senator Eric Schmitt said, according to Dellenger.