Senate approves college sports bill with $50 million NIL cap

The Senate passed the bipartisan Protect College Sports Act on Monday by a vote of 77 to 22, enacting a sweeping overhaul of college athletics that establishes national rules for name, image and likeness compensation, the transfer portal, conference realignment, and pooled media rights. The legislation grants the NCAA authority to set and enforce standardized regulations regarding transfers, recruits, and pay-for-play NIL arrangements, while imposing a cap on the amount schools can pay student athletes. A key provision codifies a limit on the revenue schools can share with current players, raising that threshold to around $50 million per school. The bill also extends student athlete eligibility to five years, counting from the time of enrollment or when the athlete turns 19 years old, and permits one free transfer. Additionally, it reduces the period a school must remain independent before moving between Power Four conferences from five years to three, and it attempts to prevent the formation of a super league. The Senate’s approval follows a lengthy legislative process in which lawmakers negotiated changes to secure support from the Big Ten and SEC conferences and President Trump. Negotiators also addressed Republican concerns that the bill would not supersede state laws on transgender athletes and rejected union language favored by some Democrats. The bill generally allows ongoing lawsuits to continue. The legislation now faces an uncertain path in the House, where leaders are not expected to shorten their six-week pre-election recess to debate it. House Republican leaders previously attempted to advance their own proposal, the SCORE Act, in May but withdrew it after facing opposition from the Congressional Black Caucus and several Republicans. That opposition remains a barrier in the lower chamber. Some House Republicans have also indicated they want to add restrictions on foreign athletes, a change that could jeopardize the bipartisan coalition that supported the bill in the Senate.