S. 4668
Protect College Sports Act of 2026
In plain English: what this bill does
The Protect College Sports Act of 2026 would set national rules for college athletes' name, image, and likeness (NIL) payments, athlete welfare, college sports broadcasting, and HBCU media infrastructure. It would bar schools and groups from blocking athletes from earning money from their own name or image, require athletes and schools to report certain payments and deals, and cap school revenue-sharing with athletes at a set amount, with a temporary retention fund above that cap. It would also add health, safety, academic and transfer protections, let athletes sue for certain violations, give antitrust protection to many college sports rules, allow a joint TV-rights sales entity for college sports, and create a $180 million yearly grant program for HBCU broadcast and broadband upgrades.
Who this affects
- **Student athletes (current and prospective)**: may earn money from their name, image and likeness, must report deals over $600 to their school and athletic association, and gain new health, transfer, academic and grant-in-aid protections.
- **Schools (mainly NCAA Division I)**: may pay athletes for name, image and likeness within the revenue share cap, must file yearly reports on athlete payments and program finances, must provide medical coverage and health and safety measures, and must keep women's and Olympic sports at 2024–2025 levels.
- **Intercollegiate athletic associations and conferences**: must run an agent registry and a searchable fair-market-value database, set up an Office of the Student Athlete Ombudsman, reserve at least one-third of governing board seats for current or recent student athletes, and enforce the new rules.
- **Athlete agents**: must register with a state, certify compliance with association rules, may not charge fees above 5 percent of an endorsement deal, and may be decertified for violations.
Words to know
- **Revenue share cap**: the limit on how much a school may pay athletes directly, set by a court settlement and continued under this bill unless Congress acts.
- **Retention fund**: an extra amount a school may pay above the cap to keep athletes who have finished at least one season there.
- **Collective**: a group, such as a booster organization, that gives money to or for athletes or a school's athletic program.
- **Antitrust laws**: federal and state laws against business practices that limit competition, such as agreements to fix prices.
For example
Made-up numbers: A school's revenue share cap is $10,000,000 for the year, and it wants to pay $2,000,000 above that to keep a player through the retention fund. The bill allows up to $22,500,000 above the cap, so the school may pay the extra $2,000,000 because $2,000,000 is less than $22,500,000.
- Step one: Check the cap room: $10,000,000 + $2,000,000 = $12,000,000 in total.
- Step two: Compare the extra amount to the limit: $2,000,000 is less than $22,500,000.
- Step three: The payment is allowed under the retention fund for that year.
Written by AI from the bill's text below; it can be wrong. How it's written
Official summary
Written by the Congressional Research Service.
Protect College Sports Act of 2026
This bill establishes requirements for name, image, or likeness (NIL) agreements for college student athletes and provides a limited antitrust exemption for schools and conferences to pool and sell certain college sports media rights. The requirements address elements of the court-approved agreement to settle In re College Athlete NIL Litigation (i.e., House settlement).
First, the bill statutorily prohibits institutions, conferences, or interstate intercollegiate athletic associations (e.g., the National Collegiate Athletic Association [NCAA]) from restricting student athletes from entering NIL agreements (subject to specified limitations). Students must report to their institution NIL compensation greater than $600.
The bill requires agents to register with a state and caps agent endorsement contract fees at 5%.
The bill also provides student athletes with one transfer without losing athletic eligibility and restricts football personnel from becoming the head football coach at a different institution during the same season.
Further, the bill prohibits institutions, conferences, or specified entities acting for the benefit of an institution from providing athletes with compensation that circumvents the limit on sharing revenue with student athletes established under the House settlement. The bill also makes the limit permanent and provides for an annual inflation adjustment.
The bill generally prohibits Division I conferences from reducing the number of varsity or Olympic sports teams that a member institution must sponsor. Specifically, large institutions ($80 million or more in annual athletics revenue) must offer and maintain at least as many grant-in-aid opportunities and roster spots for sports that do not generate positive net revenue as the institution provided during academic year 2024-25. The bill provides for a waiver of this requirement under certain circumstances of financial hardship and the requirements expire nine years after the enactment of the bill.
Additionally, the bill establishes (subject to specified conditions) a limited antitrust exemption for institutions or conferences that form joint agreements to transfer their sports telecasting rights to a third party. Such an agreement requires participation from at least 75% of the institutions in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
Text of the bill
I Protections of student athletes and fair competition
Where this section came from
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Jun 2, 2026 · Introduced in Senate Referred to Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Jun 2
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Sep 28, 2026 · Engrossed in Senate S.Amdt. 6779: To improve the bill. Official page › S.Amdt. 6777: To improve the bill. Official page › S.Amdt. 6776: In the nature of a substitute. Official page › S.Amdt. 6831: To modify the prohibition on certain conference mergers and acquisitions. Official page › S.Amdt. 6830: To require the disclosure of foreign financing of intercollegiate athletics. Official page › S.Amdt. 6828: To modify the provision relating to the relationship of this Act to existing law. Official page › On Cloture on the Motion to Proceed — Cloture on the Motion to Proceed Agreed to, 74–24 · Roll Call 235On the Motion to Proceed — Motion to Proceed Agreed to, 77–22 · Roll Call 236On the Cloture Motion — Cloture Motion Agreed to, 70–21 · Roll Call 240On the Amendment — Amendment Agreed to, 77–23 · Roll Call 242On the Cloture Motion — Cloture Motion Agreed to, 74–25 · Roll Call 243On the Amendment — Amendment Agreed to, 96–1 · Roll Call 245On the Amendment — Amendment Rejected, 1–94 · Roll Call 246On the Amendment — Amendment Rejected, 42–54 · Roll Call 247On the Amendment — Amendment Rejected, 49–50 · Roll Call 248On the Amendment — Amendment Rejected, 47–52 · Roll Call 249On Passage of the Bill — Bill Passed, 77–22 · Roll Call 250
(a) In general. An individual is eligible to participate on a Division I or Division II (as defined by bylaw 20 of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, or a successor bylaw) varsity sports team or in intercollegiate athletic competition for a Division I or Division II institution (as defined by bylaw 20 of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, or a successor bylaw) if the individual—
… 5 unchanged passages …
(1) In general. Subject to paragraph (2),
the
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… 4 unchanged passages …
(D) Other periods of absence , which may include serious athletic injury or medical condition, adopted by rule or bylaw by an intercollegiate athletic association that apply uniformly to all student athletes.
