Protect College Sports Act Stalls Amid Intense Lobbying and Conference Pushback

Senators Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Maria Cantwell (D-Washington) are trying to pass the Protect College Sports Act (PCSA), a Senate-originated bill that would overhaul the $19 billion college-sports industry. The legislation, which passed the Senate Commerce Committee on a 19-9 vote, seeks to set rules for athlete compensation, agent registration, and media-rights pooling. With the Senate’s summer recess approaching, the bill has yet to be scheduled for a floor vote.

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The push for federal regulation follows the 2021 Supreme Court decision that ended the NCAA’s ability to restrict athletes’ name, image and likeness (NIL) earnings. Congress has considered two competing proposals: the Senate’s PCSA and the House’s SCORE Act, which barred athletes from employee status. The PCSA aims to give the NCAA a limited antitrust exemption and to create a “retention pool” of funds for athlete pay.

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• College sports generate roughly $19 billion in annual revenue.

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• Current direct athlete payments total about $21 million per year.

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• The PCSA would add a $20 million or $22.5 million retention pool for current athletes, plus a $5 million pool for women’s-team NIL opportunities.

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• The bill caps the number of schools in any of the four power conferences at 19.

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• It would allow conferences to pool media rights, potentially increasing revenue for non-Power Five schools.

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Senator Cruz told reporters he expects a “large bipartisan vote” on the Senate floor and expressed confidence that the bill will pass.

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Senator Katie Britt (R-Alabama) said she plans to offer an amendment extending certain provisions to high-school sports, emphasizing the need to avoid new gaps.

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Louisiana State University’s board chair Lee Mallett and president Wade Rousse wrote a July 13 letter to the Commerce panel stating they “appreciate all the efforts” but do not support the bill in its current form.

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Big East Commissioner Val Ackerman questioned the need for the media-pooling provision, noting the lack of modeling to prove revenue gains. The SEC and Big Ten have warned that mandatory media pooling could force them to share lucrative TV contracts with rival conferences.

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Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama), a former football coach, has voiced strong opposition to the bill.

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Conference officials, including Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti and SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, expressed concern that the bill does not adequately close endorsement loopholes, which could undermine enforcement of any salary cap.

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• Retention-pool funding: Politico reports a $20 million addition, while ESPN cites a $22.5 million figure.

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• ESPN describes the bill as granting the NCAA a “limited antitrust exemption,” without detailing recent amendments.

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No final text has been released that clarifies whether postseason tournaments would be excluded from media pooling, a point the SEC and Big Ten consider critical.

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Senate aides indicate there is “technically still time” for Majority Leader Thune to call a full vote before the Senate’s summer recess begins in early August. If the bill is not brought to the floor before the recess, the window for passage will be limited to the fall session, when many lawmakers will be occupied with budget and campaign matters.

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