Senate Advances Bill to Reshape College Sports With Pay Caps and Superleague Ban
Senators voted 74-24 to end debate on the Protect College Sports Act, a bill that would set athlete pay limits, restrict transfers and block breakaway superleagues.
The Senate moved closer this week to passing legislation that would overhaul how the multibillion-dollar college sports industry operates, covering everything from athlete compensation to the legal battles players can pursue.
Senators voted 74-24 to close debate on the Protect College Sports Act. The procedural step clears the way for a vote in the chamber, after which the bill would go to the House.
Pay and retention
The proposal would write into law the revenue-sharing arrangement reached under the House settlement, under which schools may distribute up to 22% of certain revenue to athletes — about $21.58 million per school this year. It would add a $27.5 million "retention pool" aimed at keeping current players on rosters, a mechanism that could reduce third-party name, image and likeness payments.
Legal protections and eligibility
The bill would shield the NCAA from lawsuits in several areas, particularly eligibility disputes that have repeatedly landed the governing body in court over the past year. The most recent challenges come from athletes who finished high school in 2022 and were denied a fifth year of college eligibility under a rule that takes effect for the Class of 2023.
The legislation is designed to override state laws, many enacted in the past five years to govern NIL within state lines, that conflict with the national framework. How that preemption would work in practice could itself become the subject of litigation.
Transfers and coaching moves
Athletes would generally be limited to one "free" transfer without sitting out a season — a change that could reduce some of the churn generated by the transfer portal. Players previously went to court to secure the right to transfer without penalty. The bill would also bar coaches from leaving one school for another during the season.
Media rights, Olympic sports and HBCUs
Rewriting a 1961 law that prohibited the practice, the measure would let athletic conferences pool their media rights to generate more revenue for their sports. The Southeastern and Big Ten conferences have resisted the idea, disputing that it would produce more money.
Most schools would be required to maintain the same number of Olympic-sport programs they fielded in the 2024-25 academic year for at least nine years. The bill also provides federal funding for broadband and media infrastructure at historically Black colleges and universities.
Expansion limits
Conferences would be barred from expanding beyond 19 teams, among other provisions intended to prevent the formation of a breakaway "superleague."