Protect College Sports Act of 2026

Each school's home market would get at least one outlet that carries its games free. That covers football and basketball. The FCC would publish the list of markets within 180 days.

Division I schools would pay copays and deductibles for sports injuries. Coverage runs five years past an athlete's last game. Schools would also pay for a second opinion. Insurance would cover injuries costing more than $90,000.

The NCAA would keep at least $60 million on hand each year. It would pay medical costs for former athletes with CTE and other lasting harm. The fund grows by $5 million a year if it runs out. The ceiling is $100 million.

A school could not cut a scholarship over an injury, weak play, or a roster move. It still could for conduct or grades. Written notice comes first.

Division I schools must let former athletes come back and finish a degree. This covers athletes from the past ten years. The school pays the same amount it paid before.

Schools, conferences, and the NCAA could not stop athletes from signing deals. They could not punish them for it. Scholarships and eligibility could not be tied to deals.

Big schools must keep as many scholarships and roster spots in non-revenue sports as they had in 2024-25. That covers schools above $80 million in sports revenue. Schools between $50 million and $80 million face the same rule.

An athlete must tell their school the terms of any deal worth more than $600. That is due within five days. Payments get reported within 30 days. The $600 line rises with inflation.

An agent could not charge more than 5 percent of a deal's value. Agents would have to register with a state. They would have to use written contracts. Athletes could sue them for false promises.

A 2025 court settlement caps how much a school may pay its athletes each year. The cap would stay after the settlement ends. It would rise each year with inflation. Routing money through boosters to get around it would be barred.

A head coach or coordinator could not take another school's head coaching job mid-season. This covers top-tier football schools. Breaking the rule costs that coach the next season too.

At schools above $80 million in sports revenue, no coach could be paid more than $500,000 from outside money. That means funds other than sports revenue and gifts to the athletic department. Pay from sports revenue itself is not capped.

Athletes could sue over health costs and safety rules. They could also sue over transfers, who gets to play, and equal facilities. Courts could award damages and order fixes.

A school could not make an athlete sign away the right to sue before a dispute starts. Group lawsuits are protected too. A joint case needs at least seven named athletes.

A school could not release what an athlete reported about a deal. The athlete must give written permission first. Data sent to the NCAA must have names stripped out.

Before suing, an athlete must give 60 days' written notice naming the problem. If it is fixed in that window, the suit cannot go forward.

Courts could not treat these NCAA rules as illegal deals to limit competition. The rules cover athlete pay, who can play, transfers, recruiting, and coach moves. The shield works only if the NCAA writes those rules.

Schools and conferences could form one entity to pool and sell broadcast rights. Antitrust law would not apply to it. It needs at least 75 percent of top-tier football schools. It must offer membership to any Division I school on fair terms.

Every school in the joint entity must get more TV money each year than its best year from 2021-22 through 2024-25. Playoff money is not counted. At least 15 percent of what is left is split evenly.

Anyone harmed by the joint entity must give it a year's notice first. They must give it a chance to fix the problem. If it does, no lawsuit is allowed.

A football conference above $700 million in revenue could not merge with or buy another. The bar applies if the result would hold under 75 percent of top-tier football schools. Efficiency arguments could not save the deal.

A company that buys rights to college sports other than football and basketball must air them within a year. If it does not, it gets 180 days to fix that. Then the rights go back to the school or conference.

Schools, conferences, and the NCAA could not fire, demote, or punish anyone for reporting violations. A person who wins such a case could get their job back. They could also get back pay with interest and legal fees.

The NCAA would run a free public website on what similar deals pay. Athletes and agents could look up values there. Schools would feed it deal data, sports revenue, practice hours, and grades each year.

The NCAA would keep a searchable public list of agents. Listed agents must be registered with a state and follow its rules. Agents who break them could be fined or dropped.

At least a third of the seats and votes on NCAA boards would go to athletes. That includes ones who graduated in the past ten years. Conferences making under $500 million a year would also get seats.

The NCAA would create and pay for an office that advises athletes. The advice is free and private. No one could punish an athlete for using it.

A 24-member commission would hold public hearings and report within five years. Current and former athletes would sit on it. It would study whether athletes should be employees. It would also weigh changing the cap on school payments.

The joint media entity must give at least ten athletes a vote on how TV money is split. Current and recent athletes count. Changing that split needs a unanimous vote.

The roster and scholarship guarantees for women's and Olympic sports are temporary. They end nine years after enactment at the largest schools. Mid-sized schools lose them after four years.

No top-tier postseason football game could be on TV during the Army-Navy game window. That window runs from one hour before kickoff to 30 minutes after. The game is played the second Saturday in December.

Schools joining the joint media entity must hand over their broadcast rights. The NCAA's own basketball tournaments are carved out. The NCAA would keep selling those on its own.

A school could add Paralympic-eligible athletes to a roster as walk-ons. Those spots would not count against roster or scholarship limits. Athletic directors keep full say over it.

The top-tier football season and postseason would have to end by January 8. The text adds ‘where practical.’ The rule rides along with the broadcasting antitrust exemption.