What Happened?
College sports media rights contracts are reshaping school finances and the daily lives of student-athletes, according to a report published on Sept. 23 by Congress' research branch. The report came out as the Senate considered the Protect College Sports Act of 2026 on Sept. 22, a bill that would let colleges band together to negotiate TV deals collectively for the first time in decades.
The financial pressure on college athletics traces back to a 1984 Supreme Court ruling that forced schools to negotiate media deals individually or through conference groups, rather than as a unified body. That fragmentation has fueled conference realignment. The result is a system where schools chase the richest TV deals available, regardless of what that means for athletes or fans.
Why Does it Matter to Me?
Even the elite Power Four conferences collectively ran deficits in 2025, according to Knight-Newhouse College Athletics Database data cited in the report, despite media rights being their single largest source of revenue. The scramble for bigger TV deals has pushed student-athletes to spend an increasing portion of their time traveling thousands of miles to play games, according to the report.
The bill includes a provision requiring that any collective negotiating group offer a free local broadcast option for every football and basketball game within the school's home television market, meaning fans could watch their local team without a cable or streaming subscription. That would be a direct change for millions of fans who currently pay for access to games that once aired on free TV.
A separate section of the bill would authorize $180 million per year from fiscal years 2027 through 2032 for grants to help historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) invest in broadband, media production, and sports broadcasting. Over six years, that adds up to $1.08 billion directed specifically toward HBCU athletic and media infrastructure.
Both Sides, Now
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) sponsored the bill, and Sen. John Thune (R-SD) amended it. The bill would amend the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 to create an antitrust exemption, allowing Division I colleges and conferences to form a "covered entity" to collectively negotiate media rights, provided at least 75 percent of Football Bowl Subdivision schools, or at least 104 of 138, voluntarily join.
The CRS report flags unresolved questions about whether the bill's conference expansion rules could actually discourage schools from joining the collective negotiating group. The report also notes an open question about whether the antitrust exemption should cover only free broadcast television or extend to subscription streaming services. How Congress resolves that question would determine whether the bill benefits fans who cut the cord or mainly helps traditional broadcasters.
What Happens Next?
For the bill to become law, it would need to pass the full Senate, clear the House, and be signed by the president.
The unresolved questions the CRS identified, including who qualifies to join the collective and what platforms the exemption covers, could shape debate as the bill moves forward. If those questions remain unanswered, they could slow or stall the bill entirely, leaving college sports media rights negotiations unchanged.
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