SENATE PASSES 'PROTECT COLLEGE SPORTS ACT' 77-22

The Senate passed the Protect College Sports Act 77-22 on Monday night, handing the NCAA the limited antitrust exemption it has spent a decade and a pile of lobbying money chasing. Ted Cruz and Maria Cantwell wrote it together, which tells you how badly Washington wanted the transfer portal to stop being a 24-hour auction. Here is the deal for players. One transfer without a penalty, with carve-outs for grad school, a coach bailing, or a program getting cut. A five-year window to play. Agents capped at 5%. Schools can share up to $48.8 million a year with athletes, up from the $21.3 million figure from the House settlement. Football coaches are also barred from taking another head job midseason. Power conferences get capped at 20 schools after Florida's Ashley Moody bumped the number up from 19, naming Miami, Florida State and USF as programs that might want a seat next time realignment goes off. Trump called it "a really big deal" on Truth Social. Chris Murphy says it hands the NCAA authority over athletes without enough coming back the other way, the Congressional Black Caucus opposes it, and Rand Paul was the only Republican voting no. Then the House left on recess until after the November midterms.

Why you should give a shit: Players are now limited to one transfer (with contingencies), coaches can't leave midseason, and revenue sharing almost doubled... assuming the house ever has session.