On September 28, 2026, the Senate passed the Protect College Sports Act (PCSA), with roughly two dozen Democrats joining 50 Republicans in the 77-22 vote. Introduced by Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA), the PCSA seeks to establish a uniform set of standards governing name, image and likeness (NIL) and eligibility issues in college athletics, while offering limited antitrust protections and bolstering the NCAA’s enforcement authority. The bill still must pass the House of Representatives to become law.
The bill largely codifies the June 2025 House v. NCAA settlement, which provides for (but does not require) up to $21.6 million per year in direct revenue-sharing payments from schools to college athletes. The legislation also provides for a new retention fund of $22.5 million to assist in maintaining roster continuity, with an additional $5 million reserved for women’s and Olympic sports, for a total compensation pool of nearly $50 million annually.
The PCSA also bans the establishment of a “super league” for major college football and raises the conference membership cap to 20 members, in a move aimed at quelling persistent conference realignment and preserving traditional geographic rivalries. Under the bill, a school moving between power conferences would be required to compete as an independent for three years, though a sunset provision phases out this waiting period six years after the law takes effect.
In addition, the PCSA restores a former NCAA rule, under which athletes are permitted one transfer without being forced to sit out a season of competition — following litigation, existing NCAA rules were amended to allow for unlimited transfers—and codifies the NCAA’s new age-based “5 for 5” eligibility rule, which is currently the subject of several lawsuits. However, the legislation conspicuously does not address the status of athletes as employees of their school or any right to collective bargaining. While the PCSA restricts head coaches from leaving midseason for another job, a proposed amendment seeking to cap coaching compensation at $5 million annually was narrowly defeated. An effort to cap ticket price increases at 4% also failed.
Following passage in the Senate, the PCSA will be sent to the House of Representatives, though the bill is unlikely to reach the House floor before the midterm elections on November 3. The House is currently out of session and is not scheduled to return until November 9.
While the Senate’s passage of the PCSA represents the most significant step yet toward a comprehensive federal framework for college sports, its prospects remain uncertain and, as noted above, several critical issues remain unresolved by the proposed legislation. The Congressional Black Caucus previously opposed the SCORE Act, a companion House bill that was introduced in July 2025. Moreover, House Republicans have signaled a preference for additional amendments, including an outright ban on the classification of athletes as employees and a cap on international players. These changes would send the bill back to the Senate for approval. With a new Congress scheduled to be sworn in on January 3, 2027, the PCSA would have to be reintroduced if it is not enacted by that date.
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