The Protect College Sports Act took its biggest step yet on Thursday. The Senate Commerce Committee voted 19-9 to advance the bipartisan bill to the full Senate, two weeks after a hearing that featured Nick Saban and a current Utah athlete.
"This bill stands tall on behalf of athletes," Ranking Member Maria Cantwell said after the vote.
What the committee sent forward
According to the committee's Democratic staff, the bill as advanced would:
- Write athletes' right to earn NIL compensation into federal law
- Protect scholarships and healthcare benefits in law
- Bar schools with more than $80 million in athletic revenue from cutting women's and Olympic teams below 2024-25 levels for nine years
- Require Division I schools to keep minimum numbers of teams and roster spots
- Crack down on predatory agent practices
The committee's earlier section-by-section summary also described disclosure of NIL compensation over $600 a year, agent registration with a 5% fee cap, medical coverage for five years after an athlete's final competition, voluntary media rights pooling and at least one free local broadcast option for football and basketball games.
The nine-year guardrail for Olympic and women's sports
The provision fans may notice most is the nine-year restriction on cutting women's and Olympic sports at major programs. According to the committee, it applies to the 74 universities with more than $80 million in athletic revenue, including Notre Dame and schools in the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC. Paired with minimum team counts in Division I, it would take cuts to those programs off the table for a long stretch.
For a fan of a school's gymnastics, rowing or volleyball program, that's the difference between having a team to follow and not.
What it means for athletes and families
For athletes, the bill's appeal is stability. NIL rights, scholarships and healthcare would rest on federal law rather than a mix of state statutes, NCAA rules and court settlements. Tighter rules on agents speak to a real concern for families navigating first deals, often with very young athletes.
What the bill still doesn't do is settle employment status. The committee's summary says the bill is neutral on whether athletes are employees, which leaves collective bargaining questions for another day.
The road ahead
Getting out of committee is a milestone, not a finish line. The bill still needs floor time and a vote in the full Senate, and any final law would have to be reconciled with the House.
The opposition hasn't gone away either. At the June hearing, Sportico reported that the Big Ten and SEC said the bill as drafted would likely expand litigation, and that player advocacy groups had organized against it. A nine-vote bloc against it in committee shows there's still work to do to build a wider coalition.
What to watch
- Whether the power conferences shift their position as the bill moves
- When Senate leaders schedule a floor vote
- How the House responds
We'll keep following it, with an eye on what each change means for fans and the athletes they follow.