Sponsor: Sen. Cruz, Ted (R-TX)9 cosponsorsIntroduced Jun 2, 2026
✆
In plain English
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) introduced this bill to regulate name, image, and likeness (NIL) agreements for college athletes and grant limited antitrust exemptions for college sports media rights sales. The bill prohibits schools and conferences from restricting athletes' NIL deals (with specified exceptions), requires athletes to report NIL compensation over $600, caps agent fees at 5%, and allows athletes one transfer without losing eligibility. It also restricts football coaches from changing jobs mid-season and bars schools from providing athletes hidden compensation that circumvents revenue-sharing limits established in a prior court settlement. Additionally, the bill creates an antitrust exemption for schools and conferences that jointly sell broadcasting rights to a third party, and it adds provisions on broadcast access for college football and restrictions on certain conference mergers.
What’s in the bill (11 sections)
Sec. 5A. Private right of action
Sec. 9. Registration of athlete agents and other
Sec. 10. Endorsement contract requirements
Sec. 5. </DELETED>
Sec. 1. Exemption of certain agreements from antitrust
Sec. 5. Requirements for entities selling media
Sec. 6. </DELETED>
Sec. 6. Market-level broadcast access for college football
Sec. 7. Prohibition on certain conference mergers and
Sec. 9. Registration of athlete agents and other requirements
Sec. 1. Exemption of certain agreements from antitrust laws
Note: the official CRS summary for this bill was written on 2026-06-02, but the bill text was revised on 2026-06-24T04:00:00Z. Provisions may have been added since the summary was written — the section list above reflects the current text.
Where it is in the process
✓
Introduced
Jun 2
✓
Senate committee
Jun 18
3
Senate floor
-
4
House
-
5
Signed
-
What happens next: Awaiting committee assignment or hearings in the Senate.
Community vote
How readers of ThePolitibase feel about this bill. Reader sentiment only — not a scientific poll, and not a measure of public opinion.
- support · - oppose · - total
District map
Scroll or use + / − to zoom, drag to pan. Search a ZIP or district to jump there.
Now showing: community pulse — reader sentiment, not a scientific poll
Hover a district to see the member and how they voted.
Add your voice
Reader sentiment only — not a scientific poll, one vote per network. Find your district above (by ZIP or code), then weigh in.
All 8 recorded actions since introduction · Source: Congress.gov
Aug 5
SENATECloture motion on the motion to proceed to the measure presented in Senate. (CR S4449)
Aug 5
SENATEMotion to proceed to consideration of measure made in Senate. (CR S4449)
Jun 24
SENATEPlaced on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 449.
Jun 24
SENATECommittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Reported by Senator Cruz with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Without written report.
Jun 24
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Reported by Senator Cruz with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Without written report.
Jun 18
SENATECommittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
Jun 2
SENATERead twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
One email when they vote against their own party. Nothing else.
Nonpartisan · Unsubscribe in one click · We never sell your address
Track this bill
Get an alert when it moves to the next stage or gets a vote.
Share
Embed this tracker on your site
Paste this HTML into your blog post or website to show a live tracker for this bill.
The embedded card updates automatically as the bill progresses. Preview →
See something wrong on this page? Tell us what looks incorrect and what it should be — we’ll investigate and correct it.
Report incorrect information
Every figure on this site is supposed to trace back to an official source. If something
here is wrong, telling me is the fastest way it gets fixed — and corrections are
published.