S. 4668 Congress 119 session
Protect College Sports Act of 2026
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. 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.
Status
- Introduced
- Committee
- Floor vote
- Passed
- Enacted
Awaiting a floor vote — last recorded action August 5, 2026
Cloture motion on the motion to proceed to the measure presented in Senate. (CR S4449)
Passage likelihood
36% Comparable to other bills at this stage
This is an estimate, not a guarantee. It is computed from the signals listed below and nothing else. It does not account for leadership priorities, floor scheduling, or negotiations that are not in the public record.
What the estimate is based on
- Historical base rate About 4% of introduced federal bills are enacted.
- Current stage Scheduled for or awaiting a floor vote.
- Cosponsors 7 cosponsors.
- Bipartisan cosponsorship Cosponsors come from 2 parties.
State-level impact
State-level impact data is not available for this bill. The source text does not contain a per-state funding formula or scored breakdown, so no figures are shown.
Official actions
- Cloture motion on the motion to proceed to the measure presented in Senate. (CR S4449)
- Motion to proceed to consideration of measure made in Senate. (CR S4449)
- Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 449.
- Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Reported by Senator Cruz with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Without written report.
- Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Reported by Senator Cruz with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Without written report.
- Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
- Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
- Introduced in Senate