S. 5561Senate119th Congress (2025-2027)In Committee

Protect America's Game Act

A bill to protect the exclusive broadcast window of the Army-Navy college football game.

AI-Generated Summary

Updated October 10, 2026 at 5:51 AM UTC

The Protect America's Game Act amends the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 to create a special protection for the annual Army‑Navy football game. It allows colleges and conferences to continue sharing broadcast rights without antitrust concerns, but bars any other postseason Football Bowl Subdivision game from being televised during the Army‑Navy game’s broadcast window. The rule applies to broadcasters, college athletic conferences, and any sponsors of televised college football games.

Key Provisions

Adds a new Section 7 to the Sports Broadcasting Act that exempts joint agreements among colleges and conferences to sell broadcast rights from antitrust laws.
Specifically prohibits any such agreement from allowing the sponsorship, telecast, or authorization of any other postseason FBS football game during the protected Army‑Navy game window (1 hour before kickoff to 30 minutes after the game ends).

Legislative Activity

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1 earlier action

SenateIntro Referral Latest Action

Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Judiciary Committee

September 24, 2026

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SenateIntro Referral

Introduced in Senate

September 24, 2026

SenateIntro Referral

Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Judiciary Committee

September 24, 2026

Bill Text

Latest available legislative text

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Introduced in SenateIssued September 24, 2026

119th CONGRESS

2d Session

S. 5561

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

September 24, 2026

Mr. Sheehy (for himself and Mr. Sullivan) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To protect the exclusive broadcast window of the Army-Navy college football game.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Protect America's Game Act.

Protection of Army-Navy game

The Act of September 30, 1961 (commonly known as the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961) (15 U.S.C. 1291 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

Protection of Army-Navy game

(a)

Exemption of certain college sports agreements from antitrust laws

The antitrust laws, as defined in the first sentence of section 1 of this Act, shall not apply to any joint agreement, by or among institutions of higher education (as defined in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)) engaging in or conducting organized intercollegiate sports, or conferences that have such institutions as members, to form and operate an entity that sells or otherwise transfers to a third party all or any part of the rights of the institutions or conferences in the sponsored telecasting of the intercollegiate athletic competitions engaged in or conducted by the institutions or conferences.

(b)

Prohibition on broadcasts that overlap with Army-Navy game

(1)

In general

Subsection (a) shall not apply to any joint agreement described in that subsection that permits any person to sponsor, telecast, or authorize the telecast of any postseason intercollegiate football contest involving an institution participating in the Football Bowl Subdivision during the protected Army-Navy Game broadcast window.

(2)

Definition

For purposes of this subsection, the term protected Army-Navy Game broadcast window means the period beginning 1 hour before scheduled kickoff and ending 30 minutes after the official conclusion of the telecast of the annual football game between the United States Military Academy and the United States Naval Academy occurring on the second Saturday in December in any year.