# 119-s-4668: Protect College Sports Act of 2026 119-s-4668, Protect College Sports Act of 2026, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Cruz, Ted [R-TX] (R-TX); status passed_senate; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-08). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4668 - As of: 2026-10-08 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: 119-s-4668 - Congress: 119 - Title: Protect College Sports Act of 2026 - Status: passed_senate - Introduced: 2026-06-02 - Sponsor: Sen. Cruz, Ted [R-TX] (R-TX) - Cosponsors: 9 - Policy area: Sports and Recreation - Touches household money: yes - Last recorded action: 2026-10-08 ## Summary **This bill would create a national framework that protects student-athletes’ NIL rights and safety.** It also sets rules for agents and endorsement contracts, reshapes how college media rights are pooled and shared, and funds HBCU broadcast and broadband upgrades. - Student athletes and families would get clearer NIL freedoms and must report deals over $600 within days. Agents must register with a State, use written agency agreements, and endorsement fees face a 5% cap. - Health and academic protections require institutions to cover out-of-pocket medical costs for injuries during participation and for five years after last competition for final-year athletes. Catastrophic coverage must apply to costs over $90,000 and a post-eligibility program must hold at least $60 million each academic year. - Conferences and schools could form a covered entity with an antitrust exemption to pool media rights and follow revenue rules, including a 15% allocation of remaining revenue to FBS football institutions. The bill also creates competitive HBCU grants funded at $180 million per year for FY2027–FY2032. *Would authorize $180 million per year for FY2027–FY2032, about $1.1 billion in federal spending over six years.* ## Cosponsors (9) - Sen. Cantwell, Maria [D-WA] (D-WA), 2026-06-02T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Schmitt, Eric [R-MO] (R-MO), 2026-06-02T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Coons, Christopher A. [D-DE] (D-DE), 2026-06-02T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Welch, Peter [D-VT] (D-VT), 2026-07-13T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Capito, Shelley Moore [R-WV] (R-WV), 2026-07-13T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Hickenlooper, John W. [D-CO] (D-CO), 2026-08-05T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Ricketts, Pete [R-NE] (R-NE), 2026-08-05T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Hoeven, John [R-ND] (R-ND), 2026-09-14T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Luján, Ben Ray [D-NM] (D-NM), 2026-09-14T00:00:00.000Z ## Votes | Date | Chamber | Question | Result | Yea | Nay | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2026-09-28T21:42:00.000Z | senate | On Passage of the Bill S. 4668 | Bill Passed | 77 | 22 | | 2026-09-24T11:46:00.000Z | senate | On the Cloture Motion S. 4668 | Cloture Motion Agreed to | 74 | 25 | | 2026-09-17T12:00:00.000Z | senate | On the Motion to Proceed S. 4668 | Motion to Proceed Agreed to | 77 | 22 | | 2026-09-15T17:00:00.000Z | senate | On Cloture on the Motion to Proceed S. 4668 | Cloture on the Motion to Proceed Agreed to | 74 | 24 | ## Provisions PRIA read - Stronger medical coverage for college athletes: benefit, high. If enacted, covered schools would pay all out‑of‑pocket costs (copays and deductibles) for sport‑related injuries or diseases while you participate, pay for an independent second opinion, buy catastrophic coverage when costs exceed $90,000, and give an end‑of‑college physical. If you were enrolled… - More freedom to earn from NIL: benefit, high. If enacted, colleges and conferences would not be able to block student athletes or recruits from earning money for their name, image, and likeness (NIL). They would not be able to change eligibility or scholarship amounts because of NIL activity. A team’s NIL could be used only if every member agr… - Safer endorsement deals and agent rules: benefit, medium. If enacted, student athletes would be able to cancel an endorsement contract from the start if it is not in writing or missing key terms. Contracts would need to state the right to have an agent or lawyer, list services, parties, term, pay, and allow termination for nonperformance. Deals could not… - Stronger rights to sue and report: benefit, medium. If enacted, current or former student athletes could sue in court for listed violations and seek actual damages. Courts could void NIL or agent contracts and, in some cases, award attorney fees. For many Title I claims, you would need to give 30 days’ written notice and a chance to fix the issue be… - Allowed travel, meal, and school help: benefit, medium. If enacted, schools and associations could give reasonable personal benefits tied to education or athletics. Allowed help would include family travel and short lodging during documented health issues or competitions, meals and shelter, medical costs the school does not cover, and school costs like… - Keep scholarships and team spots: benefit, medium. If enacted, schools would need to keep at least as many scholarships and roster spots in non‑revenue sports as in 2024–2025. The large‑school rule for those with at least $80,000,000 in athletics revenue would end 9 years after enactment, but schools that get collective media rights money would kee… - Stronger academic and scholarship protections: benefit, medium. If enacted, athletic staff would not be allowed to pressure or punish you for your course or major. Schools would not be able to block outside work, internships, student groups, or volunteering unless they conflict with required class time or team events. Money lessons for athletes would need to be… - Temporary retention payments above cap: benefit, medium. If enacted, some schools could pay up to $22,500,000 more each year to keep athletes who spent at least one full season at the school. They could also pay up to $5,000,000 more each year for athletes in non‑revenue sports, tied to NIL compensation. The $22,500,000 exception would last 9 years after… - Fans get access and rivalry games: benefit, medium. If enacted, companies that buy rights for sports other than football or basketball would need to make games public within 1 year. If they do not, and then do not fix it within 180 days after notice, the rights would return so schools can resell them. Schedules would keep traditional rivalry games t… - Grants to boost HBCU sports media: benefit, medium. If enacted, a new program would fund 2‑ to 5‑year grants