Overview

• Introduced by Sens. Maria Cantwell, Cory Booker and Richard Blumenthal, the bill would amend the Sports Broadcasting Act to let colleges and conferences jointly sell media rights and would require local, non-exclusive access to football and basketball games.
• It would steer any added revenue from pooled rights toward keeping women’s and Olympic sports scholarships and roster spots at least at 2023–24 levels, with an NCAA committee helping to maximize and distribute funds.
• Athlete protections include national NIL standards with privacy safeguards, two transfers without sitting a year, 10-year scholarship guarantees, five years of post-eligibility medical coverage, and a certified agent registry with a 5% fee cap.
• The measure allows drafted athletes to return to school within seven days if they accept no pro compensation, and it assigns enforcement authority to the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general.
• Unlike the House-backed SCORE Act, SAFE omits antitrust immunity for the NCAA and avoids the employment-status question, and it currently lacks Republican support under Senate Commerce Chair Ted Cruz.