The U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passed the Protect College Sports Act Monday in a 72-22 vote that bring the federal bill, aimed at reshaping the college sports industry, one step closer to becoming law.
From here, the bill moves to the House, where it is expected to meet with more opposition from both sides of the aisle. House representatives aren't scheduled to vote on any new bills until after the midterm elections in November.
"From the beginning, our objective was not to squeak by with 60 or 61 votes but to have a big bipartisan vote that demonstrates the importance of stepping in and saving and preserving college sports," senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) told reporters Monday night. "President Trump is eager to sign this legislation."
NCAA president Charlie Baker in a statement Monday night touted the work done by collegiate athletes to get the bill moving through the legislature.
"Student-athletes from across the country and all three NCAA Divisions worked hard to get this legislation moving and thanks to their advocacy, the bill just received a massive, bipartisan vote in the Senate.
"Now the bill moves to the U.S. House of Representatives and there is much work left to do to ensure student-athlete benefits are codified into federal law and future generations of young people can access those benefits and use college sports as the launching point for their careers."
A revised version of the bill was released Aug. 6 after being introduced May 27. The bill then failed to pass the Senate on Aug. 10.
The bill provides the NCAA with an antitrust exemption designed to help the association enforce a cap on how much teams can pay their athletes, as well as other rules that have deteriorated because of legal challenges in recent years. If the bill becomes law, athletes will be limited to transferring one time without penalty during their college career. It would reinforce new NCAA rules that limit athletes to a five-year window to compete in college that begins either when they finish high school or turn 19 years old.
According to ESPN, the Senate considered seven amendments to the bill before its final vote Monday night. Most notably, the lawmakers voted 52-47 against a provision that would have capped how much money coaches can earn from their schools at $5 million per year and restricted how often they can change jobs.
"If the bill supporters believe these rules are necessary for athletes, they should be willing to apply them to coaches, as well," Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J.. said. "This bill sells out college athletes."
Changes to the bill made back in August include the following:
- Adopted the House Settlement definition of “Associated Entity”;
- Ensured a “hard” revenue share cap; closed off loopholes and ensured associated entity deals count towards the cap;
- Added certification requirements for multimedia rights holders (MMRs), sponsors, apparel companies, and vendors to ensure legitimate NIL deals;
- Increased NIL deal transparency;
- Eliminates improper compensation to recruit high school athletes;
- Established a $22.5 million retention fund, with up to $5 million in additional retention spending unlocked dollar-for-dollar by NIL spending on women’s and Olympic sports, for a maximum of $27.5 million;
- Added more flexibility to cut down on tampering and improper recruitment practices;
- Clarified participation in pooled media entity is voluntary;
- Clarified traditional rivalry scheduling requirements are only for members of the pooled media entity;
- Closed the private equity loophole for forming a super league; and
- Protected conference movement and expansion subject to 19 institution cap for large conferences.
