College sports bill heading to Senate for full vote

A federal bill that would revamp college sports is heading to the full U.S. Senate for consideration.

The Protect College Sports Act would give the NCAA an antitrust exemption, which would enable the organization to set a limit for athlete payments and enforce rules about transfers and eligibility -- including that of athletes who want to return to college after signing pro contracts. The proposed bill also would allow media rights to be sold nationally instead of by conference, allowing schools in smaller leagues to share in a bigger pot of money.

The Senate Commerce Committee voted 19-9 on Thursday to advance the bill to the full Senate, though it likely will go through many modifications if it ever is to get approval from Congress and be signed into law by President Donald Trump.

Trump is in support of taking action to overhaul college sports.

The bill, as currently written, does not have the backing of the nation's two biggest conferences -- the Big Ten and the Southeastern. Still, the drive for the bill is being led by Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas). Cantwell has a Big Ten member school in her state, and two SEC schools are in Texas.

"We continue to believe revisions are needed to secure our support for the bill," the SEC and Big Ten said Thursday in a joint statement. "... We are encouraged that several Commerce Committee members share our concerns and support these recommendations. We will continue working with stakeholders to ensure (the bill) delivers meaningful protections for student-athletes and lasting stability for college sports."

Cantwell said she and other sponsors of the bill are open to continued conversation.

"What we did today was say we're not going to let the most powerful, richest conferences dictate to the rest of America what's going to happen to 500,000 athletes," Cantwell said.

The push for Congress to take action on a federal antitrust exemption has been ongoing for several years, and Cruz said there is no more time to waste.

"No more punting," he said. "We're in fourth down territory. It's time to go for it."

This latest development comes as the NCAA and Texas Tech emerge from legal action over the eligibility of quarterback Brendan Sorsby, who had been banned by the NCAA for betting on sports. He sued, seeking a temporary injunction that would allow him to play. After the judge granted it, the NCAA filed an urgent appeal and states with schools in the Big 12 protested.

Eventually, Sorsby said he would forgo college and enter the NFL supplemental draft. That is just one case of how the authority of the NCAA has been challenged.

Testifying before the Senate committee earlier this month, former Alabama football coach Nick Saban told the officials that they must take action.

"Congress does not need to micromanage college athletics," Saban said at the hearing. "Congress does need to fix the mess in the courts and create a national framework so the people inside college sports can enforce fair rules. Without that legal certainty, every rule becomes another lawsuit, every standard becomes another risk, and the system keeps drifting toward a professional model."

NCAA president Charlie Baker had this reaction Thursday morning:

"Today's vote is a powerful statement to the growing bipartisan support for targeted intervention from Congress to stabilize college sports' transfer, eligibility and agent rules. The NCAA looks forward to building on this important development to pass the most effective bill for all 550,000 student-athletes," he posted to X.

"In the coming days, the NCAA will provide member schools and student-athletes with analysis of the latest draft of the legislation and next steps."

--Field Level Media