Congress is back for the next round on Thursday, and we have what you need to know about the Senate college sports hearings. The Protect College Sports Act will go through what is called the markup process in the Senate Commerce Committee on Thursday. If the amendments to the original bill are handled in an expeditious manner, there may even be a committee vote the same day.
Senate College Sports Hearings
How It Works on Thursday
Commerce Committee Chair Ted Cruz (R-TX) will gavel the committee into session at roughly 10 am on Thursday. There will be brief opening statements. But the purpose of the meeting is to hear suggestions from fellow committee members on changes to the bill. It is about securing those votes within the committee in exchange for some changes.
Because Cruz and the bill’s co-sponsor, Maria Cantwell (D-WA), have been working “the room” since the first hearing three weeks ago, none of the suggested changes will be a surprise.
Once the changes have been presented by the given sponsor, there will be time allocated for debate. Once that time has concluded, there will be a vote, and the amendment either makes it in or it does not. Of course, with anything that does not, there is the potential risk of losing that vote within the committee. Too many amendments and the bill risks becoming too watered down to pass a vote of the full Senate.
If the day moves on and they cannot finish the markups, Cruz can schedule an additional hearing in the coming days or week for more amendment debate.
Some Changes Already Made
Some who pontificated on the original version of the bill and declared it dead on arrival because of one section or another could be surprised at the specific changes already made.
In the original bill, maintaining the non-revenue sports was contingent upon your school/conference being part of the agreement to pool media rights. That is no longer the case. Now, any school that makes $80 million+ per year in revenue must keep the lineups of athletic programs the same as it was in 2024-25. If the revenue is below that, the school can make adjustments.
The revenue-sharing payments from the school to the athletes that came as a result of the 2025 House v. NCAA settlement had to be cleared through what was called the NIL GO clearinghouse. In the revised bill, that will no longer be the case. The schools will have a lot more latitude, and the athletes will have less financial scrutiny.
New Allies
Late Tuesday and throughout Wednesday, labor unions throughout the sports world chimed in on the legislation. The players’ union for the NFL and the NBA both wrote letters of support to the Commerce Committee. The NFL and Major League Baseball also endorsed it. One labor union that came out in opposition was the United Steelworkers Union.
Expected Proposals on Thursday
Some of the proposed changes for Thursday’s debate were sent to the committee on Wednesday night.
There is an amendment to make the “anti-super-league merger” component applicable to all Power Four conferences. Previously, it was just there for the SEC and the Big 10 and was a huge part of the pushback from those two conferences. This amendment, submitted by Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) would extend the prohibition to all P4 conferences.
There is a proposed provision from Tim Sheehy (R-MT), which would make sure that no postseason games are played at the same time as the Army-Navy game.
Shelly Moore Capito (R-WV) wants to amend the provision that does not allow college football coaches to accept a job elsewhere while their school’s season is still going on (commonly referred to as the Lane Kiffin Rule). She wants the rule to include college basketball coaches.
Media Rights Quandary
The pooling of media rights is one of the most contentious elements of the bill. The SEC and Big 10 are opposed to a forced pooling of media negotiations with the other two P4 conferences. The SEC and the Big 10 have the biggest contracts (with ESPN and Fox, respectively), so they have the most to lose. All the other conferences could use the pooled rights to narrow the gap with the big two.
The pooling of media rights is now going to be subject to a vote by all FBS conferences and their member schools. But what is it going to take to get the pooling rights to be the standard? The proposed legislation currently puts the threshold at 75%. If 75% of the 138 FBS schools vote in favor of pooling media rights, then that would be the new rule. That would be 103 schools saying yes. A very unofficial head count says 109 schools could/would vote yes.
But Senators Eric Schmitt (R-MO) and Roger Wicker (R-MISS) are taking this in two different directions. Schmitt wants to lower the threshold from 75% to 70% (96 schools). Wicker wants it raised from 75% to 85% (117 schools). The irony is that both senators are Republicans from states that have schools in the SEC.
By the Numbers
There are 28 members on the Senate Commerce Committee. A simple majority is all that is needed to pass the bill on to the next step. The committee has the option to pass it on to the full Senate for a vote with the recommendation to pass it. Or they could send it on to the full Senate as a neutral bill, meaning no recommendation of any sort. Theoretically, they could do it with a negative recommendation, but that doesn’t happen because then why would they pass it on to the Senate at all?
Once it gets to the Senate, there will be more haggling and debate over potential amendments. The bill would need 60 yes votes in the Senate to pass and go on to the president’s desk for signature.
Main Image: USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
