The Protect College Sports Act took its next step forward on Monday, with the Senate voting overwhelmingly 77-22 in favor of the proposed federal legislation reforming college athletics.
The bipartisan bill, written by U.S. Senators Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and introduced in June, will now move on to the House of Representatives. The next scheduled House legislative session begins Nov. 9.
“There are several things in this bill that are really important to enshrine into federal law at this time. First and foremost, the federal right to NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness),” Sen. Cantwell said prior to the vote in a speech on the Senate floor.
“But compensation on revenue sharing is probably the most important thing we could possibly enshrine in federal law today. This is (Congress) saying, for the first time, that an athlete gets a percentage of the media rights, the ticket sales, and the sponsorship.”
Among other provisions, the Protect College Sports Act would:
–Cap agent fees at 5%.
–Guarantee scholarships for 10 years after eligibility so athletes can finish pursuing their degrees.
–Mandate Division I schools cover out-of-pocket medical costs for sports-related injuries or illness for current student athletes for five years post-eligibility.
–Ban schools from pulling scholarships due to an injury or poor performance.
–Allow athletes to transfer once with immediate eligibility at the new school.
–Prevent football coaches from moving to a new school midseason.
–Require schools to maintain a minimum number of women’s and Olympic sports.
“We need to stop stealing money out of college (and) university institutions for education, for tuition, for professors, and putting it into an arms race on sports,” Cantwell said. “It is putting a pin in the problems to stabilize the loss of women’s and Olympic (sports) and to create the opportunity to discuss the larger structure moving forward. That is why I think we have so much support.”
Cruz said, “We are here, at long last, on the verge of something historic.”
In the lengthy Senate debate on Monday, among the amendments added to the bill was allowing power conferences to have up to 20 teams. The previous version set the cap at 19.
If the House passes the bill, it would need President Donald Trump’s signature to become law. Trump has expressed his support for the Protect College Sports Act.
