The U.S. Senate on Monday night passed the Protect College Sports Act (S. 4668) by a vote of 77-22, according to the Senate Commerce Committee. The bipartisan bill, written by Commerce Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and the committee’s top Democrat, Maria Cantwell of Washington, would set federal rules for athlete pay, transfers and eligibility. Roll Call (opens in new tab) described it as the first federal framework governing college athletics. The bill now goes to the House.
The bill would give the NCAA an antitrust exemption meant to help it enforce a cap on how much schools can pay athletes, along with other rules weakened by recent lawsuits, ESPN (opens in new tab) reported. Athletes would be limited to one transfer without penalty, and the bill would back NCAA rules giving athletes a five-year window to compete that starts when they finish high school or turn 19. According to ESPN (opens in new tab), the cap on direct payments to athletes, set at roughly $21.5 million this year under the antitrust settlement known as the House settlement, would rise to roughly $49 million, with $5 million reserved for nonrevenue and Olympic sports.
NPR (opens in new tab) reported that the bill would also codify rules for name, image and likeness (NIL) deals, cap agents’ fees on those deals at 5%, and allow conferences to pool their media rights. Power conferences would be capped at 20 schools, and a school moving from one Power 4 conference to another would have to spend three years without a conference before joining a new one, according to ESPN (opens in new tab), which reported that the waiting period is set to expire at the end of 2031. The bill does not take a position on whether athletes are employees, ESPN (opens in new tab) said.
The Senate considered seven amendments Monday, ESPN (opens in new tab) reported. Senators rejected, 52-47, a proposal to cap coaches’ pay from their schools at $5 million a year and restrict how often they can change jobs. An amendment from Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., to raise a medical-care fund for former athletes with major injuries from $100 million to $200 million fell one vote short, according to ESPN (opens in new tab). Roll Call (opens in new tab) reported that an amendment from Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., aimed at rising ticket prices was defeated 42-54. Senators adopted amendments preserving certain state injury laws, requiring disclosure of money over $600 from foreign adversaries, state-owned enterprises or sovereign wealth funds, and raising the conference-size cap from 19 to 20 schools, according to Roll Call (opens in new tab).
“From the beginning, our objective was not to squeak by with 60 or 61 votes but to have a big bipartisan vote that demonstrates the importance of stepping in and saving and preserving college sports,” Cruz told reporters, according to ESPN (opens in new tab). He added: “President Trump is eager to sign this legislation.” Cantwell said on the Senate floor that the bill “is not the final solution,” calling it a way of “putting a pin in the problem,” ESPN (opens in new tab) reported. NCAA President Charlie Baker thanked senators in a statement and said “there is much work left to do” in the House, according to ESPN (opens in new tab) and NPR (opens in new tab).
Opponents said the bill favors institutions over athletes. “This bill sells out college athletes,” Booker said, according to ESPN (opens in new tab), which reported that he also objected that protections for women’s sports programs expire after nine years while the NCAA’s antitrust exemption does not expire. Opponents include labor groups, athletes’ organizations and the NAACP, NPR (opens in new tab) reported; ESPN (opens in new tab) named the AFL-CIO and groups seeking to unionize college athletes. NPR (opens in new tab) quoted Sam Ehrlich, an associate professor at Boise State University who tracks college sports litigation: “I think the better way to frame it is ‘The Protect the NCAA Act.’” Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., who preferred to keep conference-realignment options open for schools in his state, voted against the bill, NPR (opens in new tab) reported.
The House is not scheduled to vote on any bills until after the November midterm elections, according to ESPN (opens in new tab), and its next legislative session begins Nov. 9. If the bill does not clear the House in the lame-duck session before a new Congress takes over in January, the process would have to start over, ESPN (opens in new tab) reported. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., was still pushing the House’s own version earlier this month, including a provision barring employee status for college athletes, and the Congressional Black Caucus opposes the Senate version, according to Roll Call (opens in new tab). Speaker Mike Johnson’s office did not respond to ESPN (opens in new tab)’s request for comment.