The Protect College Sports Act of 2026 is not dead yet.
The Big Ten and SEC have belatedly thrown their weight behind the current iteration of the bill, now being crafted in the Senate.
But I talked to a knowledgeable source today who said that ultimate passage remains a longshot.
Part of it is the timing. The Senate is scheduled to go on a five-week recess on Aug. 7, and Senators have plenty on their plates. With midterm elections in November, the timeline might be too tight to get the bill through the Senate and House of Representatives.
When I talked with Ryan Day at Big Ten media days this week, he stressed the importance of establishing a retention fund so programs can improve their chances of keeping players instead of losing them as transfers. That has been addressed in the bill’s latest version, with $22.5 million the proposed number.
But plenty of provisions remain controversial, my source said, and they could derail ultimate passage of the bill. The cliché that the devil will be in the details applies
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