The Senate is set to vote on final passage of the Protect College Sports Act, a bipartisan NIL bill that would bring the name, image and likeness deals of college athletes under a single set of federal rules.
The measure co-led by Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and ranking member Maria Cantwell, D-Wash would enshrine athletes' right to be paid for their NIL in federal law, tighten transfer and eligibility limits, and give the NCAA and conferences antitrust protection when they enforce certain rules, according to CNBC.
The legislation had already cleared two procedural hurdles earlier this month. Senators voted 74-24 on Sept. 15 to take it up and 70-21 on Sept. 22 to end debate on a Cruz-Cantwell substitute amendment, according to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation.
The bill's path beyond the Senate is less certain, because the House is not scheduled to return until after the November midterms.
One bright line drawn by the bill would codify the revenue-sharing cap set in the recent landmark House v. NCAA settlement, which lets schools share up to 22% of certain revenue with athletes. That comes to about $21.6 million per school this year, according to figures reported in the New York Times and elsewhere.
The bill would also create a $27.5 million retention pool that schools could use to keep current players, which could pull some third-party NIL money back inside athletic departments, according to the Associated Press.
Cruz described the bill as a set of guardrails rather than a rollback. "Real NIL is not the same as a disguised recruiting payment. Revenue sharing is not the same as unlimited cap evasion," he said on the Senate floor last week, adding that 32 conferences and more than 380 schools have thrown their support behind the measure.
Not everyone is supportive, as the NAACP and the Congressional Black Caucus have expressed resistance to what they argue is an unfair system that would be perpetuated by the legislation.
"What this bill does at its core is to protect a system of exploitation," Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn said at a virtual press conference this month, according to CNBC.
Not so surprisingly, the money at stake appears to be concentrated at the top. One analysis by Sports Illustrated – which relied on valuations, not disclosed contract totals – found Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning had an estimated NIL valuation of $6.8 million for the 2025-26 academic year.
The analysis, which drew from On3 figures compiled by the publication, also found University of Miami quarterback Carson Beck ($4.3 million), Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith ($4.2 million) and BYU basketball forward AJ Dybantsa ($4.1 million) earning top-dollar NIL deals.
Eight of the top 10 spots, which didn't appear linked to on-field performance, were held by quarterbacks, though Manning out-earned Texas's starting quarterback while he was still playing as a backup.
For wealth managers, the Senate vote affects a client segment that is growing quickly but remains underserved. A Merrill Lynch study found that only 8% of high-potential athletes in their late teens and early 20s work with a financial advisor. That is true even though estimates of NIL and revenue-sharing payments topped $2.3 billion for the 2025-26 school year.
Most of that income arrives as 1099 contractor pay, so athletes are responsible for their own taxes, often in more than one state. One advisor speaking to InvestmentNews described a freshman football player who had to form an LLC and plan for taxes while also fielding requests for money from relatives.
"We spend as much time helping athletes build healthy financial habits as we do managing their assets," said Brittany Hartnett, principal partner and chief growth officer at OpenArc Corporate Advisory. "We played a central role in coordinating his team of professionals, including his agent, attorney, accountant and financial advisor, helping ensure each aspect of his financial life worked together cohesively."
Other wealth managers have also pushed for tax-deferred savings options for college athletes as federal reform has taken shape.
“The university should have a duty or maybe at the federal level, [such as a] Trump Account-style deferred payments to the university, maybe allowing these athletes to participate in the university's retirement system so they can defer some of those dollars and invest those dollars automatically,” said Alonso Munoz, chief investment officer at Hamilton Capital.
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