Protect College Sports Act of 2026
Official title: A bill to protect the name, image, and likeness rights of, and provide protections for, student athletes and to promote fair competition among intercollegiate athletics, and for other purposes.
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| Date | Chamber | What was voted on | Result | Yes–No | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 28, 2026 | Senate · vote #250 | On Passage of the Bill S. 4668 | Passed | 77–22 | See who voted → |
| Sep 28, 2026 | Senate · vote #249 | On the Amendment S.Amdt. 6835 to S.Amdt. 6776 to S. 4668 (No short title on fil… | Rejected | 47–52 | See who voted → |
| Sep 28, 2026 | Senate · vote #248 | On the Amendment S.Amdt. 6805 to S.Amdt. 6776 to S. 4668 (No short title on fil… | Rejected | 49–50 | See who voted → |
| Sep 28, 2026 | Senate · vote #247 | On the Amendment S.Amdt. 6760 to S.Amdt. 6776 to S. 4668 (No short title on fil… | Rejected | 42–54 | See who voted → |
| Sep 28, 2026 | Senate · vote #246 | On the Amendment S.Amdt. 6758 to S.Amdt. 6776 to S. 4668 (No short title on fil… | Rejected | 1–94 | See who voted → |
| Sep 28, 2026 | Senate · vote #245 | On the Amendment S.Amdt. 6828 to S.Amdt. 6776 to S. 4668 (No short title on fil… | Agreed To | 96–1 | See who voted → |
| Sep 24, 2026 | Senate · vote #243 | On the Cloture Motion S. 4668 | Agreed To | 74–25 | See who voted → |
| Sep 24, 2026 | Senate · vote #242 | On the Amendment S.Amdt. 6776 to S. 4668 (No short title on file) | Agreed To | 77–23 | See who voted → |
| Sep 22, 2026 | Senate · vote #240 | On the Cloture Motion S.Amdt. 6776 to S. 4668 (No short title on file) | Agreed To | 70–21 | See who voted → |
| Sep 17, 2026 | Senate · vote #236 | On the Motion to Proceed S. 4668 | Agreed To | 77–22 | See who voted → |
| Sep 15, 2026 | Senate · vote #235 | On Cloture on the Motion to Proceed S. 4668 | Agreed To | 74–24 | See who voted → |
Amendments propose changes to this bill. Members vote on amendments separately before the final bill vote. An agreed amendment becomes part of the bill; a failed amendment does not.
6 agreed to 4 failed 64 pending / other
| Amendment | Sponsor | Status |
|---|---|---|
| SAMDT 6,835 | Booker, Cory A. | Failed |
| SAMDT 6,831 | Moody, Ashley | Agreed to |
| SAMDT 6,830 | Scott, Tim | Agreed to |
| SAMDT 6,828 | Baldwin, Tammy | Agreed to |
| SAMDT 6,805 | Booker, Cory A. | Failed |
| SAMDT 6,760 | Kennedy, John | Failed |
| SAMDT 6,758 | Paul, Rand | Failed |
| SAMDT 6,780 | Thune, John | Fell |
| SAMDT 6,779 | Thune, John | Agreed to |
| SAMDT 6,778 | Thune, John | Fell |
| SAMDT 6,777 | Thune, John | Agreed to |
| SAMDT 6,776 | Cruz, Ted | Agreed to |
| SAMDT 6,783 | Thune, John | Pending |
| SAMDT 6,781 | Thune, John | Pending |
| SAMDT 6,782 | Thune, John | Fell |
| SAMDT 6,836 | Scott, Tim | Pending |
| SAMDT 6,829 | Scott, Tim | Pending |
| SAMDT 6,827 | Merkley, Jeff | Pending |
| SAMDT 6,826 | Baldwin, Tammy | Pending |
| SAMDT 6,825 | Warnock, Raphael G. | Pending |
| SAMDT 6,824 | Blackburn, Marsha | Pending |
| SAMDT 6,823 | Blumenthal, Richard | Pending |
| SAMDT 6,822 | Blumenthal, Richard | Pending |
| SAMDT 6,821 | Blumenthal, Richard | Pending |
| SAMDT 6,820 | Blumenthal, Richard | Pending |
| SAMDT 6,819 | Blumenthal, Richard | Pending |
| SAMDT 6,818 | Scott, Tim | Pending |
| SAMDT 6,817 | Scott, Tim | Pending |
| SAMDT 6,816 | Scott, Tim | Pending |
| SAMDT 6,815 | Scott, Tim | Pending |
| SAMDT 6,814 | Scott, Tim | Pending |
| SAMDT 6,813 | Scott, Tim | Pending |
| SAMDT 6,812 | Armstrong, Alan | Pending |
| SAMDT 6,811 | Kennedy, John | Pending |
| SAMDT 6,810 | Tuberville, Tommy | Pending |
| SAMDT 6,809 | Tuberville, Tommy | Pending |
| SAMDT 6,808 | Moody, Ashley | Pending |
| SAMDT 6,807 | Moody, Ashley | Pending |
| SAMDT 6,806 | Britt, Katie Boyd | Pending |
| SAMDT 6,804 | Booker, Cory A. | Pending |
| SAMDT 6,803 | Booker, Cory A. | Pending |
| SAMDT 6,802 | Booker, Cory A. | Pending |
| SAMDT 6,801 | Booker, Cory A. | Pending |
| SAMDT 6,800 | Booker, Cory A. | Pending |
| SAMDT 6,799 | Warnock, Raphael G. | Pending |
| SAMDT 6,798 | Hirono, Mazie K. | Pending |
| SAMDT 6,797 | Hirono, Mazie K. | Pending |
| SAMDT 6,796 | Hirono, Mazie K. | Pending |
| SAMDT 6,795 | Murphy, Christopher | Pending |
| SAMDT 6,794 | Murphy, Christopher | Pending |
Have a question about what this bill does? Ask in plain English; the answer is drawn from the bill's actual text and official record, and it'll tell you when something isn't in the text rather than guess.
Held at the desk.
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.
- Engrossed in Senate Formatted Text PDF Formatted XML
- Introduced in Senate Formatted Text PDF Formatted XML
- Reported to Senate Formatted Text PDF Formatted XML
- NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF COLORED PEOPLE
- UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA
- UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
- UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
- UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
- NAVIGATORS GLOBAL LLC (FORMERLY DC NAVIGATORS, LLC)
Bodies those filers lobbied
- SENATE
- HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
- Education, Dept of
- Energy, Dept of
- Defense, Dept of (DOD)
- White House Office
- Executive Office of the President (EOP)
- Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS)
Cite this page
U.S. Congress. (2026). S. 4668: Protect College Sports Act of 2026. 119th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/119-S-4668/
"S. 4668: Protect College Sports Act of 2026." 119th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/119-S-4668/.
S. 4668, 119th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/119-S-4668/.
[S. 4668: Protect College Sports Act of 2026](https://openamerica.io/bill/119-S-4668/)