Sarasota Review

U.S. Representative Greg Steube (R-Fla.) has introduced the Protection of College Sports Act, a bill aimed at addressing issues that have arisen since the implementation of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) rules in collegiate athletics. The legislation seeks to codify executive action previously taken by President Trump regarding college sports.

“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 proposed legislation would codify four main policy objectives outlined in President Trump’s Executive Order 14322. It would require major university athletic departments with budgets over $125 million to increase scholarship opportunities for women’s and non-revenue sports, while departments with less revenue would need to meet similar standards to maintain these opportunities. The bill also aims to ban third-party “pay-for-play” funds that act as athlete endorsement pools, protect student-athletes’ non-employee status so scholarships remain academic rather than taxable benefits, and address potential labor and antitrust disputes related to NIL.

Rep. Stephanie Bice is serving as co-lead on the bill alongside Rep. Steube.

“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 received backing from 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

A full text version of the bill is available online.