NIL

Student-Athlete NIL Deals

All NCAA Division I student-athletes must report third-party Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deals with a total value of six hundred dollars ($600) or more in the aggregate. The College Sports Commission utilizes NIL Go, an online portal built with assistance from Deloitte, to determine whether third-party NIL deals are made with the purpose of using a student-athlete’s NIL for a valid business purpose and do not exceed a reasonable range of compensation.

A summary of the rules governing third-party NIL deals can be found here. Supporting content and educational materials to help student-athletes understand third-party NIL rules are available below.

Rules and Policies
Fact Sheets
The Process:

How NIL Go Works

NIL Go Login

NIL Go is where student-athletes report third-party NIL deals for evaluation. All third-party NIL agreements with a total value of $600 or more must be reported to NIL Go within five business days of execution or agreement on payment terms. Deals must be cleared to confirm compliance with the rules and protect the student-athlete’s eligibility. Student-athletes may each designate one representative to enter deals into NIL Go on their behalf, for submission by the student-athlete.

Student-athletes are responsible for the timeliness of submission, accuracy of information, and fulfilment of obligations. 

Evaluation of deals is based on:

Associated Status

The relationship(s) between the Deal Sponsor and/or Deal Facilitator and a given institution

Deals must be evaluated to determine the Deal Sponsor and/or Deal Facilitator’s relationship with the student-athlete’s institution, namely, whether or not either is deemed to be an “associated entity or individual”.

An associated entity is: 

  • An entity that is or was known (or should have been known) to an institution’s athletics department staff to exist, in significant part, for the purpose of promoting or supporting the institution’s intercollegiate athletics program or student athletes; and/or creating or identifying name, image and likeness opportunities solely for the institution’s student-athletes;
  • An entity that has been directed or requested by an institution’s athletics department staff to assist in the recruitment or retention of student-athletes or prospective student-athletes, or otherwise has assisted in the recruitment or retention of student-athletes or prospective student-athletes; or
  • An entity owned, controlled, or operated by, or otherwise affiliated with an associated individual or an associated entity defined in (a) or (b) above, other than a publicly traded corporation.

An associated individual is: 

  • An individual who is or was a member, employee, director, officer, owner, or agent of an associated entity;
  • An individual who directly or indirectly (including contributions by an affiliated entity or family member) has contributed more than $50,000 during the individual’s lifetime to an institution or to an associated entity defined in 22.02.1-(a); or
  • An individual who has been directed or requested by an institution’s athletics department staff to assist in the recruitment or retention of student-athletes or prospective student-athletes, or otherwise has assisted in the recruitment or retention of student-athletes or prospective student-athletes.

It is critical that schools provide the CSC with information about the entity and/or individual involved in the deal when it’s requested. Accurate and timely responses to this information are critical to the CSC’s ability to evaluate submitted deals in a timely manner.

Valid Business Purpose (VBP)

Whether a deal is being made with the purpose of using the student-athlete’s NIL for a valid business purpose related to the promotion or endorsement of goods or services being provided to the general public for profit

NCAA Bylaw 22.1.3 provides that “[a]n associated entity or individual shall not enter into an agreement with or provide payment to a prospective student-athlete or student-athlete unless the agreement or payment terms, as determined by the name, image and likeness clearinghouse, are for a valid business purpose related to the promotion or endorsement of goods or services provided to the general public for profit …” To meet this requirement, the NIL payment or license must be for a valid business purpose related to the promotion or endorsement of goods or services to the general public and those goods or services must be sold “for profit.”

The CSC’s “for profit” inquiry focuses on whether the sale of goods or services is for profit and not whether the entity itself is operating at a profit or a loss at any given time. As part of this inquiry, the CSC may require student-athletes or the entities with whom they seek to enter NIL agreements to provide information and documentation to establish compliance with the requirements, including the entity’s efforts to profit from the deal. Refusal to provide this information or the provision of insufficient information to establish compliance may result in deals not being cleared by the CSC.

In addition, an associated entity or individual can serve as a marketing agent matching student-athletes with businesses offering NIL opportunities.

Finally, any NIL deal with an associated entity or individual must actually use the student-athlete’s NIL in a clear and specific manner. Simply paying for the rights without explaining how those rights will be used (i.e., “warehousing”) may not satisfy the requirements for payments by associated entities or individuals.

Range of Compensation (RoC)

Whether the compensation paid to the student-athlete is commensurate with compensation paid to similarly situated individuals

RoC is anchored in valuation principles to determine if a student-athlete’s third-party NIL compensation is commensurate with compensation paid to similarly situated individuals with comparable NIL value. The RoC is a deal level calculation that is intended to capture a student-athlete’s unique NIL value based upon multiple factors, including but not limited to, the deal’s performance obligations, the student-athlete’s athletic performance and social media reach, the local market and the market reach of his or her institution and program. The RoC is also informed by external benchmarks and updates and evolves on a routine basis to ensure it is accurately reflecting the current market.

As of July 2026, the CSC does not subject deals valued between $600-$15,000 to range-of-compensation review unless and until a student-athlete has reached a total of $50,000 in Associated deals in an academic year.

Deal Review & Outcomes

After submission, NIL Go analyzes the information provided by the student-athlete to determine if, based on the information provided, the third-party NIL deal is:

  • Cleared – The deal meets necessary requirements and can proceed.
  • Not Cleared – The deal fails to meet necessary requirements. The student-athlete has three options to consider (further explained below).
  • Returned for Revision – If a deal does not meet all requirements, you can:
    1. Revise and resubmit the deal for review.
    2. Cancel the deal and return any payment received.
    3. Appeal the decision via a neutral arbitration process within 14 days.

Proceeding with a not cleared deal may result in enforcement consequences, including but not limited to, loss of eligibility.

Arbitration Process