The Senate on Monday evening passed a bipartisan bill meant to stabilize the environment around college athletics.
The Protect College Sports Act from Senators Ted Cruz of Texas and Maria Cantwell of Washington, respectively the top Republican and Democrat on the Senate Commerce Committee, made it through the chamber by a vote of 77–22 after years of negotiation between the two parties.
“We must act, and we must act now,” Cruz said in a floor speech before the vote. “We must pass the bipartisan Protect College Sports Act. This bill puts an end to the chaos plaguing college athletics.”
Supported by major college athletic conferences, the bill attempts to regulate college sports by putting in place a national regime of rules that would include giving athletes five years of eligibility and allowing them one transfer, with limited exceptions. The bill would also enshrine into law the ability of athletes to receive a share of the revenue from athletic departments, as well as profit from their name, image, and likeness. It would also give a targeted antitrust exemption to the NCAA that would let the organization enforce the rules without fear of lawsuits. Finally, the legislation is explicitly neutral on the question of whether college athletes are employees of the schools they play for and therefore entitled to benefits such as collective bargaining.
The bill is a rare instance of lawmakers from both parties doing the difficult work of lawmaking to find common ground on an issue with broad appeal among the American public.
“It doesn’t mean that we have solved every problem, but it means that we are on our way to solving the problems that exist and preserving the opportunities for the future,” Cantwell said in a speech on the floor.
Opponents argued that the bill gave undue power to the NCAA and took away opportunities from student athletes to earn money and other benefits that traditional employees of an organization can receive.
“We are taking a system that the Supreme Court said could not persist under our law, and we are changing the law to allow that illegal system to persist,” Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut said in a floor speech.
The bill now goes to the House of Representatives, and it is unclear whether it has enough support to pass there. The House is also not set to return until after Election Day, and Republican leaders in the chamber say they will not yank their members off the campaign trail to push it through.
Passing the House is likely to be the final hurdle for the bill, as President Donald Trump has given his support to the legislation.