Yankees' Randy Levine Pushes House on College Sports Bill, Hedges on MLB Labor

Levine is pressing the House to take up the Protect College Sports Act after it cleared the Senate with 77 votes. In an interview with CNBC's Michael Ozanian, the Yankees president said the measure would set up a $22 million pool for schools to keep their own players, plus another $5 million aimed at women's and non-revenue sports. Critics counter that it leaves student-athletes short on protections.

President Donald Trump tapped Levine in February as a vice-chair of the Roundtable on Fixing College Sports, a commission meant to bring order to a landscape upended by name, image and likeness deals and the transfer portal. Levine argued the bill would level the playing field and add health care and scholarship protections. Without it, he warned, the Big Ten and SEC could bolt to form a super conference that runs like a minor league.

Opponents say the legislation hands more money and leverage to the NCAA, conferences and schools. NAACP president and CEO Derrick Johnson called it out in a September statement, saying the bill does little to protect the athletes who make the multi-billion-dollar industry possible, and that it would instead let those institutions consolidate money and power.

Levine also sits on MLB's labor committee, and the current collective bargaining agreement runs out Dec. 1, with both sides bracing for a possible work stoppage. Asked about a 2027 season, he said he doesn't know whether an agreement will get done, pointing to fundamental differences of opinion, though he noted it's still early and these deals typically close at the last minute. He added he's confident both sides will negotiate in good faith to get something done.