Congress waded into the fight Wednesday over how college athletic departments pay their athletes and fund their programs.
Missouri Sen. Eric Schmitt is one of four co-authors of the bipartisan Protect College Sports Act of 2026, which, among other things, could require athletes to disclose payments they receive through name, image, likeness sponsorships; require colleges to provide health and safety protections for athletes; limit coaches’ ability to switch teams midseason; and limit the ability of athletic conferences to merge. It would create a congressional commission on the future of college athletes, empowered to recommend more sweeping reforms.
At a hearing of the Senate committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, senators expressed concern that college sports are fallinwg victim to an unregulated bidding war with players and coaches becoming mercenary nomads and classic rivalries falling by the wayside as schools chase money.
Although the bill has an ideologically broad base of support — Republican Schmitt is joined by Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas; Maria Cantwell, D-Wash.; and Chris Coons, D-Del. — it has drawn immediate opposition from the country’s two richest athletic conferences, the SEC and the Big Ten. Mizzou Athletics declined to comment. MU is a member of the SEC.
The bill won praise from an all-star cast of witnesses: College Football Hall of Fame head coach Nick Saban, Notre Dame athletic director Peter Bevacqua, Pac-12 commissioner Teresa Gould, former West Virginia president Gordon Gee and Utah defensive end Lance Holtzclaw. All do have interests, in one form or another, in supporting the bill.
Schmitt, a member of the committee, says that the issue is not just important for Congress but also to the people he represents.
“When you go back home, this is what people talk to me about,” he said in an opening statement. “They said, ‘What the hell’s going on with college sports?’”
Schmitt, who played football and baseball at Truman State, expressed confidence that legislation will move forward despite the SEC’s initial opposition. He said that he’s had great conversations with SEC commissioner Greg Sankey and believes they’ll work through the issues, particularly regarding the way media rights to college sporting events can be sold.
“Look, I love Mizzou. I love the SEC,” Schmitt said. “But I want there to be an opportunity for other schools to be able to compete.”
Among other things, the bill would require college athletes to disclose NIL compensation of more than $600 per year to their athletic departments, which will be uploaded to a secure database to protect student-athlete privacy.
In addition to disclosing NIL compensation, the bill bans NIL agreements designed to evade the revenue-sharing cap or disguise pay-for-play inducements.
The bill will also require a baseline eligibility period of five years, beginning at age 19 or high school graduation, and exceptions for pregnancy, religious mission, military service and other approved absences. And it would limit student-athletes to one unrestricted transfer in their college careers.
The bill also looks to even the playing field financially by creating an antitrust exemption to allow schools and conferences to form a covered entity to pool and sell certain college sports media rights, similar to professional sports leagues.
It also looks to break up the conference monopolies by banning certain large-revenue conferences, like the SEC or the Big Ten, from consolidating with or acquiring other conferences.
When asked about why Congress feels the need to be involved in the handling of college sports and entertainment, Schmitt said they’re the only group that can create regulations and guidelines in the NIL era.
“Congress is the only entity on the planet that can provide the antitrust exemption status to empower a government body to set the rules,” Schmitt said. ... “No one else can do it.”
The next step for the bill is to have a markup to add amendments and be voted out of committee, which could be as early as next week.
