Protect College Sports Act

The Protect College Sports Act is bipartisan federal legislation introduced in 2026 to establish national standards for NIL and athlete rights. It followed the SCORE Act, which passed out of committee in the House but stalled. Neither has become law, so college sports remains governed by a patchwork of state laws and the House settlement.

Q. What would it do?

Codify athletes’ right to earn from NIL, prohibit institutional retaliation, require disclosure of deals above $600, create public NIL valuation databases, extend federal agent regulation to NIL agreements with certification and fee caps, and mandate post-eligibility medical coverage.

Q. Does it address employment status?

No, it is deliberately neutral on whether athletes are employees. That omission is widely read as the price of bipartisan support.

Q. Why does federal legislation keep failing?

Disagreement over antitrust protection for the NCAA, employment status, and preemption of state laws. Each attempt has foundered on some combination of the three.

Q. Why would it matter?

Federal preemption would replace conflicting state NIL laws with one standard, and antitrust protection would shore up the enforceability of the cap, currently the settlement’s weakest point.

Q. What is its status?

The Protect College Sports Act has advanced significantly but has not become law. The Senate Commerce Committee approved the legislation in June, and the Senate subsequently cleared procedural hurdles to move the bill toward a vote. The Senate committee also released revised bill text in September. A separate House version has been introduced and referred to committees. Until Congress passes legislation and it is signed into law, the current college-sports framework remains in place.