The Protect College Sports Act has reached the point where every hour matters, and the SEC and Big Ten still haven’t said yes or no.
Lawmakers gave Southeastern Conference commissioner Greg Sankey and Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti until 8 a.m. Wednesday to respond to the latest version of the bill, but that deadline came and went without a decision. Instead, the two leagues are set to meet later Wednesday with their university presidents as negotiations continue with lawmakers and staff over revisions to the Protect College Sports Act.
The revised bill was sent to the conferences on Tuesday after lawmakers finished another round of changes following extensive talks with school and conference officials. What happens next could shape the future of the legislation.
If the SEC and Big Ten back it, the bill could reach the U.S. Senate floor next week for a vote.
If they reject it, the process could drag past the start of football season and possibly die altogether.
The latest draft looks very different from the version originally introduced by Senators Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas, and Maria Cantwell, Democrat of Washington. One of the biggest changes is that the proposed pooling of media rights is now completely voluntary for all schools.
That was a major sticking point for Sankey and Petitti in the earlier version, which would have forced the SEC and Big Ten’s lucrative media rights into a pool shared across the other conferences.
The bill has also been adjusted on the Super League language. What once applied only to the wealthiest conferences now covers all Power Four leagues.
Another key issue is the revenue-share retention pool. The act allows schools to go $20 million above the revenue-share cap to keep student athletes, and an additional $5 million in women’s Name, Image & Likeness can be credited. Schools, though, had pushed for a $25 million pool outright.
The latest summary sent to conference leadership reflects that change, showing the retention pool reduced from $25 million to $20 million and available on top of the $21.3 million rev-share cap.
Beyond that, lawmakers have closed a number of other loopholes and added language meant to make sure the rules apply evenly across all schools rather than being aimed at the SEC and Big Ten.
For now, the ball is back in the conferences’ court. They asked for congressional help, and they got it. What they do with it now could decide whether the Protect College Sports Act moves forward or becomes another offseason negotiation.
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