Senate passes national college NIL bill 77-22, with Murkowski voting yes and Sullivan not voting

The U.S. Senate on Monday passed a bill that would set national rules for how college athletes earn money from their name, image and likeness. Sen. Lisa Murkowski voted for it. Sen. Dan Sullivan did not vote.

The Protect College Sports Act of 2026, S. 4668, passed 77-22 and now goes to the U.S. House of Representatives. If the House passes the same text, it would go to the president. The bill carries protections for athletes and sets rules meant to promote fair competition among college programs.

Sullivan was recorded as not voting on all six roll calls the Senate held Monday, all of them on the bill. Senate records do not say why he did not vote. Before Monday, Sullivan and Murkowski had both voted yes on all five earlier roll calls on the bill, including the motion to proceed and three votes to cut off debate. Alaska News previously covered the early procedural votes.

Murkowski voted for an amendment from Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., that changes how the bill relates to existing law. It passed 96-1. She also voted for an amendment from Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., to limit price increases for college athletics tickets, which failed 42-54.

She voted against two amendments from Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J. One would have raised the funding limit for post-eligibility insurance and catastrophic injury coverage for athletes. It failed 49-50. The other would have set standards for coaches of varsity teams. It failed 47-52. She also voted against an amendment from Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., which failed 1-94.

Alaska has no state law governing name, image and likeness payments. Several of the bill's provisions apply only to schools that compete primarily in NCAA Division I, and some specifically exclude Division II schools that play a few sports at the Division I level. The University of Alaska Anchorage and University of Alaska Fairbanks compete mostly in Division II, with Division I hockey programs.