(c) Restrictions on eligibility.
(1) In general. An intercollegiate athletic association or a conference may restrict
the eligibility of
a student athlete
’s eligibility
to participate in intercollegiate sports if the student athlete—
(A) used an illegal or performance enhancing drug; or
(B) participated in sports wagering activities
or sports-related event contracts
. (2) Code of conduct. An institution may restrict
the eligibility of
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prize money. For purposes of subsection (a)(3
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a student athlete who competes in
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professional athlete based on their participation in athletic competitions prior to, whichever occurs first— (A) the 19th birthday of the student athlete; or (B) the date the student athlete initially enrolls full time at an institution; and (2) a student athlete who competes in a
sport other than football or basketball shall not be considered a professional athlete based solely on the amount of prize money the student athlete received based on place finish or performance in an athletic event before or after enrollment in an institution, so long as— (
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Year
year
institution. No intercollegiate athletic association or conference shall require a student athlete who transfers from a 2-year institution to a 4-year institution to meet additional or more stringent academic standards than the academic standards required for student athletes who transfer from a 4-year institution.
… 4 unchanged passages …
(a) In general. An individual is eligible to participate on a Division I or Division II (as defined by bylaw 20 of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, or a successor bylaw) varsity sports team or in intercollegiate athletic competition for a Division I or Division II institution (as defined by bylaw 20 of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, or a successor bylaw) if the individual—
(1) is a student athlete;
(2) meets uniform academic standards established by the relevant intercollegiate athletic association, conference, or institution;
(3) is not a professional athlete; and
(4) complies with established rules that restrict eligibility for violations of State or Federal law.
(b) Years of eligibility
(1) In general. Subject to paragraph (2), a student athlete is eligible to compete in intercollegiate athletic competition for a Division I or Division II institution (as defined by bylaw 20 of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, or a successor bylaw) for a maximum of 5 calendar years beginning on, whichever occurs first—
(A) the beginning of the academic year following the 19th birthday of the student athlete; or
(B) the date the student athlete initially enrolls full time at an institution.
(2) Exceptions. Paragraph (1) does not apply during a period of absence for any of the following:
(A) Reasons of pregnancy.
(B) Religious mission.
(C) Active-duty military service.
(D) Other periods of absence, which may include serious athletic injury or medical condition, adopted by rule or bylaw by an intercollegiate athletic association that apply uniformly to all student athletes.
(c) Restrictions on eligibility
(1) In general. An intercollegiate athletic association or a conference may restrict the eligibility of a student athlete to participate in intercollegiate sports if the student athlete—
(A) used an illegal or performance enhancing drug; or
(B) participated in sports wagering activities or sports-related event contracts.
(2) Code of conduct. An institution may restrict the eligibility of a student athlete to participate in intercollegiate sports if the student athlete violated the code of conduct of the institution that applies to all students.
(d) Clarification on youth activities and prize money. For purposes of subsection (a)(3)—
(1) a student athlete who competes in basketball shall not be considered a professional athlete based on their participation in athletic competitions prior to, whichever occurs first—
(A) the 19th birthday of the student athlete; or
(B) the date the student athlete initially enrolls full time at an institution; and
(2) a student athlete who competes in a sport other than football or basketball shall not be considered a professional athlete based solely on the amount of prize money the student athlete received based on place finish or performance in an athletic event before or after enrollment in an institution, so long as—
(A) the prize money was provided only by the sponsor of the athletics event; and
(B) the sponsor of the athletics event is not an institution, employee of an institution, volunteer of an institution, collective, or an associated entity.
(e) Transfer from 2-year institution. No intercollegiate athletic association or conference shall require a student athlete who transfers from a 2-year institution to a 4-year institution to meet additional or more stringent academic standards than the academic standards required for student athletes who transfer from a 4-year institution.
(f) Rule of construction. Nothing in this section shall be construed to restrict the ability of an institution to—
(1) require student athletes to meet or maintain academic standards that are in addition to, or more stringent than, the standards described in subsection (a) if such standards are required of all students enrolled at the institution;
(2) discipline or sanction a student athlete for violating a rule, regulation, or code of conduct that applies to all students enrolled at the institution; or
(3) discipline or sanction a student athlete for violating a rule, regulation, or a code of conduct that applies to all student athletes participating in intercollegiate athletic competition at that institution.
II Sports broadcasting
III HBCU Sports Media and Connectivity Program