to HBCU‑related schools for broadband, media, IT, cybersecurity, training, and student connectivity. The agency would seek public comment within 120 days after the first appropriation and post award details within 30 days of grants. Grantees… - Ombudsman, fairness, and student materials: benefit, low. If enacted, each athletic association would fund an independent Student Athlete Ombudsman office to give free, confidential help and education. Retaliation against students who use the office would be banned. Associations would give plain‑language materials on these rules to athletes, prospects, an… - More athlete voice and fair votes: benefit, low. If enacted, a new covered group’s bylaws would give each member one vote and add at least 10 student‑athlete voters. Big decisions would need two‑thirds approval, and any revenue split or voting‑power change would need a unanimous vote. At least one‑third of any rule‑making board would be current o… - Cap on coach pay from outside funds: cost, high. If enacted, any school with more than $80,000,000 in athletics revenue last year would be barred from paying more than $500,000 from non‑sports or non‑donation sources to a coach, assistant coach, general manager, or team manager. Pay funded by college sports revenue or donations to the athletic de… - Limits on mega‑conference mergers and buyouts: cost, medium. If enacted, any conference that reported more than $700,000,000 on its 2025 tax return (or later) would be barred from mergers, consolidations, or acquisitions that drop Football Bowl Subdivision membership below 75% or push its own membership above 20 schools. Any deal that breaks this rule would… - Easier transfers, limits on coach moves: mixed, high. If enacted, a student athlete could transfer once between four‑year schools without losing or delaying eligibility. A second transfer would usually cost a year of eligibility, unless the sport is discontinued, the head coach leaves, there was sexual assault or harassment, or the athlete pursues a g… - Antitrust shields for college sports rules: mixed, high. If enacted, joint agreements that follow the bill’s covered‑entity rules for selling telecast rights would not face antitrust liability. Associations, conferences, and schools could enforce listed rules on NIL, eligibility, transfers, and agents without that counting as an antitrust violation, if t… - Pooled media rights and school payouts: mixed, high. If enacted, schools or conferences would need to contribute media rights to a covered group to get distributions. The covered group would sell those pooled rights and must first send money to a medical fund. Each school would get at least as much media money as its largest year from 2021–2022 throu… - Recruiting windows and agent rules: mixed, medium. If enacted, recruiting contact would be limited to sport‑specific windows that last 2 to 5 weeks after the last competition each year, unless the athlete opts in to contact outside those windows. Paying to induce transfers or enrollment in violation of these rules would be banned. Athletes could ha… - How this bill interacts with state laws: mixed, medium. If enacted, the bill would override state or local laws that block compliance with its NIL, transfer, or eligibility rules. It would keep many state claims—like personal injury, wrongful death, sexual assault, fraud, harassment, hazing, and campus‑safety failures—so long as they do not conflict wit… - Stricter NIL deal checks and transparency: mixed, medium. If enacted, schools, conferences, and related staff would be barred from paying athletes in ways that get around the revenue‑share cap. Most NIL deals would need a real business purpose and pay amounts like those paid to similar non‑student people. Paying recruits before enrollment would be banned,… - Congress review of athlete pay cap: mixed, medium. If enacted, Congress would get 30 days to approve keeping the revenue‑share cap when it is up for renewal. Notice would be due at least 180 days before the cap expires. If approved, the cap would rise 4% a year for two years, then reset to 22% of Average Shared Revenue in year three, then two more… - New NIL and foreign money disclosures: mixed, low. If enacted, student athletes at Division I primary members would report any NIL deal over $600 within 5 days of signing, or within 30 days of getting more than $600 if not already reported. The $600 threshold adds all payments from the same source over 12 months and would adjust for inflation. Peop… - Key definitions and legal guardrails: mixed, low. If enacted, the bill would define a student athlete as a full‑time student making satisfactory progress who competes on a varsity team. It would define grant‑in‑aid as school aid up to cost of attendance, not compensation. It would list what does and does not count as compensation, including exclus… ## Related bills - 119-s-1071: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026 - 119-sres-913: A resolution relating to the death of the Honorable Nancy Kassebaum, former United States Senator for the State of Kansas. - 119-sres-897: A resolution honoring the life, service, and legacy of the Honorable Jon Llewellyn Kyl, former Senator for the State of Arizona. - 119-sres-801: A resolution honoring the life and legacy of the Honorable Lindsey Olin Graham, a Senator from the State of South Carolina. - 119-sres-755: A resolution honoring the life of the Honorable Donald W. Riegle, Jr., former Senator for the State of Michigan. - 119-sres-739: A resolution honoring the life and legacy of John Seymour, the late Senator for the State of California. ## Sources - [119-s-4668 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/4668) ## Related - [119-s-1071: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1071) - [119-sres-913: A resolution relating to the death of the Honorable Nancy Kassebaum, former Uni…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-913) - [119-sres-897: A resolution honoring the life, service, and legacy of the Honorable Jon Llewel…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-897) - [119-sres-801: A resolution honoring the life and legacy of the Honorable Lindsey Olin Graham,…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-801) - [119-sres-755: A resolution honoring the life of the Honorable Donald W. Riegle, Jr., former S…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-755) - [119-sres-739: A resolution honoring the life and legacy of John Seymour, the late Senator for…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-739) - [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4668 (as of 2026-10-08).