The Power Five conferences and the NCAA spent 2020 lobbying Congress toward legislation that would create a uniform standard for athletes earning money from their, name, image and likeness (NIL) while largely maintaining the status quo of amateurism in college sports.
The Power Five spent a total of $1,730,000, with each league hiring its own dedicated firm and the five leagues giving $40,000 apiece to two firms — one Republican and one Democratic. The NCAA had a lobbying budget of $480,000, bringing the total spent by the leagues and the NCAA to $2,210,000. A breakdown:
ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE
— $370,000 to DLA Piper.
— $40,000 to Marshall & Popp.
— $40,000 to Subject Matter.
— Total: $450,000.
BIG TEN CONFERENCE
— $100,000 to The Glover Park Group.
— $40,000 to Marshall & Popp.
— $40,000 to Subject Matter.
— Total: $180,000.
BIG 12 CONFERENCE
— $130,000 to Kit Bond Strategies.
— $40,000 to Marshall & Popp.
— $40,000 to Subject Matter.
— Total: $210,000.
PAC-12 CONFERENCE
— $240,000 to Cassidy & Associates.
— $40,000 to Marshall & Popp.
— $40,000 to Subject Matter.
— Total: $320,000.
SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE
— $490,000 to Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld.
— $40,000 to Marshall & Popp.
— $40,000 to Subject Matter.
— Total: $570,000.
NCAA
— $480,000 total lobbying budget, with half that total going to Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck and the rest to the NCAA’s in-house lobbyists.
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