Late on Friday, the Big Ten and SEC threw their support behind the Protect College Sports Act in a surprising turn after weeks of posturing and objection. The last two holdouts of the major conferences, the bill will now head to the Senate, where it is expected to have the bipartisan support to pass and be signed into law.
The wild west days in college athletics appear to be over. Ignoring NCAA rules and ignoring federal law are two very different things.
Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports reports that the Senate is expected to vote on the bill next week. If they don't, the process could drag out a bit, as the Senate will be in recess for a month starting August 7th as the midterm election cycle heats up.
This should be seen as great news for Alabama and others like it. Part of the bill establishes a salary cap, which will force the teams outspending everyone to take a bit of a hit. For teams like Alabama that have consistently been on a tier below, it levels the playing field.
What are the key points of the Protect College Sports Act, and why should Alabama fans care?
The biggest point is the revenue share cap, which has been raised from $21.3 million to $48.8 million. According to Senator Ted Cruz, that is a hard cap, and schools cannot circumvent it to spend more money on their rosters. Players are still allowed to get organic NIL deals, as long as the deal is commercial, and the school isn't directing it. Cruz notes that players must disclose all their deals with the sponsor and the University's president signing a letter certifying it was done legitimately. If someone cheats, they'll be in violation of federal law, and penalties will likely be severe both personally and for the school.
The most interesting part of the new cap is this: the $21.3 million original cap remains in place for spending to build your roster through high school recruiting and the Transfer Portal. Schools will now get an additional $22.5 million to be spent exclusively on retaining your own roster. The additional $5 million of the $48,8 million is earmarked for women's and non-revenue sports.
That's especially good news for programs like Alabama that have had such a focus on roster retention. That has been one of the core tenets of DeBoer and GM Courtney Morgan's roster-building strategy.
Another key component of the bill is a one-time transfer exception. Student-athletes would get one free transfer and then be forced to sit if they enter the portal again. It's unclear whether current student-athletes would be grandfathered in and allowed an additional transfer going forward, or if you've already transferred, then you are currently stuck without sitting a year like the old days. Regardless, this will force high school recruiting to be at the forefront for everyone again. That's been Alabama's top priority anyway, while some schools have built their rosters almost exclusively through the portal. That will be a lot harder now.
The bill also includes a standardized five-year eligibility window, prevents professional athletes from returning to college sports, and establishes an agent registry and maximum fee of 5%, which will protect athletes from the piranhas who have been taking advantage of them.
There's still a little bit to go before this bill gets to the finish line, but this is the biggest sign of optimism that sanity is returning to college sports since the chaos began. The bill may not be perfect, but it's a major step in the right direction.
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