Senate passes 'Protect College Sports Act' that would rein in athlete payments and transfers

The US Senate on Tuesday passed 'Protect College Sports Act', a sweeping bipartisan bill that to regulate college sports, in an attempt to end "chaos" in an industry that has been upended by skyrocketing athlete payments and near-unrestricted transfers between schools.

The process witnessed 77-22 vote to pass the legislation, marking the strongest effort yet by Congress to set national regulations governing payments to college athletes for their name, image and likeness and how often they can transfer. The Act would give the NCAA new authority over those rules and limited antitrust protections to enforce them.

The bill to protect US college sports is the product of years of Senate negotiations that intensified after a 2025 lawsuit settlement uprooted the college sports landscape by allowing colleges to pay their players. The sports legislation awaits House nod as it aims to codify the settlement into law and also establish new guardrails around the system in an attempt to rein in the runaway costs for colleges.


"It would be nice if college sports could somehow magically fix itself, but this is a matter of law, federal law, and only Congress can fix it," Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas said, as quoted by AP. Cruz negotiated the bill with the top Democrat on the panel, Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell.

The Senate backers of the bill, more than 70 in number, said that the law aims to curtail constant litigation and uncertainty across college sports for athletes, schools and fans and would also give hundreds of thousands of student athletes new health and labor protections.

However, But critics argue that the bill does not do enough to protect athletes or curtail the enormous sums of money flowing to coaches, colleges and conferences.

"This is a bill that essentially ensconces a system of exploitation, and it doesn't fix the broader problems," said Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy.

The bill's future still unclear.

What is 'Protect College Sports Act'

The legislation seeks to overhaul the way US college sports operate and addresses rising athlete compensation, the transfer portal, eligibility rules, conference expansion, media rights and protections for college athletes.

Key provisions of the bill include Higher payments to college athletes and TV rights pooling, along with limits on transfers and five-year eligiblity cap.

The bill would codify the 2025 court settlement, allowing schools to share up to $21.5 million in revenue with athletes. It would also create a retention fund allowing some schools to make up to $27.5 million in additional payments.

Under the bill, schools and conferences could choose to pool their television media rights, potentially giving them another way to increase revenue. Athletes would generally be allowed one free transfer during five years without having to sit out a season, with some exceptions.

The legislation would limit athletes to five years of total eligibility, amid concerns over players moving between college and professional football environments.

The Bill proposes limits on conference expansion. Conferences would be barred from growing beyond 20 programs, aimed at preventing the emergence of so-called “superleagues.”

Other proposals include three-year independent period as schools seeking to leave one conference for another would have to spend three years as an independent.

Under the sports legislation, coaches would be restricted from leaving their schools during the season.

The bill also includes caps on agent fees, guarantees for health insurance and scholarships, and requirements for schools to maintain a minimum number of sports and roster spots. The minimum sports and roster requirements under the proposal are intended to prevent schools from cutting less lucrative sports to concentrate resources on football and basketball.

However, the legislation does not cap coaches' salaries or donations to athletic programmes. It also leaves unresolved whether college athletes should be classified as employees, which would give them the ability to collectively bargain. The Senate rejected proposals to cap coaches' salaries at $5 million a year, increase compensation for athletes suffering catastrophic injuries and impose limits on ticket prices.

Trump hails Senate move

US President Donald Trump hailed the passage of Protect College Sport Act, saying it is a "really big deal."

"The Protect College Sport Act just passed in the U.S. Senate by a vote of 77-22. This is a really big deal. It will not only save college sports, it will save the colleges themselves. Congratulations to Randy Levine, President of the New York Yankees, and all of those who worked with him, on a job well done," he said in a post on Truth Social.