Rep. Steube Introduces Protection of College Sports Act to Codify Trump Executive Order
WASHINGTON — U.S. Representative Greg Steube (R-Fla.) introduced today the Protection of College Sports Act. This bill codifies executive action taken by President Trump to restore order to collegiate sports and the Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) rule.
“With all the excitement and buzz generated by the introduction of NIL, this new rule has nonetheless presented serious challenges for the future of collegiate sports,” said Rep. Steube. “While boosters pour millions of dollars into their alma mater’s football and men’s basketball programs, the rest of the sports landscape is left scrounging for pennies. Women’s athletics in particular are facing massive shortfalls of funding and personnel as a result of NIL. This also shrinks the talent pool for U.S. Olympic teams seeking to compete in non-revenue sports like swimming and track and field. Student-athletes deserve better than the status quo. With President Trump’s executive guidance, my bill will defend women’s and non-revenue sports by clearly defining protections for all athletes in the NIL era of college sports.”
The Protection of College Sports Act achieves four main policy goals through the codification of President Trump’s E.O. 14322. First, it guarantees that major university athletic departments with budgets over $125,000,000 increase scholarship opportunities for women’s and non-revenue sports. Collegiate athletic departments with less revenue must meet similar benchmarks so that women’s and non-revenue athletic scholarship opportunities are preserved. Secondly, the bill bans third-party “pay-for-play” slush funds masquerading as athlete endorsement pools. The bill also protects the non-employee status of collegiate athletes so scholarships remain academic and not taxable benefits. And lastly, future labor and antitrust disputes are thwarted by this legislation that may otherwise appear in the course of the NIL era.
Rep. Steube is joined by Rep. Stephanie Bice as a co-lead on the Protection of College Sports Act.
“I am proud to support this legislation which codifies President Trump’s Executive Order,” said Rep. Bice. “It is vitally important we continue to protect our student athletes in this new era of college athletics.”
The Protection of College Sports Act has the support of Heitner Legal.
“I hope that the codification of the ‘Saving College Sports’ Executive Order will provide much-needed clarity and structure to the evolving landscape of NIL compensation and revenue sharing without unfairly limiting opportunities for any college athletes. It is a noble goal to protect non-revenue sports, women’s sports, and Olympic athletes while ensuring that college athletes in all disciplines can benefit from their efforts. No one can argue with a mission grounded in ensuring the preservation and expansion of college sports as long as fairness and athlete rights are prioritized. We can all get behind promoting accessibility and protecting the long-term viability of intercollegiate athletics for generations to come, as long as it does not interfere with athletes’ abilities to negotiate and enter into NIL deals, which must be protected above all.” —Darren Heitner, Founder of Heitner Legal
Read the full bill text here.
