Trump touts Senate passage of Protect College Sports Act: ‘Really big deal’

President Trump late on Monday lauded the passage of the Protect College Sports Act in the Senate, calling the bill that looks to reshape college sports a “really big deal.”

Lawmakers passed the bill in a 77-22 vote with bipartisan support after months of debate and pushback, including from critics of the NCAA.

“This is a really big deal,” Trump wrote on Truth Social . “It will not only save college sports, it will save the colleges themselves. Congratulations to Randy Levine, President of the New York Yankees, and all of those who worked with him, on a job well done!”

Core priorities of the bill include providing the NCAA with sweeping federal antitrust protection to guard it from lawsuits over enforcing rules and placing a cap on how much money goes to student-athletes over their name, image and likeness. It would also guarantee scholarships for 10 years after eligibility and give athletes the chance to transfer once without sitting out for a year.

Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) co-sponsored the bill, along with Sens. Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.). The legislation includes most of the protections that the Student Athlete Fairness and Enforcement Act, co-sponsored by Cantwell, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), had when it was introduced last year.

Cruz said after the bill passed the upper chamber that college sports “were headed off a cliff.”

“Tonight, 77 Senators said enough,” the Texas Republican wrote on the social platform X . “The Protect College Sports Act passed with a massive bipartisan vote. It protects the athletes, protects the programs, and protects a great American tradition for our kids and grandkids. Now, it goes to the House. Let’s get this to President Trump’s desk before Election Day, on the set of College Gameday.”

Cantwell praised the bill’s passage, stating that the bill helps to “stop stealing money out of college [and] university institutions for education, for tuition, for professors and putting it into an arms race on sports.”

“It is putting a pin in the problems to stabilize the loss of women’s and Olympic [sports] and to create the opportunity to discuss the larger structure moving forward. That is why I think we have so much support,” she said in a press release .

The Southeastern Conference (SEC) and Big Ten endorsed the bill in July after initially not backing it. The Big Ten said it was “pleased” by the bill’s passage in the Senate in a short statement . The SEC called its passage “an important step forward establishing a clear and durable national framework for college athletes.”

The NAACP , the AFL-CIO and its sports council , and the Congressional Black Caucus all opposed the bill, raising concerns over pay equity, workers’ protections and who determines the future of Black athletes, coaches, agents and historically Black colleges and universities.