The Protect College Sports Act of 2026 would set national rules for how college athletes can be paid, protected, and represented, replacing today's patchwork of state laws and court settlements. Schools, conferences, and groups like the NCAA could no longer block athletes from earning money for their name, image, and likeness (NIL), though athletes at Division I schools would have to report deals worth more than $600 to their school. The bill keeps a limit on how much schools can share with athletes — the "revenue share cap" from the recent House court settlement — and extends it into the future with yearly inflation adjustments. It adds new protections for athletes: guaranteed medical coverage during play and for five years after, scholarships that cannot be pulled for injuries or poor performance, one penalty-free transfer, and a chance to return and finish a degree for those who leave early. A new Office of the Student Athlete Ombudsman would give athletes free, confidential advice, athletes would hold at least a third of the seats on association governing boards, and a new 20-member Congressional Commission with subpoena power would study the future of college sports. In a major shift, the bill shields the NCAA, conferences, and schools from antitrust lawsuits when they enforce these rules, and lets schools jointly sell their TV rights through a single "covered entity" without antitrust risk — while barring the largest conferences (those with over $1 billion in revenue) from mergers that shrink the field and requiring at least one free local broadcast of each home football and basketball game. The bill also overrides conflicting state laws, but says it takes no position on whether college athletes are legally employees.
Corporate Benefits
- Antitrust exemption for athletic associations — NCAA and conferences shielded from antitrust suits when enforcing eligibility, transfer, and pay-cap rules
- Antitrust exemption for media-rights pooling — Schools and conferences may jointly sell college sports broadcast rights through one entity
- Conference merger ability — Conferences with over $1 billion in revenue barred from mergers that shrink membership
Average Household Impact
- Athlete revenue-share pay cap — Continued and extended beyond the court settlement, with yearly inflation adjustment
- Athlete NIL earning rights — Schools and associations barred from restricting name, image, and likeness deals
- Athlete medical coverage — Out-of-pocket and catastrophic injury costs covered during play and for 5 years after
- Scholarship protections — Aid cannot be cut for injury, athletic performance, or roster decisions
- Degree-completion funding — Former athletes offered aid to return and finish their degree
- Free local broadcasts — At least one free over-the-air outlet required for each home football and basketball game
Civil Liberties
- Athlete right to sue — Pre-dispute arbitration clauses void against student athletes
- Class-action access — Pre-dispute joint-action waivers unenforceable against athletes
- Right to representation — Schools cannot penalize athletes for hiring an agent or lawyer
Transparency & Accountability
- Student Athlete Ombudsman office — New independent office to advise athletes and help resolve disputes
- Congressional Commission — New 20-member commission with subpoena power to study college athletics
- Whistleblower protections — Anti-retaliation rights for those reporting violations
- Athlete governing-board seats — At least one-third of association boards must be current or former athletes
- NIL deal database — Associations must publish a searchable, anonymized database of NIL agreement data
- Institutional financial reporting — Schools must report athletic revenue, expenses, and athlete academic outcomes
- NIL disclosure requirement — Athletes must report deals over $600 to their school
Congressional Summary
Protect College Sports Act of 2026This 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.
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- House
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Introduced in House
- Action Date
- 2026-06-04
- Date Added
- 2026-06-23
- Source
- Congress.gov →
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