The Protect College Sports Act (PCSA) passed another procedural hurdle, setting up a potential final vote later this week.
Senators voted 70-21 to invoke cloture on Tuesday on the Cruz-Cantwell substitute amendment to the PCSA.
The cloture vote limits debate on the revised bill that seeks to provide guardrails for an ever-changing college sports landscape. The substitute amendment did not add new language to the bill
Senator Maria Cantwell, who is a co-sponsor of PSCA, said on the Senate Floor that over 35 amendments have been filed for the PSCA, according to Yahoo Sports reporter Ross Dellenger.
Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), a college football player, and Chris Murphy (D-CT) proposed an amendment that would prevent coaches’ salaries from exceeding $5 million annually, Dellenger said.
Dellenger also reported that Alabama Senators Katie Britt (R-AL) and Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), a former college football coach, filed an amendment to the bill that would require name, image, and likeness payments from sponsors, media-rights partners, and collectives to count toward the PCSA’s revenue-sharing cap.
Even if the Senate passed the PCSA this week, it is unknown when the House would start deliberating on the bill. The House is on recess for the upcoming midterm elections and won’t be back in session until November.
House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters last week that if the Senate passes the bill, he would try to build support for it, according to Punch Bowl News Founder Jake Sherman.
If the House does deliberate the PCSA, it will occur during the lame-duck session, which is a hard time to pass legislation because the new congressional session is months away.
Thus, Congress has until the end of the 119th Congress, which ends on January 3rd, 2027, to pass the PCSA before having to restart in the next congressional session.
In August, President Donald Trump urged Congress to pass the PCSA, adding that he will sign the bill.
“We have to get that done. If we don’t, we’re very foolish. Nobody knows what will happen. We’re in Never-Never Land. We’re not going to let that be happening. We’re not going to let that happen to these great people and others,” the president said, according to Fox News.
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Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network. Email tips to Zachery at [email protected].
