Senate Passes Protect College Sports Act to Codify Revenue-Sharing
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The bipartisan bill seeks to stabilize the industry by establishing payment caps and limiting athlete transfers, while granting the NCAA expanded antitrust protections.
The U.S. Senate passed the bipartisan Protect College Sports Act in a 77-22 vote on Monday, according to reporting from The Guardian. The legislation aims to regulate an industry currently defined by "chaos," characterized by near-unrestricted player transfers and skyrocketing athlete payments.
Central to the bill is the codification of a 2025 court settlement that allows schools to pay players directly. The act establishes a revenue cap permitting schools to share up to $21.5 million in revenue with athletes. To secure support from the Southeastern Conference and the Big Ten, the bill allows for an additional $27.5 million in payments via a retention fund. To facilitate these costs, the bill permits schools and conferences to pool their TV media rights.
Beyond finances, the act seeks to stabilize the transfer portal by limiting athletes to one "free" move over five years and capping total eligibility at five years. It further restricts conferences from exceeding 20 programs to prevent the rise of "superleagues" and prohibits coaches from leaving their schools during a season.
Republican Senator Ted Cruz and Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell negotiated the bill, which Donald Trump praised on social media as a move that would save both college sports and the institutions themselves. However, the legislation faces opposition from groups including the AFL-CIO, the NAACP, and the Congressional Black Caucus. Democratic Senator Chris Murphy and Senator Cory Booker criticized the bill for failing to cap coaches' salaries or address whether athletes are employees with collective bargaining rights. Booker specifically noted that the NCAA is seeking "sweeping powers" to exempt itself from antitrust laws.
The bill now moves to the House, which has struggled to bring a similar version to the floor over the past year.