Senate passes Protect College Sports Act, sending college athletics overhaul to House

The US Senate passed the Protect College Sports Act on September 28 by a 77–22 vote, advancing a proposed national framework for college athlete payments and transfers. The measure would give the NCAA new authority to enforce some rules, but it still needs House approval before it can become law.

The vote follows years of disputes over how colleges can pay athletes for their name, image and likeness, known as NIL, and how often players can change schools. Associated Press reported that the bill emerged from negotiations that intensified after a 2025 court settlement allowed colleges to pay players directly. Its backers say federal rules could reduce litigation and uncertainty for schools and athletes.

How payments and transfers would change

According to AP, the bill would put the settlement’s revenue-sharing arrangement into federal law. It would allow schools to share up to $21.5 million in revenue with athletes under a baseline cap. Some schools could pay up to another $27.5 million through a retention fund. Those are proposed limits, not payments that the Senate vote itself has put into effect.

The NCAA’s earlier account shows how quickly the framework has changed. In April 2025, its Division I board conditionally approved more than 150 rule changes tied to court approval of the settlement. The association said participating schools would be permitted to provide up to $20.5 million in direct financial benefits to athletes. That earlier figure describes the settlement-era rules, rather than the later bill’s proposed amounts.

Other provisions reach beyond player movement. AP reported that the bill would let schools and conferences pool television rights and would restrict coaches from leaving during a season. Certain moves from one Power Four conference to another would require a school to spend three years as an independent, according to the Senate Commerce Committee; that provision would end six years after enactment. The bill would also cap conferences at 20 programs.

Protections and objections

A September 17 Senate Commerce Committee description of updated bill text said the NCAA would oversee school compliance with health, wellness and safety standards. It also described scholarship and medical-coverage provisions, along with minimum numbers of sports and roster spots. The committee said schools could offer protections beyond the bill’s minimum standards and that a commission would examine athlete injuries, deaths, safety compliance and the independence of medical decisions.

Senator Maria Cantwell, a Democratic negotiator, has presented the measure as a way to establish federal NIL rights and health and safety protections while preserving women’s and Olympic sports. A committee account of her position also reported support letters from athlete commissions and the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee. Those are arguments and endorsements from supporters, not a measure of agreement across college sports.

Opponents argue that the bill would strengthen NCAA control without adequately addressing athletes’ bargaining power. AP quoted Democratic Senator Chris Murphy describing it as a system of exploitation. He has also objected that the bill would cap athletes’ share of revenue while leaving coaches’ salaries and donations to athletic programs uncapped.

AP reported that the NAACP, Congressional Black Caucus and AFL-CIO opposed the bill in part because it does not resolve whether college athletes are employees who can bargain collectively. All four Black Democratic senators voted against it, according to AP. Their objections place the employment question at the center of the debate even as supporters emphasize uniform national rules.

The Senate’s consideration also showed where lawmakers disagreed over athlete protections. AP reported that senators rejected amendments to cap coaches’ salaries at $5 million and increase compensation for athletes with catastrophic injuries. They adopted amendments intended to ease athlete lawsuits concerning sexual assault and require disclosure of foreign financing. The committee’s account of the updated text said pending lawsuits and damages claims for past conduct would be preserved.

What happens in the House

The bill now goes to the House. AP reported that the chamber had repeatedly failed to bring a different college sports measure to the floor over the past year and was in recess until after the November elections. If both chambers do not pass legislation before the end of 2026, lawmakers would have to start again in the next Congress. The Senate’s vote therefore establishes its position, while the final rules and their prospects remain unsettled.