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S. 4668 (119th)Bill Overview
Full Analysis

Protect College Sports Act of 2026

Sports and Recreation|AthletesContracts and agency
Sponsor
Ted CruzR
Cosponsors
Support
Bipartisan
Introduced
Jun 2, 2026
Discussions
27
Bill Text
View ↗
Committee
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
Current stageCommittee

The committee substitute tabled by Voice Vote.

Introduced
Committee
Floor
President
Law
Congressional Activities
01 · The brief
Plain-English summaryWhat this bill actually does

<p><strong>Protect College Sports Act of 2026</strong></p><p>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&nbsp;<em>In re College Athlete NIL Litigation</em> (i.e., <em>House</em> <a href="https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/LSB11349">settlement</a>).</p><p>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).

Why people may split

The main political fault lines are not fully surfaced yet, so coalition durability is still unclear.

Watch point

The next hurdle is reproducing that support in the other chamber.

<p><strong>Protect College Sports Act of 2026</strong></p><p>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&nbsp;<em>In re College Athlete NIL Litigation</em> (i.e., <em>House</em> <a href="https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/LSB11349">settlement</a>).</p><p>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).

Passage79/100

This bill has already passed one chamber, which is a stronger signal than introduction alone but still leaves another major hurdle ahead.

CredibilityPartial

How solid the drafting looks.

Contention62/100

The main political fault lines are not fully surfaced yet, so coalition durability is still unclear.

02 · What it does
Full Analysis

Who stands to gain, and who may push back.

Likely benefits vs burdens0% / 100%
Likely helpedLikely burdened

These are examples from the analysis, not a ranked list of the most-affected groups.

Likely helped
  • No clear beneficiaries surfaced yet.
Likely burdened
  • No clear downsides surfaced yet.
Congressional Budget Office

CBO cost estimate

The clearest budget scorecard attached to this bill: what it changes for direct spending, revenue, and the deficit.

As reported by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on June 24, 2026

Read the full CBO document ↗
03 · Why people split
Full Analysis

Why the argument around this bill splits.

The main political fault lines are not fully surfaced yet, so coalition durability is still unclear.
Progressive—

The main political fault lines are not fully surfaced yet, so coalition durability is still unclear.

Unclear
Centrist—

The main political fault lines are not fully surfaced yet, so coalition durability is still unclear.

Unclear
Conservative—

The main political fault lines are not fully surfaced yet, so coalition durability is still unclear.

Unclear
04 · Can it pass?
Full Analysis

The path through Congress.

Introduced

Reached or meaningfully advanced

Committee

Reached or meaningfully advanced

Floor

Still ahead

President

Still ahead

Law

Still ahead

Passage likelihood79/100

This bill has already passed one chamber, which is a stronger signal than introduction alone but still leaves another major hurdle ahead.

Why this could stall
  • The next hurdle is reproducing that support in the other chamber.
05 · Recent votes

Recent votes on the bill.

SENATE · Sep 28, 2026
Final passage✓ PassedBipartisan

The Senate passed this bill. It now goes to the other chamber, and eventually to the President for signature.

What is a final passage?

The final vote on whether the bill becomes law (pending the other chamber and the President).

Yes 78% No 22%
Against party line
Adam B. Schiff (CA)DD · No
Andy Kim (NJ)DD · No
Angela D. Alsobrooks (MD)DD · No
Charles E. Schumer (NY)DD · No
Adam B. Schiff (CA)DD · No
Alan Armstrong (OK)RR · Yes
Alex Padilla (CA)DD · Yes
Amy Klobuchar (MN)DD · Yes
Andy Kim (NJ)DD · No
Angela D. Alsobrooks (MD)DD · No
Showing a quick cross-section of legislators, with followed members first when available.
06 · Go deeper

Go deeper than the headline read.

Included on this page

The main political fault lines are not fully surfaced yet, so coalition durability is still unclear.

This bill has already passed one chamber, which is a stronger signal than introduction alone but still leaves another major hurdle ahead.

Unlocked analysis

Pro readers get the full perspective split, passage barriers, legislative design review, stakeholder impact map, and lens-based policy tradeoff analysis for Protect College Sports Act of 2026.

Go beyond the headline summary with full stakeholder mapping, legislative design analysis, passage barriers, and lens-by-lens tradeoff breakdowns.

Perspective breakdownsPassage barriersLegislative design reviewStakeholder impact map
Open full analysis