Key facts
- The Senate passed the Protect College Sports Act on Monday with a 77-22 vote.
- The bill grants the NCAA new authority and limited antitrust protections to regulate college athlete payments and transfers.
- It proposes a revenue cap allowing schools to share up to $21.5 million with players, with an additional $27.5 million through a retention fund.
- The legislation restricts player transfers to one 'free' move over five years and limits total eligibility to five years.
- Critics, including Senator Chris Murphy, argue the bill exploits athletes and does not address broader issues.
- The bill's future is uncertain as it must pass the House, which has previously failed to advance similar legislation.
The U.S. Senate passed a significant bipartisan bill on Monday aimed at regulating the landscape of college sports, which has been dramatically altered by increased athlete payments and frequent player transfers. The Protect College Sports Act, which passed with an overwhelming 77-22 vote, seeks to establish national regulations for name, image, and likeness (NIL) payments to college athletes and govern transfer rules. It also aims to provide the NCAA with new authority and limited antitrust protections to enforce these regulations.
The legislation is the result of years of negotiations, intensifying after a recent lawsuit settlement allowed colleges to pay players directly. While the bill would codify this settlement, it also introduces new guardrails to manage escalating costs for educational institutions. Republican Senator Ted Cruz and Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell, who negotiated the bill, stated that federal law is necessary to address the issues within college sports. Donald Trump also voiced his support, calling the bill a "really big deal" that could "save college sports."
Supporters of the bill, including over 70 senators from both parties, contend that it will reduce litigation and uncertainty for athletes, schools, and fans, while also offering hundreds of thousands of athletes new health and labor protections. However, critics, such as Democratic Senator Chris Murphy, argue that the bill perpetuates a system of exploitation and fails to address the core problems, particularly the enormous sums of money directed towards coaches and athletic programs rather than athletes. Groups like the NAACP, Congressional Black Caucus, and AFL-CIO have also opposed the bill, citing concerns that it does not sufficiently protect athletes and leaves unresolved questions about employee status and collective bargaining rights for athletes. Four Black Democratic senators have publicly opposed the bill, with Senator Cory Booker highlighting the "outsized role" of Black athletes in college sports and questioning the NCAA's request for sweeping antitrust exemptions.
The bill's path forward is uncertain, as it must still pass the House of Representatives, which has struggled to advance similar legislation. If it does not pass both chambers by the end of the year, lawmakers will need to restart the process in the next Congress. The legislation proposes a revenue cap allowing schools to share up to $21.5 million with players, with an additional $27.5 million available through a retention fund, a provision that secured support from major conferences like the Big Ten and SEC. To boost revenue, schools could also pool their TV media rights. The bill also seeks to stabilize the NCAA transfer portal by restricting players to one "free" transfer over five years and limiting total eligibility to five years, with some exceptions. It further includes measures to restrict coaches from leaving during the season, require schools switching conferences to be independent for three years, and cap conference sizes at 20 programs to prevent the formation of "superleagues."