Key Takeaways
- • The U.S. Senate passed the Protect College Sports Act by a 77-22 vote on Sept. 28, according to attorneys Layne Kruse, David Moreno and Dewey Gonsoulin of Norton Rose Fulbright writing in Law360.
- • The attorneys advise practitioners not to wait for U.S. House of Representatives approval before preparing for shifts in antitrust protections, athlete compensation, media rights deals and conference mergers.
- • The bill's potential effect on NCAA antitrust liability is the central legal question for college sports governance and the commercial arrangements that depend on it.
Summary
The U.S. Senate passed the Protect College Sports Act by a 77-22 vote on Sept. 28, according to a Law360 analysis by Layne Kruse, David Moreno and Dewey Gonsoulin of Norton Rose Fulbright, published October 26, 2026. The attorneys argue that the bill could reshape antitrust liability for the NCAA and its member institutions, and that practitioners should not wait for the U.S. House of Representatives to act before planning for the change.
The authors identify four areas where practitioners should prepare: potential antitrust protections for the NCAA and conferences, compensation arrangements for college athletes, media rights deals, and conference mergers. Because the bill has passed only the Senate, the House's approval remains outstanding, and the article's analysis is framed around the Senate-passed text rather than any enacted law.
The source article is a Law360 piece available to subscribers, and its full analysis is limited in the material available here. Readers seeking the specific statutory provisions and the attorneys' detailed reasoning should consult the full article.
The authors identify four areas where practitioners should prepare: potential antitrust protections for the NCAA and conferences, compensation arrangements for college athletes, media rights deals, and conference mergers. Because the bill has passed only the Senate, the House's approval remains outstanding, and the article's analysis is framed around the Senate-passed text rather than any enacted law.
The source article is a Law360 piece available to subscribers, and its full analysis is limited in the material available here. Readers seeking the specific statutory provisions and the attorneys' detailed reasoning should consult the full article.
Go deeper than the headline
Research every firm in this story, track the ones that matter and get the daily briefing — free for 7 days.