GOP admits to SEC that Democrats likely to win midterm elections

The SEC and Big Ten, the two preeminent powers in college football, have both been public in support of the Protect College Sports Act after initially being hesitant to back the legislation, and now, we might know why the tune has changed.

According to a report from Front Office Sports, Republican Senate Commerce Committee staff director Brad Grantz sent a message to SEC commissioner Greg Sankey urging him to back the bill as soon as possible, before Democrats wrestled control in Washington in the midterms and made tweaks to it.

“There is no legislative alternative that gets better for the SEC,” Grantz wrote.

“After the election, because of who is likely to win the House, you won’t see this bill…being considered,” Grantz wrote in the July 31 memo, obtained via public records request to the University of Texas. “The asks from the Democrats begin with employee status, collective bargaining rights, and end with private right of action. Let’s get this done.”

The SEC’s lobbying firm for the PCSA, Klein/Johnson Group, reportedly sent the memo to Sankey on July 31 with the subject line “From Brad via Schmitt’s office,” referring to Sen. Eric Schmitt (R., Mo.) and asked that the memo be shared “directly with the SEC presidents and board members.”

Sankey then proceeded to share it with SEC presidents and board members, referring to it as “one additional email provided by the Commerce Committee.”

The SEC and Big Ten publicly released a joint statement endorsing the bill less than two hours later.

Joint statement from the Big Ten & SEC Presidents and Chancellors on the Protect College Sports Act: https://t.co/zxJmsOz9lN

— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) August 1, 2026

Grantz’s biggest warning centered on the Democrats gaining control of Congress, and possibly starting down a path that would lead to college athletes becoming employees with collective bargaining rights.

However, Michael LeRoy, a law professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, told FOS that the memo was “unduly alarmist about Democratic control of Congress” and pushed back against the idea that it would be a terrible thing for schools and conferences.

“Employment is feasible but more costly than revenue sharing and NIL,” LeRoy said. “That said, when the costs and consequences of constant antitrust litigation are factored into this equation since 2021, the employment option offers less exposure to lawsuits, more stability, and better cost controls.”

Leroy even pointed toward collective bargaining as a way for the NCAA to shield its compensation rules from antitrust challenges.

“If collective bargaining is added to employment, this would create an antitrust labor exemption for the NCAA—exactly what it needs to end its chaos,” he said.

The midterm elections will take place nationwide on November 3rd.

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