Trump presses House to move quickly on sweeping legislation that would establish national rules for NIL compensation, revenue sharing, transfers and athlete protections as opponents warn about labor rights and NCAA power
WASHINGTON | The Senate overwhelmingly approved a sweeping bipartisan overhaul of college athletics Monday, advancing the most significant federal attempt yet to regulate the multibillion-dollar industry and shifting the battle over athlete compensation, transfers and the NCAA’s authority to the House.
The Protect College Sports Act passed 77-22, an unusually broad bipartisan vote on legislation that has divided lawmakers, labor organizations, civil rights groups, universities and athletic conferences over how much control schools should have over an increasingly professionalized college sports marketplace.
President Donald Trump has urged Congress to send the legislation to his desk, with the White House calling for a national framework to address years of uncertainty surrounding name, image and likeness compensation, athlete eligibility, transfers and revenue sharing.
The bill now moves to the House, where its path is less certain. The chamber is in recess until after the November midterm elections, although Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, has urged Speaker Mike Johnson to bring lawmakers back to Washington to consider the measure.
The legislation represents a potentially historic shift for college athletics, replacing a patchwork of state laws, court decisions and athletic association rules with a federal framework governing some of the industry's most consequential issues.
