H.R. 10266, Amateur Athletics Protection / Dual-Contract Prohibition. Quorum's AI analysis reads it as a trade-off: gains for some, costs for others.
H.R. 10266 · Mixed
What it does
This bill bars colleges that receive federal student aid from allowing professional athletes to compete in college sports in the same sport where they hold a pro contract. It creates a new federal crime—up to 5 years in prison, or 10 years if done for profit or repeatedly—for college athletics officials who knowingly recruit or sign such dual-contract athletes. The bill allows athletes to rescind pro contracts before receiving payment or playing, and grandfathers in athletes already competing under dual contracts until the next academic year.
The analysis names Non-professional student-athletes (indirectly, through reduced competition for roster spots and scho — and 1 more group — among the beneficiaries.
The trade-off
Criminal liability attaches to individual athletics officials, not institutions, creating personal prosecution risk for coaches and staff even when institutional compliance systems fail or are ambiguous—may incentivize aggressive internal policing or defensive over-compliance.
The analysis put a high warning level on this bill. Transparency scores 75%, and the analysis found no provisions unrelated to the bill's subject.
Who is behind it
Filed by Clay Fuller.
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