In the five years since student athletes have been allowed to earn money, college sports have become a chaotic and murky marketplace where players can move from team to team chasing a payday.Stewart Mandel of The Athletic explains why, this week, Washington decided to step in.Guest: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/author/stewart-mandel/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Stewart Mandel</a>, the editor in chief of college football for The Athletic and a host of its college football podcast “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/podcast/97-the-audible-with-bruce-and-stew/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Audible</a>.”Background reading:&nbsp;<ul><li>The Protect College Sports Act wants to fix college sports. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7602850/2026/09/18/protect-college-sports-act-athlete-spending/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Here’s what it actually targets</a>.</li><li>Does your college football roster cost $8 million or $50 million? <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/interactive/college-football-nil-spending-budgets/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Read The Athletic’s report on 68 teams</a>.</li><li>Here’s how the football programs <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7590329/2026/09/17/college-football-revenue-sharing-nil-cap-budgets/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">blow past limits on what they can pay players</a>.</li></ul>Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
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