The Power Five conferences have responded to name, image and likeness compensation for college athletes by "dramatically ramping up their Congressional lobbying efforts," according to Steve Berkowitz of USA TODAY. Altogether, $535,000 in lobbying expenses "were reported for college sports organizations, including the College Football Playoff, during the first three months of the year." The ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, Pac-12 and SEC each made "new arrangements to retain two Washington-based firms during the first three months of this year and paid the firms $10,000 apiece, for a combined total of $100,000." In all instances, the disclosure forms filed by the firms stated that the "sole specific lobbying issue was: 'Issues related to developing a national solution to preserve the unique model of American college athletics, while modernizing the system to increase economic opportunity for all student-athletes on issues surrounding their name, image, and likeness.'" It was the "first time" the Big Ten, Pac-12 and SEC had "spent money on federal lobbying." The SEC also "retained a third firm and paid it an additional $120,000 to lobby on 'legislation regarding welfare of student athletes.'" Additionally, the Pac-12 "retained a firm on its own and paid $50,000 for lobbying that covered Congress and the White House" (USA TODAY, 4/23).
