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The GIST: Democratic senators Richard Blumenthal and Cory Booker and Republican senator Jerry Moran released an early draft of the College Athletes Protection and Compensation Act yesterday. The 50-page bipartisan bill looks to regulate name, image, and likeness (NIL) through universal standards. It’s giving Elle Woods.

The details: Under the legislation, the NCAA would write and enforce NIL regulations itself. It also proposes the creation of the College Athletics Corporation, a 15-person board (including five current or recent student-athletes) charged with enforcing NIL rules, undertaking investigations, vetting potential NIL agents, and deciding punishments for violations.

• Additionally, the bill would guarantee medical care for at least two years after graduation and lifetime college scholarships. However, no mention of revenue sharing or athletes’ status as employees exists in the legislation.

The background: Ever since the NIL era began in 2021, business has been booming — an estimated $917M was spent in its first year. In year two, that number increased to $1.14B. Get your game on…get paid.

• NIL has not been met with cheers across the board, however. Some believe it hurts the competitive nature of college sports, while others (including current NCAA prez Charlie Baker) argue its lack of transparency sets athletes up for exploitation.

Zooming out: In addition to protecting all student-athletes after they finish school, the proposed bill preserves NIL’s positive influence on women’s sports. Collegiate women athletes receive a fraction of the total funds allocated to sports, but some athletes have been able to find individual financial success through brand endorsements and social media savvy.

• In the NIL era, women student-athletes’ sponsorship posts saw seven times (!!!) the engagement per deal compared those of male athletes. What? Like it’s hard.

• Still, athletes’ individual business success won’t fill the extreme financial gap between men’s and women’s sports programs at the collegiate level. Codifying NIL regulations into law is a clear positive for women athletes, but there’s still a long way to go.

The GIST: USWNT stars Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe have said this year’s WWC will be the best one yet and “blow the lid off” women’s sports. We couldn’t agree more, so here’s a closer look at the numbers that are already proving them right.

$80M: The amount the 2023 WWC prize pool increased from the 2019 tournament. Dollar dollar bills y’all.

32: The total number of teams included in the event, eight more than 2019’s edition.

2: The number of host countries, marking the first time a WWC has transcended borders.

75,784: The number of fans in attendance at co-host Australia’s first 2023 WWC match, a record crowd for a women’s football match in the country. Crikey!

42,137: The attendance number for co-host New Zealand’s first 2023 WWC match (and win!), a record crowd for Kiwi men’s or women’s soccer.

$0.25: The average cents to the dollar women soccer players will earn at this year’s WWC compared to athletes at the 2022 men’s WC, up from a whopping eight cents in 2019.

Want to show your support for women in sports? We thought so. And, with The GIST’s capsule collection, you can. The pieces are sporty, bold, and playful…just like our GIST community.

Speaking of, this drop truly has something for everyone: Basketball-specific threads for hoops fans, “leveling the playing field” looks if you love making a statement, and tennis tees if you’re looking to, ahem, serve.

But don’t just take our word for it, check it out for yourself. Happy shopping!

On Tuesday, the NWSL’s Washington Spirit announced the launch of the inaugural Female Coaching Mentorship Program to “elevate and support” women soccer coaches in the DMV. Earlier this year, Spirit owner Michele Kang also expressed interest in creating an “innovation lab” for the club. If you want something done right, do it yourself.

• While growing the game comes in many forms, we love to see companies support women in coaching and administrative roles specifically — like Xero, which recently pitched in to fund just that.

Banking company Ally began a new ad campaign yesterday to showcase how to make a difference in women’s sports. The star-studded commercial — featuring Billie Jean King, Sophia Smith, Jennie Finch and Kasey Choma — will air on Fox during the 2023 WWC, and on CBS Sports and Paramount+ throughout the NWSL season.

Yesterday, rapper Drake and actor Michael B. Jordan made headlines for joining the newest group of investors in Major League Pickleball’s Brooklyn Aces. And in other p-ball news, plans for a second Pickleball Slam showcase next February were finalized this week.

• The event will air on ESPN in primetime immediately following the NFL Pro Bowl after last year’s inaugural event drew an impressive 669K viewers during a midday window.

🪨 Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s energy drink ZOA signed seven student-athletes to NIL deals, including LSU hooper Angel Reese.

🌯 Chipotle will feature USWNT players Rose Lavelle and Sophia Smith in its WWC activations. Oh my God, we love Chipotle.

🏆 Cracker Jack and the Women’s Sports Foundation announced the nine winners of its “I am Cracker Jill Award,” presented to women and girls who are changing sports.

👟 Avoli (pronounced ah-volley) launched its volleyball footwear brand with three NIL signings. Set for success.

📺 Amid streaming struggles, Peacock is increasing its prices for the first time.

📲 Data science firm Signify Group established a sports division that utilizes AI to protect athletes and officials from online abuse. Using AI for good? We stan.

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