Jim Acho Discusses the Protect College Sports Act on WJR

CMDA Law partner and sports law attorney Jim Acho recently appeared on WJR’s nationally-acclaimed radio show Focus with Paul W. Smith to discuss the U.S. Senate’s passage of the bipartisan Protect College Sports Act.

During the September 30 interview, Jim explained that he has long supported college athletes’ right to receive compensation for the commercial use of their name, image and likeness. He noted, however, that the current system has moved well beyond traditional NIL compensation, with booster-funded recruiting and repeated transfer-portal movement increasingly resembling professional free agency.

“That is not NIL. That is free agency. That is the NFL 2.0,” Jim said.

Jim expressed support for federal guardrails that preserve athletes’ NIL rights while bringing greater consistency and accountability to college athletics. He also discussed his concern that the legislation would give additional authority and a limited antitrust exemption to the NCAA, an organization he believes has historically failed to adequately protect student-athletes.

The interview also addressed what may come next for the legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives and Jim’s ongoing NIL litigation on behalf of former University of Michigan football players.

Jim is a nationally recognized sports law attorney who has represented professional athletes for more than 25 years. He previously taught sports law for 14 years and has appeared on national and local sports radio programs more than 100 times.

To listen to the interview, click the link below:

Jim Acho on WJR: Protect College Sports Act

About Jim Acho: https://cmdalaw.com/attorney/james-r-acho/