NIL rules and compliance: what applies to you

The layers of NIL rules

Think of NIL rules as layers. A deal has to clear every layer that applies to you, and the strictest one usually decides.

• National college rules: NCAA bylaws, and for Division I the bylaws adopted to carry out the House settlement, which the College Sports Commission enforces.
• State law: more than 30 states have passed a college NIL law, and some have high school provisions too. A few have since repealed or rewritten theirs.
• High school associations: for high school athletes, the state association's amateur and NIL rules are usually the main rulebook.
• Your school: team rules, the student handbook, the athletic department's NIL policy and any conflicts with the school's own sponsors.
• Federal law: income tax, the Federal Trade Commission's rules on disclosing paid endorsements, and immigration rules for international students.

College rules after the House settlement

Since the House settlement took effect on July 1, 2025, Division I NIL runs on two tracks.

• Institutional payments: a school that opts in may pay athletes directly, including for a license to use their NIL, up to its annual cap. The school reports those payments in the College Athlete Payment System (CAPS) within five business days of final signature.
• Third-party deals: everything from outside the school. Athletes report deals of $600 or more to NIL Go, which checks whether the payer is an associated entity or individual, whether the deal has a valid business purpose, and whether the pay is within a reasonable range of compensation.

A valid business purpose means the deal uses the athlete's NIL to promote or endorse goods or services sold to the general public for profit. Raising money to get athletes to enroll or stay is not a valid business purpose, and paying for NIL rights without saying how they will be used (warehousing) may not pass either.

Division I athletes report to NIL Go whether or not their school opted in to revenue sharing. Division II and III athletes may earn NIL money under NCAA rules and state law; the NIL Go reporting rule is a Division I rule.

What state NIL laws usually require

State NIL laws for college athletes vary, but most of them include some of these provisions:

• Athletes must disclose a proposed or signed NIL contract to their school, sometimes before signing.
• An NIL contract may not conflict with a team contract or the school's existing sponsorship agreements.
• Athletes may not use the school's name, logos, uniforms or facilities without permission.
• Certain categories are banned, such as alcohol, tobacco and vaping, sports betting, adult entertainment and, in some states, firearms or controlled substances.
• Agents must be registered or licensed in the state, and attorneys licensed to practice there.
• A scholarship cannot be reduced or revoked because an athlete earns NIL money.

Several states rewrote their laws in 2024 and 2025 so their schools could take part in revenue sharing. Look up your state under NIL rules by state.

High school rules

High school NIL is governed mainly by each state's high school association. Where it is allowed, the rules nearly always say:

• No school name, logo, mascot or uniform in the deal, and no school facilities.
• No deal tied to athletic performance, and no deal used to recruit a student or keep them at a school.
• No collectives or boosters arranging deals, in many states.
• A list of banned categories.
• Notice to the school within a set time, in many states.

Some states add their own requirements, such as Ohio's 14-day reporting to the association with a notarized affirmation, or Georgia's seven-day notice to the principal or athletic director. See high school NIL.

Disclosing paid posts

When an athlete is paid, in cash or in free products, to post about a brand, the post must make the connection clear. The Federal Trade Commission's Endorsement Guides apply to athletes the same way they apply to any influencer.

• Put the disclosure where people will see it, in the post itself, not only in a profile or a link.
• Use plain words such as "ad", "sponsored" or "paid partnership". The platform's built-in paid-partnership label helps, but the FTC says it may not be enough on its own.
• Disclose in the video or audio too, not only in the caption, when the endorsement is spoken.

A compliance checklist for every deal

Run every NIL deal through these questions before signing:

• Who is paying, and is the payer connected to my school (a collective, a booster, a donor who has given more than $50,000)?
• What exactly do I have to do, and does the deal use my NIL to promote something sold to the public?
• Does it use my school's name, logo or uniform, or happen during team activities?
• Is the category allowed by my state, my association and my school?
• Who must I tell, and by when (NIL Go, my school, my association)?
• Is the pay in line with what similar athletes are paid?
• Have a parent or guardian and, ideally, a lawyer read the contract?
• Have I planned for the taxes?

The federal picture

There is no federal NIL statute yet. Two executive orders set federal policy: Executive Order 14322, "Saving College Sports" (July 24, 2025), and Executive Order 14400, "Urgent National Action to Save College Sports" (April 3, 2026), whose main provisions took effect August 1, 2026. Neither order rewrites NCAA rules or state law on its own.

In Congress, the SCORE Act (H.R. 4312) never reached a House floor vote. The Senate passed the Protect College Sports Act (S. 4668) 77-22 on September 28, 2026; it would set a national NIL framework, preempt state NIL laws and cap agent fees at 5%, but it is not law unless the House passes it and the President signs it.

Frequently asked questions

Next steps

Sources

1. Student-Athlete NIL Deals — College Sports Commission
2. Rules and Policies — College Sports Commission
3. Enforcement and Neutral Arbitration — College Sports Commission
4. Frequently Asked Questions — College Sports Commission
5. 16 CFR Part 255, Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising — Electronic Code of Federal Regulations
6. Disclosures 101 for Social Media Influencers — Federal Trade Commission
7. Executive Order 14322, Saving College Sports — U.S. Government Publishing Office
8. Executive Order 14400, Urgent National Action To Save College Sports — U.S. Government Publishing Office
9. S.4668, Protect College Sports Act of 2026 — Congress.gov
10. H.R.4312, SCORE Act — Congress.gov