The Big Ten is drawing a financial line in the sand for its schools.
On Wednesday, the conference announced an immediate $49 million NIL spending cap for every member institution, setting up a model that matches the framework of the Protect College Sports Act, a bill still waiting on a vote in the House of Representatives.
The conference’s plan divides spending into two parts. One is the $21.6 million revenue-sharing cap established by the House settlement. The other is a $27.5 million limit on third-party NIL spending, which includes collectives and similar outside entities.
“While we await the passage of the Protect College Sports Act, which has our full support, it is imperative our member institutions can begin to plan, budget and build their rosters approximating the act's economic structure,” the Big Ten council of chancellors said in a statement. “Our institutions remain in full support of the Protect College Sports Act and this rule not only allows for a much smoother transition into the policies put in place by the act once it passes, but demonstrates our commitment to it.”
If the Protect College Sports Act eventually becomes law, schools would be able to spend about $50 million on athlete payments. That figure would still come with restrictions, including a retention fund of up to $22.5 million to help keep players from leaving and slow the transfer portal churn. Schools would also have access to $5 million set aside specifically for women’s and Olympic sports.
For now, the bill’s future is anything but settled. The House of Representatives remains on recess through the midterm elections on Tuesday, and it will return on Nov.
- A vote could come after that, but the bill faces real uncertainty in a lame-duck session.
The hard deadline is Jan. 3, when a new Congress is sworn in. If the bill has not passed by then, it dies and the process starts over.
Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), who opposes the bill, told CBS Sports, “I'm not sure what the fight is going to be like in lame duck as they try to push this over the edge, especially if the House switches from Republican to Democrat,” Sen.
Cory Booker (D-N.J.), an opponent of the bill, told CBS Sports. “Democrats should have a chance to really author a bill that corrects for a lot of the failings in this bill.”
There are also political changes some lawmakers want before the bill can move forward. A group of Republicans is pushing to block athletes from being classified as employees, while others want a hard cap on the number of international athletes in college sports.
Any changes at this stage would send the bill back to the Senate for another vote, which would make an already shaky path even steeper.
The Big Ten’s move gives its schools a working budget for 2027 and beyond even as the national picture remains unsettled. The $49 million cap also lands at a time when some programs are already spending heavily: Oregon and Ohio State are above $40 million on football alone this year, according to CBS Sports, while Michigan and USC are close behind and nearing that same mark.
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