Senate passes Protect College Sports Act, sends bill to House

The Senate has passed the Protect College Sports Act (PCSA) by a vote of 77-23, sending the bipartisan legislation to the House for further consideration. Authored by Senators Ted Cruz and Maria Cantwell, the bill aims to bring sweeping reforms to college athletics. This marks a significant step in the fight for federal legislation in college sports, following years of lobbying efforts.

The Senate vote brings the bill closer to becoming law, though it still needs to pass the House and receive President Donald Trump's signature. Trump has long supported the legislation.

The PCSA would grant the NCAA an antitrust exemption, allowing it to limit athletes to one transfer without penalty and standardize the new five-year, age-based eligibility policy. The bill also seeks to increase the revenue-sharing cap to nearly $50 million, with more stringent enforcement around the rev-share cap. Schools would be able to pool their media rights, and an agent registry would be established with a maximum 5% fee.

Additionally, schools would be able to create a $22.5 million retention fund to support athletes and increase the annual revenue-sharing spend to $50 million.

The legislation also introduces the "Lane Kiffin Rule," which would prevent any FBS coach from leaving for a new head coaching job in-season at a new school before the end of their team's season. This rule would also extend to coordinators and assistants. The PCSA would preempt existing NIL state laws, aiming to create a national standard for college sports.

The bill underwent revisions this summer, with the SEC and Big Ten conferences supporting it to garner greater bipartisan backing. The PCSA would limit the Power Four conferences to 20 members, and any Power Four team moving to a new league would have to serve as an independent for three years. Athletes would be allowed to transfer only once under the PCSA, with exceptions for head coaching changes, sport discontinuation, or misconduct.