Big Ten, SEC add support to college sports bill
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- Big Ten and SEC agreed Friday night to support the Protect College Sports Act after receiving last-minute concessions on third-party NIL deals and "associated entities" language, pulling the bipartisan bill from what looked like a "certain death spiral."
- The reworked deal allows schools $27.5 million to retain players on top of the existing $21.3 million cap — more than doubling what schools can pay players directly and potentially replacing payments from associated entities that had effectively nullified the cap.
- President Trump got involved late Thursday to push parties back to the negotiating table, joining bipartisan lead sponsors Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), who said the deal moves the legislation "closer to the President's desk."
- The bill still needs 60 votes before the Senate's summer break next Friday and faces holdouts including Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) and Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), who said the act "creates chaos and eliminates opportunity for student-athletes."
- Hours before the announcement, the NCAA lost two key court cases involving a rule giving most Division I athletes five years to complete five seasons of eligibility — prompting NCAA president Charlie Baker to call for "immediate passage" of the bill.
- If the bill clears the Senate, it must still pass the narrowly divided House, which previously floundered on a separate college sports bill called the SCORE Act for more than a year.
Why it matters: Schools would gain the right to directly pay players up to roughly $48.8 million combined ($27.5M retention + $21.3M existing cap), more than doubling the prior ceiling — while smaller conferences that backed the bill now face bigger competitors with dramatically deeper pockets. The Senate's one-week clock leaves little room to peel off Tuberville and Cassidy before the recess deadline.
