Protect College Sports Act revised to protect existing TV contracts before September 16 Senate vote

The Protect College Sports Act has been revised to shield existing broadcast contracts between conferences and television networks from being broken if schools or conferences opt to pool their media rights, according to Awful Announcing's reporting. A key premise of the PCSA has been the ability for schools and conferences to pool and package their media rights together, similar to how professional leagues sell broadcast inventory under the antitrust exemption granted in the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961. The revised bill, however, does not require conferences to terminate those existing deals to enable pooling. According to Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports, as reported by Awful Announcing, the option to pool FBS TV rights is unlikely to happen before 2036, when the ACC's current broadcast deal with ESPN expires. The consequence is substantial: the bill's central revenue-generation argument for smaller and mid-tier schools is now effectively delayed a decade. College athletics attorney Mit Winter stated, per Awful Announcing: "One of the big reasons for some pushing the PCSA is the claim it would increase revenue for all schools via pooling of TV rights. But as noted here, that won't happen anytime soon if ever. So the bill is mostly now just a way to try & limit money being paid to athletes." The revised PCSA would double the current revenue-sharing cap on college sports but implement stricter NIL (name, image, and likeness) rules, institute a one-time transfer portal rule, and codify eligibility standards, per Front Office Sports. The bill would also codify health and safety standards and require the richest schools to maintain women's and Olympic sports roster numbers. A second section would allow schools to pool and sell media rights, prevent a power conference super league, and forbid conferences from expanding beyond 19 teams. A third section would fund broadband service at historically Black colleges and universities. TV networks themselves are among the bill's supporters, and the new revisions protect their interests. Opposition has mounted from labor groups including the AFL-CIO and its sports council, which includes 10 professional sports unions, as well as SEIU and civil rights groups including the NAACP. Critics argue college athletes should have collective bargaining rights to establish rules rather than Congress. Players including Oluchi Okananwa of Maryland women's basketball, Jada Williams of LSU women's basketball, and Jackson Pruitt of Temple football expressed concerns that athletes were not consulted. Pruitt stated, per Front Office Sports: "Athletes don't want this. And truth be told, athletes aren't fully educated on what's taking place. And they weren't vetted about this." ESPN's Stephen A. Smith said he does not support the bill overall, though he supports some caps on athlete compensation, preferring any rules be collectively bargained rather than legislated. Marty McNair, father of late Maryland football player Jordan McNair, raised concerns about loopholes in health and safety standards and prohibitions on players suing schools or governing bodies. Civil rights critics have also raised concerns about the bill's provisions capping athlete pay in basketball and football.