The Most Valuable Policymaker Awards

CLASS OF 2024

Representative Gus Bilirakis represents Florida's 12th Congressional District. He is the Chairman of the Innovation, Data and Commerce Subcommittee. With 75 bills he authored signed into law since 2015, Congressman Bilirakis was recently designated as the Most Effective Republican Lawmaker in the State of Florida by the Center for Effective Lawmaking at Vanderbilt University. Working in a bipartisan manner with Representative Schakowsky, he worked with consumer advocates, artists, venues, and ticketing companies to write the TICKET Act, which to date is the most comprehensive piece of ticketing legislation to be voted out of either chamber in Congress in nearly 10 years. 

When he’s not shepherding legislation to the President’s desk you can find him cheering for the Pittsburgh Pirates or the Florida Gators.

CLASS OF 2024

Representative Jan Schakowsky was elected to represent Illinois' 9th Congressional District in 1998, after serving for eight years in the Illinois State Assembly. Schakowsky serves in the House Democratic Leadership as a Chief Deputy Whip. She is a member of the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee, House Budget Committee, as well as the House Energy and Commerce Committee, where she serves as the Ranking Member on the Innovation, Data, and Commerce Subcommittee. Throughout her time in Congress, Schakowsky has taken on big corporations and has won major legislative victories on behalf of consumers – including her and Representative Bilirakis’ TICKET Act which passed the House 388-24 this year!

A true Chicagoan, Schakowsky is proud to represent the best sports city in all the country, cheering on the home teams whenever she gets the chance!

CLASS OF 2024

Virginia Senator Lucas represents Portsmouth, VA. She began a federal government career in 1967, aged 23, as an apprentice shipfitter at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY), becoming the first female shipfitter there in July 1971. She was also the first African American woman to serve on Portsmouth City Council. She now serves as Chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. 

She delivered the knock-out punch to Governor Youngkin’s plan to spend billions of tax dollars to bring the Wizards and Capitals to Alexandria. She coined “Half-baked Glenn-dome” which became a rallying cry for Virginians across the Commonwealth who opposed this misuse of public funds. Because of her steadfast leadership Monumental Sports was forced to abandon the plan and remain in DC. 

CLASS OF 2024

Representative Linstedt is one of the biggest champions for sports fans in Colorado. In 2023, nearly single-handedly, he took a Ticketmaster-sponsored bill and amended it to add two vital consumer protections – holdback disclosures and BOTS reporting. When those amendments were stripped in the conference committee by Ticketmaster, he helped us convince Governor Polis to veto the bill. This year he led negotiations with consumer advocates, ticketing platforms, and venues to create HB 24-1378 which became the most comprehensive consumer protection ticketing bill to pass this year, and the only state-level ticketing bill to receive no opposition at any stage of the process.

CLASS OF 2021

Not only did Sen. Capito stand up for fans, but America’s Olympians and Paralympians when she was the Republican lead for the Equal Pay for Team USA Act, which became law in 2023.

CLASS OF 2021

Senator Craig Zucker has served in the Maryland House and the Senate since 2011. In 2021 he chaird the Capital Budget Subcommittee. From here here championed fans by pushing for the Sports Bettors’ Bill of Rights to be included in Maryland’s sports betting legalization law.

CLASS OF 2019

Senator Moran has been a champion of amateur and Olympic athletes. He chaired the Senate Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, which oversees sports in the US, and used his oversight authority to investigate sexual abuse allegations by our US Olympic athletes. His investigation culminated in a massive, revealing report highlighting where the current structure has failed athletes, and bipartisan legislation to improve USOPC and empower athletes. 

CLASS OF 2019

Representative Lois Frankel has spent her lifetime delivering positive change to her community as a civic leader, state legislator, mayor, and now Member of the United States House of Representatives. A trailblazer in the Florida State Legislature, Lois served as the first woman Democratic minority leader. She became a leading force to improve the economic condition of families and seniors and protect human rights, including women's rights - fights she continues today in Congress as co-chair of the Women's Caucus. Notably, she continues this fight by championing equal pay for all women athletes under the USOPC.

