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    "original_url": "https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/09\/16\/us\/politics\/senate-regulates-college-sports.html?emc=edit_nn_20260917&nl=the-morning&segment_id=226633",
    "parsed_content": "Trump AdministrationDefense of A.I.How Trump Stifles SpeechVoting by MailApproval RatingAdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTSupported bySKIP ADVERTISEMENTSenate Takes Up Bill to Regulate \u2018Wild West\u2019 of Collegiate SportsCritics argue the legislation would limit the rights of college athletes while maintaining the power and financial gains of schools and coaches.Listen \u00b7 6:41 min Share full articleIn a strong bipartisan vote, senators agreed on Tuesday to open debate on the Protect College Sports Act.Credit...Eric Gay\/Associated PressBy Carl HulseReporting from the CapitolSept. 16, 2026See more of our coverage in your search results.Encuentra m\u00e1s de nuestra cobertura en los resultados de b\u00fasqueda. Add The New York Times on GoogleAgrega The New York Times en Google The Senate is considering legislation that would impose sweeping new standards across collegiate sports and limit the ability of top athletes to jump from school to school, wading into a politically charged issue with billions of dollars at stake.In a strong bipartisan vote, senators agreed on Tuesday to open debate on the Protect College Sports Act, which would establish rules on payments to athletes, provide limited antitrust protection to the N.C.A.A. and set a five-year eligibility window for those playing college sports.Its backers say it is needed to restore stability to a chaotic environment in which universities engage in bidding wars in what is known as the transfer portal, where top athletes exercise their leverage in pursuit of more compensation, winning records and different coaches.\u201cRight now, it is the Wild West,\u201d said Senator Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas and a chief author of the measure with Senator Maria Cantwell, Democrat of Washington. He said the legislation would ensure that college sports \u201cremain strong and vibrant for decades to come.\u201dAdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTThe bill has also drawn opposition from members of both parties, and faces deep resistance from organized labor and civil rights groups. Opponents contend that the measure would limit the ability of athletes to be financially rewarded for their skills and allow schools and coaches to continue cashing in.\u201cWhat this bill does at its core is to protect a system of exploitation,\u201d said Senator Chris Murphy, Democrat of Connecticut and a chief opponent of the legislation. He said the \u201cchaos\u201d being alleged by the bill\u2019s backers is mainly an issue with coaches who have to work harder to retain athletes and recruit new ones, at a time when college sports are more popular and lucrative than ever.\u201cThis bill protects the billions of dollars that coaches and sports industry executives are making over the suppression of compensation for some of the most highly valued athletes in the world,\u201d Mr. Murphy said.ImageSenators Maria Cantwell and Ted Cruz on Monday held a news conference with N.C.A.A. athletes and coaches about the Protect College Sports Act.Credit...Chip Somodevilla\/Getty ImagesCivil rights groups have also registered strong objections, saying that Black and other minority athletes deserve to be treated fairly and share in the financial benefits reaped by schools from the sports programs that rely on their participation. Members of the Congressional Black Caucus oppose the legislation, and all five Black members of the Senate voted against putting it on the floor.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENT\u201cSharecropping is over,\u201d Derrick Johnson, the president and chief executive of the N.A.A.C.P., said this week on a media call organized by the A.F.L.-C.I.O. \u201cWe should not ask athletes, particularly Black athletes, to generate revenue on the football field or basketball court and they share in none of the revenue.\u201dSign up for the On Politics newsletter. It's a pivotal moment for American politics. Join us for 2026 and beyond. Get it sent to your inbox.The furor over collegiate sports grew out of a series of court rulings, including by the Supreme Court, that resulted in college athletes being able to earn compensation for their \u201cname, image and likeness,\u201d or N.I.L. The N.C.A.A. had barred such compensation until it was forced under pressure to change its rules to allow athletes to accept paid endorsement deals. Then, in 2024, the N.C.A.A. changed a rule that had tightly restricted how and when college athletes could move between schools, leading to substantial annual turnover on the rosters of major teams.Even some lawmakers who back the legislation questioned whether Congress should focus on college athletics weeks before a midterm election in which economic issues have been a primary concern. But Senator John Thune, Republican of South Dakota and the majority leader, had promised the bill\u2019s backers a vote on whether to bring the legislation to the floor after an August recess.The 74-to-24 vote to proceed was an unusual one in the polarized Senate, dividing both parties. Forty-nine Republicans, 24 Democrats and one independent backed moving forward with the bill. Nineteen Democrats, one independent and four Republicans opposed it.The legislation takes aim at complex issues that have been litigated and relitigated in courts around the country. It has broad support from major athletic conferences, professional sports leagues, Olympians and prominent coaches, as well as strong backing from President Trump.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTMs. Cantwell, who said the legislation kept the door open to future collective bargaining rights for athletes, added that the current system was threatening the fiscal stability of many institutions struggling to keep up with the financial demands.\u201cThe statistics show that the majority of college athletic departments right now can\u2019t make ends meet,\u201d Ms. Cantwell said, citing a \u201crunaway arms race\u201d in sports spending.The legislation would guarantee the right to N.I.L. compensation. It would allow one college transfer and require that athletes sit out a year with a second move, though there would be exceptions, such as if a player\u2019s coach were to quit, or if a sport were to be eliminated. The bill also limits midseason coaching moves.Senator Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat who helped negotiate the bill, said multiple new protections for student athletes had been added, including scholarship guarantees, extended health coverage and a 5-percent cap on payments to agents.\u201cI agree that college athletes deserve their rightful share of the revenue of college athletics, because they are the ones risking their health and taking a beating on the field,\u201d he said. \u201cBut if we don\u2019t get some stability in place by dealing with the eligibility problems, the transfer portal and the skyrocketing payments to coaches and athletes, we\u2019re not going to have college sports within another year or two.\u201dAdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTBut Senator Cory Booker, Democrat of New Jersey and a former Stanford football player, was not persuaded. He said the legislation unfairly restricted compensation for players, but not coaches.\u201cIt is doing all kinds of things to stop players from earning money, putting bureaucracy between them and the possibility, but it does nothing to affect coaches,\u201d Mr. Booker said. He noted that coaches at public universities were often the highest-paid public employees in their states.\u201cThis is an unjust bill,\u201d he said.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENT",
    "published_at": "2026-09-16T20:31:53+00:00",
    "author_name": "Carl Hulse",
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    "ai_headline": "Senate Takes Up Bill to Regulate \u2018Wild West\u2019 of Collegiate Sports",
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    "ai_excerpt": "The Senate is considering the Protect College Sports Act to regulate collegiate sports, including athlete payments and transfers. Critics argue it limits athlete rights while supporters claim it restores stability.",
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