Protect College Sports Act passes senate, heads to house
Emily Staker provided legal insight to 9News in Denver about the impact of the Senate passing the Protect College Sports Act.
Protect College Sports Act passes senate, heads to house
The federal bill would bring major changes to college sports – giving the NCAA authority over payments for name, image and likeness and player eligibility.
By Matt Aho
September 29, 2026
DENVER — A bipartisan bill that would bring sweeping changes to college athletics took a major step forward Monday, as the Protect College Sports Act passed through the senate.
CLICK TO WATCH THE NEWS SEGMENT
The federal bill passed in a 77-22 vote. It promises an overhaul of the current system, giving the NCAA authority over rules such as payments for name, image and likeness, and when coaches can leave schools.
Several areas of college sports are covered by the bill, such as restricting how often players can transfer schools without sitting out a year. Players are limited to just one transfer over five years before sitting out a year, with some exceptions. Players are also restricted to five years of total eligibility.
The bill would also restrict coaches from leaving their schools during the season and increase a revenue cap from $21.5 million to roughly $49 million.
Notably, the legislation provides the NCAA with limited antitrust protections to enforce the rules. 9NEWS spoke with Emily Staker, a sports law attorney and professor at the University of Denver. She said that aspect of the legislation draws the biggest criticism.
“It takes away a college athlete's ability to collectively bargain, to form a union, which has been for many people, myself included, sort of the inevitable, it's a necessity really for athletes to be able to have a seat at the table and decide what makes sense for them as the revenue generators in these sports.” said Staker.
“The NCAA has not acted in a way that really benefits the rights of athletes. If you look at the history of the NCAA. They typically do not act in a way that advances athlete rights, and this act expands their power.”
The Big Ten and SEC lobbied back in August for a provision that would increase the money schools can pay directly to players. Staker said for a sports fan, it’s important to realize who would benefit from the bill.
“It's good to be reflective on who, who really benefits from this bill, and who's really interested in seeing this through, and it ultimately is these larger institutions, it's the media companies, it's the colleges and it's the NCAA.”
The bill heads to the House of Representatives, but lawmakers aren’t scheduled to return to Washington until mid-November, after the elections.
