Senate Passes Protect College Sports Act to Regulate Transfers and Eligibility
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The bipartisan bill seeks to codify NCAA rules into federal law and grant a limited antitrust exemption to curb transfer portal chaos.
According to CBS Sports, the U.S. Senate late Monday night approved the Protect College Sports Act in a 77-22 vote, representing the first instance of either congressional chamber passing broad federal legislation to regulate college athletics.
Written by Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), the bill would write NCAA rules into federal law and provide the industry with a limited antitrust exemption. This exemption would allow the NCAA to enforce eligibility and transfer rules without the risk of courts striking them down, a recurring issue in recent years, CBS Sports reports. Under the proposed law, athletes would be permitted to transfer once without sitting out a season, but Yahoo Sports reports that second-time college football transfers could be forced to sit out a full year.
Financial changes are also central to the legislation. The bill codifies the House v. NCAA settlement and establishes three payment buckets for athletes: a $21.6 million revenue-sharing cap, a $5 million reserve for women's and Olympic sports, and a $22.5 million retention fund designed to reduce transfer portal churn. CBS Sports notes that schools failing to meet academic and graduation benchmarks would lose access to the retention fund. In total, schools could be responsible for up to $50 million annually.
Additional provisions include a ban on "super leagues" to block private equity breakaways, a requirement for agents to register in a national database with fees capped at 5%, and a prohibition on football coaches leaving midseason for other jobs. A bipartisan amendment from Sens. Ashley Moody (R-Fla.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) also raised the conference membership cap to 20.
The bill now moves to the House of Representatives. CBS Sports reports that Speaker Mike Johnson expects the bill will not be considered until after the Nov. 3 midterm elections, with the House not scheduled to return until Nov. 9. The legislative deadline is Jan. 3.