Crime and Safety
Private right of action and whistleblower protection
Allows individuals to file civil actions for specific violations of the act and protects whistleblowers from retaliation for reporting potential violations.
Economy and Commerce
Student-athlete name, image, and likeness (NIL) compensation rights
Prohibits institutions and athletic associations from restricting a student-athlete's ability to earn compensation from their name, image, and likeness (NIL) rights.
Expanded regulations for sports agents
Amends the Sports Agent Responsibility and Trust Act to include NIL agreements, limit agent fees to 5% for endorsement contracts, and prohibit false representations to athletes.
Limitation on antitrust liability
Provides that it is not unlawful under antitrust laws for athletic associations, conferences, or institutions to enforce specific rules outlined in this legislation.
Antitrust exemption for college sports media rights
Exempts joint agreements by colleges and conferences from antitrust laws for the purpose of collectively selling media rights for sponsored telecasting of intercollegiate sports.
Establishes requirements for college sports media rights entities
Creates a 'covered entity' for selling college sports media rights, mandating membership rules, voting structures, and revenue allocation formulas to qualify for an antitrust exemption.
Local broadcast access for college football and basketball
Requires the collective media rights entity to offer a 'Local Outlet option,' ensuring football and basketball games are available on a free-to-viewer basis in the local markets of participating teams.
Prohibition on certain major conference mergers
Prohibits any athletic conference with over $1 billion in annual revenue from merging with or acquiring another conference if the transaction reduces the number of member institutions below a set level.
Adjustments to college football season telecast protections
Modifies the protected window for telecasting intercollegiate football games, adjusting the start and end dates, and sets a target for the season to conclude by January 8.
'Use it or lose it' for non-revenue sports media rights
Requires distributors of media rights for college sports other than football and basketball to broadcast the competitions within one year, or the rights revert to the original institution or conference.
Education and Research
Academic and scholarship protections
Prohibits athletic staff from pressuring student-athletes on academic choices and prevents institutions from revoking scholarships based on athletic performance or injury.
Standardized transfer protections for student athletes
Permits a student athlete to transfer once without losing eligibility and outlines specific circumstances for additional penalty-free transfers.
Protection for women's and Olympic sports
Requires institutions receiving collective media rights revenue to maintain at least the same number of grant-in-aid opportunities for non-revenue sports as they did in the 2024–2025 academic year.
Government Operations
Mandatory disclosure of NIL agreements
Requires student-athletes at Division I institutions to report the terms of any name, image, and likeness agreement exceeding $600 in value to their institution.
Public database for NIL agreements
Requires intercollegiate athletic associations to establish a public, searchable database of anonymized NIL agreement data to help estimate fair market value.
Establishment of the Office of the Student Athlete Ombudsman
Requires each intercollegiate athletic association to establish an independent office to provide advice and support to student athletes at no cost.
Student athlete representation on governing boards
Mandates that at least one-third of the membership and voting power on governing boards of athletic associations be comprised of current or recent former student athletes.
Establishment of the Commission on the Future of College Athletics
Creates a congressional commission to study and provide recommendations on the future of college athletics, including compensation, athlete welfare, and health standards.
Preemption of state laws
Prevents states from enforcing laws that conflict with this title's provisions on athlete compensation, transfers, or eligibility, while preserving certain other state laws.
Health
Medical expense coverage for student-athletes
Requires Division I institutions to cover out-of-pocket medical expenses for sports-related injuries during and for five years after a student-athlete's participation.
Health, wellness, and safety standards for student athletes
Mandates that institutions and athletic associations adhere to specific standards to protect student athletes from serious sports-related injuries, conditions, and death.
| Amount | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| $60,000,000 | Establishing a fund to cover post-eligibility and catastrophic medical expenses for student-athletes. |
Other
Comparable standards for men's and women's athletics
Requires athletic associations and conferences to maintain comparable standards for medical care, lodging, meals, and facilities for men's and women's programs at championship events.
Rules for mid-season football coaching transitions
Prohibits football athletic personnel from performing head coaching duties for another institution within the same competitive season, with penalties for non-compliance.
Preservation of traditional college football rivalries
Requires the media rights entity to ensure member institutions preserve historic conference opponents and play a minimum number of traditional rivalry games in football.