U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, has co-sponsored a bipartisan bill with Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., that would revolutionize college football and bring in sweeping reform to college sports.
Changes would include adding a new antitrust exemption for the NCAA and altering transfer portal rules.
“College sports are at a breaking point,” he said. “Fans can see their favorite teams being hollowed out by transfer chaos, fake NIL bidding wars, eligibility lawsuits and a system that allows the richest programs to keep pulling away.
“Student athletes can profit from their name, image and likeness, but college sports still need real rules, competitive balance, rivalries and a true connection to education. This bill protects athletes and fans and keeps college sports from becoming a two-conference minor league.
“This bipartisan bill is designed to save the part of college sports that fans actually care about.”
Some of the most notable provisions in the bill would forbid coaches from leaving schools until the end of the season in what’s being called the “Lane Kiffin” rule; create an agent registry limiting fees to 5%; and allow the pooling of media rights.
The bill would establish a five-year eligibility rule for college athletes and prohibit professional players who earned compensation (prize money excluded) from going back to college sports.
The transfer portal would also be reimagined to only allow one free transfer for players. They would have to sit out a season for the next transfer.
The bill would also create a national standard for NIL payments that would preempt state law.
Next season each team will have $21.3 million to spend on athletes, and the bill aims to target schools who might circumvent the cap with third-party NIL deals by giving the recently created College Sports Commission the power to block those agreements.
The next step for the bill will be waiting for a committee hearing.
Game schedule dates, times, locations
NEXT UP: Game dates, times, locations, channel
Rangers ▶
May 22 L.A. Angels 9, Rangers 6
May 23 L.A. Angels 5, Rangers 2
May 24 L.A. Angels 2, Rangers 1
May 25 Houston 9, Rangers 0
May 26 Rangers 10, Houston 7
May 27 Houston 4, Rangers 3
May 28 Houston 5, Rangers 1
May 29 vs. Kansas City, 7:05 p.m., CW
May 30 vs. Kansas City, 3:05 p.m., FS1, RSN
May 31 vs. Kansas City, 1:35 p.m., RSN
June 1 at St. Louis, 6:45 p.m., RSN
June 2 at St. Louis, 6:45 p.m., RSN
June 3 at St. Louis, 6:45 p.m., RSN
Wings▶
May 18 Wings 92, Washington 69
May 20 Wings 99, Chicago 89
May 22 Atlanta 86, Wings 69
May 24 Wings 91, New York 76
May 28 Wings 95, Las Vegas 87
June 1 vs. Seattle, 7 p.m., KFAA, USA
June 5 at Los Angeles, 9 p.m., Ion
June 9 at Minnesota, 7 p.m., KFAA
June 11 vs. Phoenix, 8 p.m., Amazon Prime Video
June 13 at Portland, 7:30 p.m., KFAA
TCU Football ▶
2026 season
Aug. 29 vs. North Carolina (at Dublin), 11 a.m., ESPN
Sept. 12 vs. Grambling State, 7 p.m., ESPN+
Sept. 19 vs. Arkansas State, 7 p.m., ESPNU
Sept. 26 at Central Florida, TBA
Oct. 3 vs. BYU, TBA
Oct. 17 at Baylor, TBA
Oct. 24 vs. West Virginia, TBA
Oct. 31 vs. Kansas, TBA
Nov. 6 at Arizona, 9:15 p.m., ESPN
Nov. 14 vs. Kansas State, TBA
Nov. 21 vs. Utah, TBA
Nov. 26 at Texas Tech, 7 p.m., ESPN
Cowboys ▶
Sept. 13 at N.Y. Giants, 7:20 p.m., NBC
Sept. 20 vs. Washington, 3:25 p.m., Fox
Sept. 27 vs. Baltimore (at Rio de Janeiro), 3:25 p.m., CBS
Oct. 4 at Houston, 12 p.m., Fox
Oct. 8 vs. Tampa Bay, 7:15 p.m., Amazon Prime Video
Lawrence Dow is a digital sports reporter from Philadelphia. He graduated with a master’s degree in journalism from USC. He’s passionate about movies and is always looking for a great book. He covers the Texas Rangers and other sports.
