U.S. Government Unveils 'Groundbreaking' Legislation For College Sports

For years there have been pushes to get the federal government directly involved in college football and college sports in general to legislate an increasingly wild environment. A new piece of bipartisan legislation might finally be the answer.

According to Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports, U.S. Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) have reached an agreement to adopt the Protect College Sports Act as a bill to submit to Congress. The bill features a number of "groundbreaking" changes, including:

• Precludes the creation of a "super league" of college teams
• An agent registry limiting fees to 5-percent
• Allows for the pooling of media rights
• Prevents coaches from leaving their team before the season ends
• Allows for a one-time free transfer before having to forego a season of eligibility
• Firmly establishes a five-year eligibility length for college athletes
• Creates the College Sports Commission, which enforces caps on player payments
• (Much more)

The Senators Speak

Speaking to Yahoo Sports, Senator Cruz declared that the bill will "save the part of college sports that fans actually care about. One of the big keys is averting "fake NIL" that are just thinly-disguised cash payments under the table.

"This bipartisan bill is designed to save the part of college sports that fans actually care about," Cruz said.

"The approach of this bill is to give highly targeted legal protections to the enforcement of the rules that are specified in the federal statute. So, if it's fake NIL, if it is a booster just handing an athlete a bag of cash under the table, that is breaking the rules."

"You cannot lure or induce athletes to an institution unless you have a valid business purpose," Cantwell added.

For years, the NCAA has tried to lobby for Congress to make changes to rein in college sports after a series of court defeats demolished the broad definition of amateur sports that allowed them near-total control over how players and teams behave for decades.

Despite Congress being notoriously divided on every issue under the sun, Cruz and Cantwell both believe that the two houses are generally united on wanting to fix college sports.

There will be significant obstacles and amendments to the bill before it reaches the voting block though. However, with both Republican and Democratic support, it stands a much higher chance of actually passing than if the bill had been completely partisan.

Will the Protect College Sports Act make it to the President's desk?

Copyright The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved

This story was originally published May 27, 2026 at 9:43 AM.