The Protect College Sports Act, a bill aiming to rein in what its supporters call a “Wild West” era of college athletics, cleared its most significant hurdle yet on Monday when the Senate passed it by a bipartisan vote of 77-22.
The bill would grant the NCAA a limited antitrust exemption in order to restore its five-year eligibility rule and transfer limits. The legislation would also codify the regulation of name, image and likeness deals that have transformed college athletics in recent years by allowing athletes to be paid—some of them as much as millions of dollars per season.
Among the bill’s most vocal supporters are the NCAA itself, a long list of powerhouse schools and conferences and President Trump, who on Sept. 17 called for the bill’s passage on Truth Social. Negotiations led by Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., lasted for more than a year and picked up co-sponsors from both parties along the way.
