Bryan Seeley, who has been Major League Baseball’s Executive Vice President of Legal & Operations since March 2022, has been named the CEO of the newly formed College Sports Commission, per ESPN’s Pete Thamel and Jeff Passan.
The news arrived after Judge Claudia Wilken approved the $2.8 billion House vs. NCAA settlement, which now allows schools to pay student-athletes directly.
A press release via Big Ten Communications stated the College Sports Commission’s role.
“Overseeing this model will be the newly established College Sports Commission –an independent body that will be responsible for implementing the settlement terms governing revenue sharing, student-athlete Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) deals and roster limits. The Commission will investigate any potential violations of these rules, make determinations regarding potential rules violations and penalties, provide notice and opportunity to be heard, participate in the arbitration process and ultimately administer penalties for violations of these rules.”
Thamel and Passan provided more context on the CSC’s role.
“The CSC is the new era’s enforcement arm that will have final say in doling out punishments and deciding when rules have been broken. It’s one of the most important roles in this new era, as the industry has been craving some type of guidance since the advent of name, imagine and likeness has made the descriptor ‘wild, wild west’ a common one in regard to the generally unregulated college sports industry.”
Per ESPN, college sports’ four power conference commissioners (ACC’s Jim Phillips, Big Ten’s Tony Petitti, Big 12’s Brett Yormark and SEC’s Greg Sankey) hired Seeley.
Per a press release, Seeley previously served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Washington, D.C. from 2006-2014. MLB later hired him as its Vice President, Investigations & Deputy General Counsel. Per ESPN, MLB added compliance and security responsibilities under his purview in 2018 before he became the EVP of Legal and Operations in 2022.
“I am honored to serve as the first CEO of the College Sports Commission at this pivotal moment in the history of collegiate athletics,” Seeley said in a press release. “I look forward to implementing a system that prioritizes fairness, integrity, and opportunity, while preserving the values that make college sports unique. I am energized by the work ahead and excited to begin building out our team.”
Per sources to ESPN, Seeley is expected to make a seven-figure salary in this role, and he “has been the target” for the job “for weeks.”
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