The Senate voted 74-24 last week to advance the bipartisan Protect College Sports Act, clearing a key procedural hurdle for legislation that would rewrite the rules governing how college athletes get paid, according to the Senate Commerce Committee.

The bill, led by Sen. Maria Cantwell, would grant college athletes a federal right to earn compensation for their name, image and likeness, replacing what has become a messy patchwork of differing state NIL laws with a single national standard, according to NBC News. It would also cap revenue sharing between schools and athletes at 22% of the average annual athletic revenue generated by Power Four programs.

Senators race the midterm clock

Senators are on Capitol Hill this week for what is expected to be their last stretch in Washington before returning home to campaign ahead of the November midterms, and the Protect College Sports Act is on the short list of bills lawmakers are racing to finish. A final passage vote could come as soon as Monday night, according to reporting cited by ESPN, though the exact timing has shifted before.

COLLEGE SPORTS IS IN CHAOS

Supporters have argued the bill is overdue given the turmoil that has followed the NCAA's 2021 NIL rule changes, which opened the door to athlete pay but left schools, conferences and states operating under conflicting rules. Even with strong bipartisan support in the Senate, the bill's path isn't finished: it still needs approval in the House, which is not scheduled to return to Washington until after the midterm elections, meaning final enactment could stretch well into next year.

The legislation has drawn support from a wide range of athletic conferences and university administrators eager for federal preemption of state NIL laws, along with some athlete advocacy groups pushing for the compensation cap and enforcement provisions included in the bill.