WASHINGTON, D.C. — Senators Maria Cantwell (D) and Ted Cruz (R) introduced the 'Protect College Sports Act' in Washington, D.C. The legislation proposes changes to college athletics governance, eligibility rules, and athlete compensation.

The bill limits college athletes to one free transfer and bars those who have earned professional income beyond tournament prize money from competing in college sports. It establishes a five-year cap on collegiate eligibility and replaces state-level name, image, and likeness (NIL) laws with a single national standard. Under the proposal, the NCAA and a newly created College Sports Commission would have authority to reject NIL deals deemed to lack a 'valid business purpose.'

The legislation mandates comprehensive medical care and academic scholarships for athletes and creates a trust fund to help lower-resource schools provide medical coverage. It grants athletes a 'private right of action' to sue if denied revenue-sharing payments or NIL rights and caps sports agent fees at 5%. The bill also allows athletic conferences to raise the school-to-athlete compensation cap, currently $21.3 million for the 2026–27 academic year.

Additional provisions prohibit head coaches from leaving teams before a season ends and block schools from mid-season coaching hires. The bill amends the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 to permit schools to pool media rights across conferences, provided games are not fully hidden behind paywalls, Olympic sport scholarships are maintained, and historic regional rivalries are preserved despite conference realignment. It also legally prevents conferences earning over $1 billion from merging.

The ACC and Big 12 signed a letter of support for the bill prior to its release. The SEC and Big Ten declined to endorse it initially, stating they would review the full text before taking a position. SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said, "I've made my position on the notion that we need the SBA clear, which I don't think we do." He added, "I think that bill speaks to some of the voices of influence other than ours."

Senator Cantwell said the SEC and Big Ten have historically opposed amending the Sports Broadcasting Act to allow media rights pooling.