Senate advances landmark Protect College Sports Act, ignoring SEC and Big Ten opposition with clock ticking

In a landmark infinitesimal for the Senate Commerce Committee, the Protect College Sports Act is present moving to a afloat ballot that has already started the lobbying.

As leaders from crossed assemblage sports watched from afar, Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) held tribunal during a markup league connected Thursday that yet took purpose astatine those wrong the SEC and Big Ten conferences that person opposed the measure successful its existent form.

"What we did contiguous was accidental we’re not going to fto the astir powerful, richest conferences dictate to the remainder of America what’s going to hap to 500,000 athletes," Cantwell said aft a 19-9 ballot was secured.

CRUZ AND CANTWELL REFUSE TO BEND TO SEC AND BIG TEN CONCERNS IN REVISED COLLEGE ATHLETICS LEGISLATION

There person been galore leagues that person gotten down the bill, portion those representing the athletes person opposed.

But, garnering the enactment from those wrong the Big Ten and SEC footprint is intelligibly not an facet of this process that some Cantwell and Cruz are disquieted about.

Senator Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas and president of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, and Senator Maria Cantwell, a Democrat from Washington and ranking subordinate of the committee, be a proceeding successful Washington, D.C., connected April 2, 2025. Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg is scheduled to attest astir the company's prime standards and civilization overhaul. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Let the lobbying continue, arsenic absorption holding firm

On Thursday morning, the SEC and Big Ten released a associated connection connected the legislation, making it wide they were not connected committee with giving it their support.

"From the outset, we identified a acceptable of indispensable revisions to the PCSA indispensable for the semipermanent sustainability of assemblage athletics," some conferences noted. "We person worked with some bulk and number unit to beforehand those revisions, which absorption connected amended supporting student-athletes and stabilizing the assemblage sports environment. We proceed to judge revisions are needed to unafraid our enactment for the bill.

"Despite our sustained engagement and bully religion efforts, these captious revisions person not been accepted. We are encouraged that respective Commerce Committee members stock our concerns and enactment these recommendations."

TED CRUZ, MARIA CANTWELL UNVEIL BIPARTISAN COLLEGE ATHLETICS BILL AMID NIL CHAOS, LAWSUITS, 'LANE KIFFIN RULE'

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey speaks during a roundtable treatment connected assemblage sports successful the East Room of the White House connected March 6, 2026, arsenic Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick looks on. The Trump medication hosted the lawsuit titled "Saving College Sports" with leaders from the Power Four conferences, media executives and erstwhile coaches. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

For the archetypal clip ever, a assemblage sports measure has passed done a committee ballot that volition present nonstop it to the level for a imaginable landmark passage.

"No 1 got everything they wanted. But, we did make a model that stabilizes assemblage athletics," Cruz noted connected Thursday.

As for the SEC and Big Ten opposing the bill, this comes down to a fig of antithetic issues, including the 'voluntary' pooling of media rights. Also, the authorities taking purpose astatine some for perchance forming a 'Super League.' But, successful a concession connected Wednesday night, that changed.

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The anti-expansion proviso successful the measure present includes the Big 12 and ACC, with the senators changing the connection that present includes conferences that bring successful $700 cardinal successful gross from not being allowed to articulation forces similar the Avengers. This was a alteration from the $1 cardinal antecedently projected successful the legislation.

There volition proceed to beryllium absorption from the 2 biggest conferences successful assemblage athletics, but Senator Cantwell made it wide connected Thursday that they would not beryllium deterred from pressing on, adjacent if the SEC and Big Ten opposed.

What's adjacent for the Protect College Sports Act? A Senate vote

Will this yet work? Potentially, but determination volition beryllium plentifulness of lobbying implicit the adjacent period that could yet alteration the trajectory of this legislation. There are plentifulness of issues that stay to beryllium discussed.

But, determination were besides a fig of changes successful the caller authorities that was revised this week.

Olympic and women's sports were separated from the media rights pooling provision, which present sits by itself. This would acceptable a minimum assistance and roster size limit, that isn’t tied into the gross generated from tv deals.

Mark Meador, commissioner astatine the Federal Trade Commission, greets Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, president of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, and Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., ranking subordinate of the committee, during a proceeding titled "Oversight of the Federal Trade Commission" successful Washington, D.C., connected April 15, 2026. (Al Drago/Bloomberg)

Before it was revised, these indispensable protections would lone beryllium enacted if the media rights were really pooled together.

As we person noted galore times implicit the past fewer weeks, determination is going to beryllium pushback connected this measure connected aggregate fronts. There is connection successful the authorities that limits subordinate compensation and the quality to transfer.

Given that, those opposed to the measure are already preparing lawmakers for an summation successful lawsuits that would travel if you effort to enactment a circumstantial guardrail astir subordinate movement.

Also, determination has been pushback from galore regarding unions that reason corporate bargaining for student-athletes.

Either way, the ballot connected Thursday was historical successful this existent epoch of assemblage athletics. For years, the House tried to propulsion the SCORE Act through, but came up abbreviated aggregate times, yet ending with the authorities failing to marque it to the level for a vote.

Now, with the Senate Commerce Committee opening up the accidental for the Protect College Sports Act to beryllium voted connected Senate floor, this assemblage athletics measure has fundamentally passed the historical point.

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But, with 50 days until Congress goes into recess for the summer, the timepiece is ticking for Senate Majority Leader John Thune to bring this to the level for a vote. Can Cruz and Cantwell drum up capable enactment for this to pass?

That is yet conscionable 1 portion of this process, with the House waiting.