U.S. Senate passed the Protect College Sports Act 77-22
The U.S. Senate passed the Protect College Sports Act 77-22 on Monday night, sending the most ambitious federal overhaul of college athletics in decades to the House.
For Tulane, a private AAC program that just used the transfer portal and its Green Wave Talent Fund to reach the College Football Playoff, the bill is less about joining the Power 4 and more about whether the current model can be made sustainable.
The legislation, co-authored by Sens. Ted Cruz and Maria Cantwell, would create a single national framework for NIL, transfers, eligibility, and compensation after years of state-by-state rules and court-driven chaos.
It is not yet law!
The House is on recess until after the midterms, and passage there is not guaranteed. Still, the Senate vote itself is a signal that Congress intends to impose order on a system that has rewarded programs able to cycle talent quickly, Tulane among them.
Roster rules that would slow the portal.
Undergraduates would receive one penalty-free transfer. A second move would require sitting out a year. Eligibility would be standardized at five years.
Those two changes would have altered the 2025 and 2026 Green Wave football rosters, which featured dozens of incoming and outgoing transfers after Jon Sumrall’s departure for Florida and the arrival of first-year coach Will Hall.
Tulane men’s and women’s basketball have also leaned heavily on the portal.
A one-and-done transfer rule would not freeze movement entirely, graduate transfers would still have more flexibility but it would raise the cost of serial jumping.
For a program that has turned roster turnover into a competitive advantage, the trade-off is clearer recruiting calendars and fewer mid-cycle surprises.
The bill also includes a “Lane Kiffin rule” restricting FBS coaches from leaving for another head-coaching job in-season. Sumrall’s move occurred after the season, so it would not have applied, but the provision is aimed at the kind of mid-year instability that has become common.
Money: caps, retention funds, and the Talent Fund
The House settlement already allows schools to share roughly $21–22 million in revenue with athletes.
The Protect College Sports Act would add a $22.5 million “retention fund” that can grow to $27.5 million if a school also spends on NIL for women’s and Olympic sports. Combined, the ceiling approaches $50 million per school.
Tulane’s Green Wave Talent Fund, launched with major gifts from alumni and a $100,000 donation from Sumrall himself, already exists to handle direct payments and NIL in the post-settlement world. The new federal buckets would give the athletic department additional, legally shielded tools to keep players rather than constantly replacing them.
Whether Tulane can actually spend to the cap depends on media revenue, donations, and CFP performance money, the AAC’s unique performance-based distribution already delivered Tulane an $8.1 million CFP payout after its 2025 title.
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