The US Senate is considering legislation that would implement federal guidelines for colleges when it comes to governing student-athletes entering name, image, and likeness deals, cap fees for sports agents and create uniform eligibility and transfer rules. In this Sept. 17 episode of the Votes and Verdicts podcast, Chicago Atlantic Co-Head of Emerging Markets Peter Marber, Bloomberg Intelligence chief EM fixed-income strategist Damian Sassower and BI senior tax analyst Andrew Silverman detail how college sports became a multibillion-dollar business while athlete compensation trailed. The discussion traces the shift from scholarships and amateurism through the Supreme Court’s Alston ruling, NIL collectives and the House v. NCAA settlement, which opened the door to direct university payments. The three also examine whether athletes are employees of universities, how schools will fund the new revenue-sharing system and whether the richest programs will pull away further. Additionally, they talk about the Protect College Sports Act, which could put more than $2 billion of media rights tied to Fox, Disney, Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery under one federal framework.