SEC commissioner Greg Sankey says secession is 'real' amid sports bill uncertainty

Within a private room here on the opening day of SEC media days, Eli Drinkwitz took a few seconds to imagine a different world: one in which college sports operates under a harder athlete compensation cap with a separate pool of money dedicated to retaining current players on his roster.

"It could be a solution," the Missouri coach said.

Perhaps that day isn't as far away as many think.

In fact, as Drinkwitz and other coaches paraded through the media circuit at this downtown Tampa Marriott hotel, lawmakers in Washington, D.C., continued negotiations over revisions to the Protect College Sports Act — the groundbreaking legislation that, if passed, stands to regulate the college athletics industry. The latest and most notable possible changes — much of it an effort to gain support from the SEC and Big Ten — would alter the all-important athlete compensation framework by providing schools with more flexible spending, according to those briefed on the talks.

That includes a proposed idea to establish a separate pool of money for schools to use to retain current athletes on their rosters. This "retention pool," as some refer to it, would be in addition to the $21.3 million revenue-share cap for the 2026-27 academic year. Other ideas under discussion include a general increase in the cap itself and the addition of a sort-of luxury tax on over-spenders.

But as negotiations persist, the idea of a separate retention pool is gaining momentum from some.

"I don't know enough details around [the retention pool], but it gives you the ability to recruit and retain your current roster, which is better than just going out into the portal and having the most money in the marketplace," Drinkwitz said during an interview with Yahoo Sports on Monday.

According to the latest conversations, schools would have available to them $20-30 million for retaining players — a figure that when combined with the traditional cap provides schools with a total cap of $40-50 million for all of their athletes. This aligns more with the current spending in the market.

It is an important revision if, in the end, the move gains the necessary support from all parties.

Those involved caution that negotiations remain active and fluid. There is no agreement yet on the litany of revisions under discussion among the two parties: the three co-authors of the bill, Sens. Ted Cruz, Maria Cantwell and Eric Schmitt; and officials from the SEC and Big Ten.

Cap flexibility is seen by some as a necessary revision considering the bill implements stricter circumvention rules that, while eliminating a workaround to the cap, may limit hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation to athletes. The legislation, as currently written, curtails circumvention by prohibiting schools from using multi-media rights partners and corporate sponsors — deemed as "associated entities" — to funnel millions to athletes in an effort to exceed the $21.3 million cap.

However, not everyone believes that such cap changes can be made without a formal approval process as outlined in the NCAA's House settlement agreement. That process starts with a formal request from the conferences and NCAA to the plaintiff attorneys, who must, along with Judge Claudia Wilken, approve any changes.

That process can span several months.

"It depends on what they would do. If it changes terms within the settlement, they cannot do that," said co-lead plaintiff attorney Jeffrey Kessler. "They are not going to use the legislation to do that. I can guarantee you that."

That said, lawmakers are toiling away on ideas of creating some sort of cap flexibility as they work with leaders of President Donald Trump's White House effort around college sports, most notably Yankees president Randy Levine and Texas Tech booster Cody Campbell.