Senate’s College Sports Fix Promises Order but Gives the NCAA More Power

Senate’s College Sports Fix Promises Order but Gives the NCAA More Power
The Senate has approved the most sweeping federal intervention in college sports in years, promising to bring order to NIL deals, transfers and eligibility while intensifying a fight over who should control athletes’ futures.

The Protect College Sports Act passed 77-22 with support from both parties. Its backers, led by Sens. Ted Cruz and Maria Cantwell, say a national framework is needed after years of court rulings left college athletics in what Cruz called “the Wild West.” The measure would permit one undergraduate transfer without penalty, cap eligibility at five years, establish revenue-sharing rules and give the NCAA and conferences limited antitrust protection.

Supporters frame those provisions as safeguards for the broader athletic ecosystem. Cruz argued the bill is about “protecting the underdog” and preserving opportunities for teams that might otherwise disappear. The NCAA, the Big Ten and the SEC have backed the legislation, while Cantwell said formalizing revenue-sharing rights could protect benefits that currently depend on a settlement vulnerable to expiration.

Critics see the same structure differently. The Congressional Black Caucus and the NAACP say the bill did not adequately include Black athletes, coaches, agents or historically Black colleges. Sen. Chris Murphy argued it would protect “a system of exploitation,” while Sen. Cory Booker said athletes—not Congress—won NIL rights through litigation and warned that the bill could weaken their ability to challenge the NCAA in court.

That divide reflects the bill’s central contradiction: it codifies athletes’ ability to earn money while potentially narrowing the leverage that enabled them to win compensation in the first place. It also leaves major sources of spending—coaches, facilities and media companies—largely untouched. The House is not expected to act before the midterm elections, making the legislation’s promised stability, for now, provisional.