RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 3 sourcesCHICAGO – Co-sponsors of the Protect College Sports Act , seeking to still get the bill to a floor vote in the Senate before the August recess next week, are preparing to make a dozen major “concessions” or revisions to the bill in an attempt to marshal support from both the Big Ten and Southeastern Conference , USA TODAY Sports has learned.
Four people familiar with the proceedings spoke to USA TODAY Sports on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing, sensitive nature of deliberations. According to one person with direct knowledge of the bill’s discussed revisions and per elements viewed by USA TODAY Sports, back on the table is potential conference expansion.
Per language of a major concession shared with USA TODAY Sports, “covered conferences can add non-covered institutions up to 19 members.”
The Big Ten presently has 18 members; the SEC has 16.
According to the people familiar with the proceedings who spoke to USA TODAY Sports on condition of anonymity, a potential $25 million in additional money for roster retention - $5 million of which could be earmarked exclusively for “women’s institutional NIL for nine years” is among the central tenets of revisions.
With Big Ten Conference commissioner Tony Petitti telling hundreds of media massed inside a downtown Chicago hotel that the Sports Business Act loomed large in the league’s assessment of the Protect Act, USA TODAY Sports has learned that the bill’s language would be changed to make “media pooling … voluntary. No institution is required or urged to join,” an element that bill proponents consider is a “full” concession of the “core” concerns of the Big Ten and SEC.
Eight of the dozen bill “concessions” being offered to the Big Ten and SEC for those two powerhouse leagues’ support were considered to be a “full” concession to the leagues. One potential adjustment, to “stop pre-enrollment inducements” aside from the “camp program exception,” was viewed by bill supporters as a “full concession, arguably stronger” than what the Big Ten and SEC previously had sought.
Additionally, the monetary threshold to “treat conferences similarly” would be reduced to $700 million, clearing the path for treating the smaller-revenue Power Four leagues of the ACC and Big 12 no differently than the two monetary giants, Big Ten and SEC.
This move, a person familiar with proceedings told USA TODAY Sports, came during committee markup and reduced the number from $1 billion.
Other measures including in the concessions, as shared with USA TODAY Sports, include no language addressing the mandatory continuance of rivalry games “outside the covered entity.”
Schools also would be allowed additional latitude in dealing with Olympic, non-revenue sports to include the ability to “substitute sports and reallocate scholarships and roster positions” as long as the aggregate, baseline-scholarship/roster spots are preserved.
The bill’s revisions also take aim at the private equity sector, which has been widely discussed throughout college athletics and has begun being implemented by the University of Utah. The modified proposal would thwart private equity/third parties from acquiring “covered schools’ assets or media rights to create a new conference.”
Revisions regarding the use of NIL feature two primary components: institutional NIL offerings no longer would be subject to the “valid business-purpose” and “market-value” parameters; student-athletes would report NIL deals to an entity as designated by the House Settlement – or, the institution, conference or an association.
That last element shows a willingness to move off from the College Sports Commission, which was ushered into the NCAA sports landscape as part of the original House Settlement. Through June 2026 and reflecting its first 13 months in service, the CSC had cleared more than $355 million in deals but also had rebuffed more than 1,800 deals that had a projected value near $90 million.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Protect College Sports Act readies concessions to Big Ten, SEC | Exclusive
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