DESTIN, Fla. — At SEC Spring meetings this week, coaches and administrators have exuded a palpable air of frustration. Coaches and athletic directors across the board lamented the slow and uneven enforcement of rules, the system of unrestricted free agency, and the lack of clarity over simple rules like eligibility.
Enter Congress, which, against all odds, may have provided its most viable solution yet.
On Wednesday, Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) and Sen. Maria Cantwell (D., Wash), the ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee, will be introducing a broad college sports bill called the Protect College Sports Act, a Senate Commerce Committee aide said Wednesday. The bill will address multiple issues including providing antitrust protections, nationwide NIL standards, a revenue-sharing cap, a five-year eligibility rule, agent regulations, and paves the way for the concept of pooling television rights.
“The Act does not go back to the old model,” the aide said. But it provides a “national rulebook that restores order to the system.”
The bill is years in the making, as Cruz, chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, has been leading bipartisan negotiations on sweeping college sports legislation since at least 2023. Discussions have progressed significantly over the past several weeks, with Cantwell leading the charge for Democrats.
