With just 18 days remaining before MLB’s current collective bargaining agreement expires on December 1, optimism and uncertainty are colliding in the league’s labor standoff. New York Yankees president Randy Levine remains confident that MLB and the MLB Players Association can strike a deal at the eleventh hour. Thus, he offers hope to fans eager to avoid another labor crisis. However, the baseball executive’s latest push extends beyond the diamond. His warning to lawmakers over the future of college sports could spark another controversy at a time when baseball can hardly afford more tension.

As vice-chair of President Donald Trump’s Roundtable on Fixing College Sports, Levine is urging Congress to pass a Senate-backed bill before the current congressional term ends. He cautioned that delaying federal intervention could carry serious consequences.

“If this bill isn’t passed, there will never be a bill that’s passed,” Levine said in an interview with CNBC’s Michael Ozanian. He warned that the Big Ten and SEC could form a “super conference” that operates like a minor league.

The Protect College Sports Act of 2026 is a bipartisan federal bill designed to establish a single, nationwide set of rules governing college athletics. Introduced on June 2, 2026, by Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA), it aims to replace the current patchwork of conflicting state laws and court rulings with uniform federal standards.

Per the legislators, the bill aims to protect student-athletes’ rights to earn money from their Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL). It would require disclosures for deals over $600. It also makes direct revenue-sharing caps permanent and caps agent endorsement fees at 5%. The bill grants the NCAA and a newly formed College Sports Commission legal authority to enforce these rules.

Athletes would be guaranteed one penalty-free transfer during their college career and capped at a five-year window of athletic eligibility. The bill provides the NCAA and conferences with a limited antitrust exemption to enforce national rules and pool sports broadcasting rights without facing constant lawsuits. It explicitly remains neutral on whether athletes are employees, effectively blocking unionization.

The Yankees president fears that the 34 universities currently in the Big Ten and SEC could withdraw their football programs from the NCAA. They could establish an independent governing body. Leaving the NCAA would allow them to write their own rules for player contracts, roster limits, transfer windows, and NIL compensation without interference from smaller schools.

However, per the president and CEO of the NAACP, Derrick Johnson, “The so-called Protect College Sports Act does little actually to protect the student-athletes who make this multi-billion-dollar industry possible.” So, despite Levine’s strong message, it’s very unlikely that the issue will be resolved soon, much like the potential MLB labour fight.

The Yankees president is hopeful for a new CBA in place

“I don’t know whether they’ll reach an agreement or not,” citing “fundamental differences in opinion,” the Yankees president added. “I’m very confident that the sides will give it all they’ve got to negotiate in good faith to get something done.”

The most prominent modern example of MLB Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations ending at the last hour occurred in 2016. MLB and the MLB Players Association struck a five-year deal just below 4 hours before a midnight lockout deadline.

Talks stalled until the final evening over luxury tax thresholds, revenue-sharing rules, and international amateur signing limits. The owners dropped their push for a rigid international draft at the eleventh hour. They settled instead for hard spending caps on international amateur free agents.

Neither side wanted to disrupt a booming industry immediately after the Chicago Cubs won their first World Series in 108 years. Additionally, the league’s Winter Meetings were scheduled to begin just days later.

This time, the situation is no different. The Milwaukee Brewers won the World Series, breaking the dominance of cash-rich teams and taking away the winning moment. It rejuvenated the economic potential of the small-market teams in MLB. A labour lockout at this time means MLB needs to start again from scratch.