Cruz, Cantwell Introduce College Sports Bill
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- Senators Ted Cruz and Maria Cantwell introduced the Protect College Sports Act, a bipartisan Senate bill that would grant the NCAA an antitrust exemption to enforce league rules.
- The bill would limit athletes to a single transfer without penalty and cap eligibility at five years.
- The bill would bar former professional athletes from college competition and forbid schools from poaching coaches during a sport’s season.
- The NCAA and major conferences agreed last year to a spending cap of just over $20 million per school annually, and the legislation would give the College Sports Commission authority to enforce that cap and close NIL loopholes.
Why it matters: College athletes will be limited to a $20 million school cap, while wealthy programs lose a loophole that let them spend up to $40 million on NIL deals, reshaping recruiting economics.
