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S 4668 Passed a chamber

Requires colleges and athletic associations to let student athletes earn money from their name, image, and likeness, sets disclosure and agent rules, and shields the NCAA and schools from certain antitrust claims while the bill's rules are followed.

Official title: Protect College Sports Act of 2026

Next stop House: awaiting action
Timeline each lane is a chamber; dates pull from congress.gov actions
House
Received 05-OCT-2026
Senate
Introduced 02-JUN-2026
Referred 02-JUN-2026
Approved by committee 18-JUN-2026
Reported 24-JUN-2026
On the calendar 24-JUN-2026
Passed 28-SEP-2026
Key points
  • Bars schools and athletic associations from restricting athletes' ability to earn money from their name, image, and likeness, or from cutting scholarships over it.
  • Requires athletes to report name, image, and likeness deals over $600, and creates a public database of those deals and school payments for Division I programs.
  • Sets a retention fund that lets schools exceed the revenue share cap by up to $22,500,000 per year for nine years, and makes continuation of that cap subject to a congressional approval process.
  • Adds student athlete protections on medical coverage, transfers, and health standards, and amends the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 to let college conferences jointly sell broadcast rights.
AI-generated from the Engrossed in Senate text of 28-SEP-2026 · verify · report an error
Official CRS summary

Covers an older version. The newest CRS summary describes the bill as of "Reported to Senate" (24-JUN-2026); the text has changed since (Engrossed in Senate, 28-SEP-2026).

CRS is the Library of Congress's nonpartisan research office. Read it on congress.gov
Committee referrals (1) Policy area

Sports and Recreation

Sponsor Ted Cruz (R-TX) Cosponsors · 9
■ 5 D■ 4 R