The Protect College Sports Act gained significant momentum after the Big Ten and Southeastern Conference announced their support for the legislation on separate calls with their respective institutional leaders. The backing marked a critical turning point for the bipartisan bill, which had faced uncertainty as the two most prominent college sports conferences had withheld endorsement during negotiations.
The conferences’ support came after extended discussions focused on preventing schools from circumventing revenue-sharing caps through arrangements with corporate sponsors and multimedia rights partners. Negotiators developed an attestation requirement mandating that outside entities including apparel companies and multimedia rights partners certify that individual athlete deals remain separate from institutional arrangements and subject to the Collegiate Sports Commission’s review process. Sen. Eric Schmitt, a Missouri Republican and co-author of the bill alongside Senators Ted Cruz and Maria Cantwell, emphasized the importance of this provision in preventing circumvention schemes that could inflate player compensation figures.
The final agreement established a comprehensive revenue framework allowing schools to allocate up to $48.8 million annually to athletes, comprising $21.3 million from the House settlement, a $22.5 million retention pool exception, and $5 million designated for non-revenue sports Name, Image and Likeness activity. Schmitt noted that this figure aligned closely with market expectations, positioning it as reasonable for institutions across the competitive landscape.
Beyond financial provisions, the legislation includes protections for women’s and Olympic sports, prohibits mid-season coaching departures to competing programs, guarantees athletes one transfer without eligibility loss with specified exceptions for additional transfers, and creates a targeted antitrust exemption for media rights pooling. The bill effectively caps Big Ten expansion to one additional program by limiting conference membership among the most powerful conferences to 19 teams. A newly added provision addresses Historically Black Colleges and Universities’ access to media opportunities, though specific language remained unpublished.
With Congress scheduled to begin summer recess the following week, Senate Majority Leader John Thune was expected to file for cloture as early as Monday, with a floor vote potentially occurring midweek or extending into the weekend.
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