Why it Matters

The Senate passed a bill this week around regulating college sports and the money around it that caused a flurry of lobbying activity. The main players were universities, professional sports associations and companies involved in licensing.

The Bill

The Senate voted 77-22 on Roll Call 250 on the question "On Passage of the Bill S. 4668," with one senator not voting. The bill, the Protect College Sports Act of 2026, would establish federal requirements for name, image, and likeness (NIL) agreements for college athletes and create a limited antitrust exemption for schools and conferences to pool and sell certain college sports media rights.

Under the bill, athletes would be required to report NIL compensation above $600 to their institution, agents would be required to register with a state, and agent endorsement fees would be capped at 5 percent. Athletes would receive one transfer without losing eligibility, and the bill would make permanent the revenue-sharing limit established under the House settlement in In re College Athlete NIL Litigation, with an annual inflation adjustment.

The Lobbying

There were 20 Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA) filings from the second quarter of 2026 reference S. 4668, comprising 19 reports and one amendment, all covering the second quarter leading up to the passage. This is the most recent data available.

The players include:

  • The University of Tennessee System reported $200,000 in its second-quarter filing, listing "legislation regarding the welfare of student athletes and college athletics" alongside S. 4668, though the filing covers agriculture appropriations and defense authorizations as well, so the amount is not specific to the bill.
  • Four professional players associations including the National Basketball Players Association, the National Football League Players Association, the National Hockey League Players Association, and the Major League Soccer Players Association. Each filed second-quarter reports disclosing $10,000 and listing NIL and right-of-publicity issues alongside S. 4668.
  • The American Association for Justice filed an second-quarter amendment disclosing $30,000 and describing its interest as "opposing liability limits or antitrust exemptions for the NCAA and member schools in the Protect College Sports Act, S. 4668." It is the only filing in the set that explicitly states opposition to a provision of the bill.
  • Other heavy hitters include: Amazon Corporate LLC reported $4.36 million in a second-quarter filing listing S. 4668 among dozens of issues related to sports licensing, and Entertainment Software Association reported $1.39 million in a filing describing its interest as monitoring and advocating for improvements to S. 4668.
  • In both cases, the reported amounts cover wide-ranging legislative portfolios and cannot be attributed to S. 4668 alone.

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