CLASS OF 2019

Marcus Simon is a lifelong resident of Fairfax County, Virginia where he currently resides.

Delegate Simon championed sports fans during Virginia’s debate over the legalization of sports betting. Because of his tireless advocacy, Virginia was the first state in the nation to pass the Sports Bettors’ Bill of Rights.

CLASS OF 2013

Sen. McCain was one of the biggest champions for sports fans while serving the people of Arizona. He championed ending the FCC Sports Blackout Rule and the FANS Act, which would have ended sports blackouts related to retransmission consent negotiations.

The second example of McCain standing up for fans came when he called attention to NFL teams holding ceremonies honoring members of the military, not out of a sense of patriotism, but to line their pockets with millions of dollars in taxpayer money.

CLASS OF 2012, 2013

Sen. Blumenthal has a long career of fighting for consumers and has already made an impact in the fight against blackouts. In a December letter to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, Blumenthal urged the commission to reexamine its sports blackout rules. Blumenthal has also previously written to the NFL about the way it “arbitrarily” blacked out New York Giants fans living in Connecticut.

CLASS OF 2012

Rep. Joe Barton has led the charge against the corrupt BCS bowl system. In 2009, he called college football leaders to the Hill to explain why there is not a fair and equitable playoff in college football. He also introduced legislation prohibiting a game from being called a “national championship” unless it results from a playoff.

In December, Barton and Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) formed the Congressional Collegiate Sports Caucus to examine issues surrounding college sports, particularly the lack of a true playoff in college football. Barton has also introduced legislation and called hearings related to college football’s postseason.

CLASS OF 2012

Rep. Cohen has been an important voice in the fight for a college football playoff. He has emphasized that a playoff will generate far more money for our schools and universities, which is critical.

“College football fans around the country are grateful to Rep. Cohen for his efforts to bring about a true postseason playoff,” Sports Fans Coalition Executive Director Brian Frederick said. “Rep. Cohen’s calls for a bona fide playoff have undoubtedly been heard by those in charge of college football.”

CLASS OF 2012

Rep. Higgins has repeatedly called for the NFL to eliminate its blackout rule from the floor of the House of Representatives and has called for the FCC to eliminate its own blackout rules.

Bills fans are among the most passionate in the league, but continue to be subjected to unfair and counterproductive blackouts.

CLASS OF 2012

Rep. Scalise introduced the Next Generation Television Marketplace Act, which would deregulate much of the media market, including special interest provisions enacted at the behest of sports leagues and their television distributors.

CLASS OF 2014

Chairman Tom Wheeler voted in favor of ending the Sports Blackout rule saying, “Today, I’m pleased to say that the FCC is standing up for football fans and common sense. Completing the work the Commission began last December, we are eliminating the FCC’s sports blackout rule, which punishes fans and has outlived its usefulness.”

CLASS OF 2014

Then-Commissioner Pai voted in favor of ending the Sports Blackout Rule saying, “As one who believes in limited government, my position on this issue is simple: The FCC shouldn’t be involved in the sports blackout business. It is not the place of the federal government to intervene in the private marketplace and help sports leagues enforce their blackout policies. It is the Commission’s job to serve the public interest, not the private interests of team owners.”

CLASS OF 2014

Then-Commissioner Rosenworcel voted in favor of ending the Sports Blackout Rule saying, “This agency should not support policies that prevent fans from watching their hometown teams on television.”

CLASS OF 2014

Commissioner Clyburn voted in favor of ending the Sports Blackout rule, saying, “In sum, the goal of these rules was never to protect the profitability of sports leagues, but to ensure that America’s favorite pastime was widely available to television viewers. Keeping the rules no longer make sense. I applaud the Chairman for a sustained drive to take the ball over the goal line by abolishing an outdated rule whose time has expired.

CLASS OF 2012

In January, when the Federal Communications Commission announced its intentions to open up a proceeding on its sports blackout rule, Commissioner McDowell issued a public statement supporting the review and acknowledging how times have changed since the blackout rule was adopted.