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
II Sports broadcasting
III HBCU Sports Media and Connectivity Program
Where this section came from
Not in the first version (Introduced in Senate, 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
(1) Grants authorized. The Assistant Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary, shall award grants to eligible entities, on a competitive basis, to support long-term improvements to broadband, information technology, media infrastructure, including infrastructure for the production, transmission, and distribution of live coverage of intercollegiate athletic events, and local journalism for student learning.
(2) Grant period. With respect to each eligible entity that is awarded a grant under this section, such grant shall be for a period determined appropriate by the Assistant Secretary based on the information submitted by such entity under subsection (b) that is not less than 2 years and not more than 5 years.
(3) Multiple grants permitted. An eligible entity may apply for, and be awarded, more than 1 grant under this section.
(b) Application. To be considered for a grant under this section, an eligible entity shall submit an application to the Assistant Secretary that includes—
(1) to the extent possible, the information necessary for the Assistant Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary, to make the determinations under subsection (c);
(2) a description of the projects that such eligible entity plans to carry out with the grant and how such projects will advance the long-term goals of the entity;
(3) an assessment of the broadband service available on the campus of the eligible entity, and to the students of the eligible entity, as of the date of the application;
(4) an explanation of—
(A) how such investments in broadband, information technology, and media production, including sports media and live coverage of intercollegiate athletic events, and local journalism at such eligible entity will promote and advance educational opportunities; and
(B) the anticipated number of years that any facilities constructed, improved, or replaced under such projects may be used to facilitate the opportunities and investments described in subparagraph (A);
(5) the median age of the facilities that such entity plans to improve or replace under such projects, if existing and applicable;
(6) if the eligible entity proposes a project described in paragraph (2) or (4) of section 303(a), a description of how the project will expand the capacity of the eligible entity to produce, transmit, or distribute live coverage of intercollegiate athletic events, including events in women’s sports and Olympic sports, and, as applicable, to make such live coverage available in the local market of the entity as well as for digital distribution; and
(7) if relevant to the application—
(A) baseline measurements as of the date of the application, in the form prescribed by the Assistant Secretary, of—
(i) available network capacity and average and peak utilization over the preceding 12 months; and
(ii) the number and percentage of enrolled students who lack access to broadband, and the methodology used to determine that figure; and
(B) for each baseline measurement submitted under subparagraph (A), a specific, numerical target the entity commits to achieve by the end of the grant period, and the date by which each target will be met.
(c) Priority. In awarding grants under this section, the Assistant Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary—
(1) shall give priority to an eligible entity that—
(A) demonstrates the greatest need to improve campus broadband and information technology infrastructure, as determined by a comparison of factors identified by the Assistant Secretary, which may include—
(i) the availability, capacity, and condition of broadband service and network infrastructure on the campus of the eligible entity;
(ii) the median age of the network and information technology infrastructure that the entity will use grant funds to improve;
(iii) the extent to which student enrollment and instructional demands exceed existing network capacity; and
(iv) the total amount of deferred maintenance of the network and information technology infrastructure of the entity;
(B) demonstrates the most limited capacity to raise funds for the long-term improvement of campus broadband and information technology infrastructure, as determined by an assessment of—
(i) the current and historic ability of the eligible entity to raise funds for construction, renovation, modernization, and major repair projects for campus;
(ii) whether the eligible entity has been able to issue bonds or receive other funds to support school construction projects;
(iii) the bond rating of the eligible entity;
(iv) the number of students enrolled as of the date on which the application is submitted;
(v) the total value of the endowment of the eligible entity as of the date on which the application is submitted;
(vi) the total amount of deferred maintenance of such infrastructure; and
(vii) the amount and sources of institutional revenue;
(C) enrolls the highest percentages of students who are eligible to receive a Federal Pell Grant under subpart 1 of part A of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a et seq.), and whose families qualify for other Federal need-based aid;
(D) is a public institution that—
(i) faces declining State support or investment; and
(ii) demonstrates limited ability to generate revenue, as determined by assessing—
(I) the total value of the endowment of the institution as of the date on which the application is submitted; and
(II) the costs of the deferred maintenance of the institution relative to the total revenue of the institution;
(E) demonstrates an effort to seek support from public and private entities for projects carried out with a grant awarded under this title; and
(F) proposes a project with the lowest total cost per student projected to be served, taking into account short-term and long-term costs of the project, cost differentials between geographical regions, and other key cost drivers over the lifetime of the project, and demonstrates how those factors contribute to overall cost efficiency; and
(2) may give priority to an eligible entity—
(A) that did not receive a grant under this title in the preceding fiscal year;
(B) that proposes projects aligned with long-term infrastructure priorities that—
(i) serve as regional models, as determined by the Secretary;
(ii) address multiple needs on the campus of the entity; or
(iii) address the needs of at least 1 eligible entity in addition to the entity receiving the grant;
(C) that is a member of an HBCU athletic conference;
(D) that commits to using the facilities and equipment funded under the grant to produce or distribute live coverage of intercollegiate athletic events in women’s sports and Olympic sports; or
(E) that has entered into, or demonstrates plans to enter into, a partnership, licensing arrangement, or distribution agreement with a covered entity, a conference, an intercollegiate athletic association, or a video programming distributor with respect to media rights to intercollegiate athletic events of the eligible entity.
(d) Geographic distribution. In evaluating applications receiving equivalent scores under the criteria published under subsection (f)(2), the Assistant Secretary may consider the geographic distribution of eligible entities in the United States.
(e) Technical assistance. The Assistant Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary, shall provide technical assistance to eligible entities to prepare the entities to qualify for, apply for, and maintain a grant under this title.
(f) Program accountability
(1) Public input. Not later than 120 days after the date on which amounts are first appropriated to carry out this title, the Assistant Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register a request for public comment on the design and administration of the grant program under this title, with a comment period of not less than 45 days.
(2) Program guidance. Not later than 120 days after the close of the comment period under paragraph (1), and before accepting any application, the Assistant Secretary shall publish—
(A) guidance for the grant program under this title, including all application requirements;
(B) the criteria the Assistant Secretary will use to evaluate applications, including the numerical weight assigned to each criterion; and
(C) the process and timeline for awarding grants.
(3) No post hoc changes. The Assistant Secretary shall endeavor to evaluate an application on the basis of the criteria and weights published under paragraph (2) that were in effect on the date on which the application window opened.
(4) Publication of scores. Not later than 30 days after awarding grants for a fiscal year, the Assistant Secretary shall make available to the appropriate congressional committees, for each grant awarded, the name of the recipient, the amount of the grant, and the score assigned to the recipient's application under each criterion published under paragraph (2).