Participating schools may share revenue directly with student-athletes up to a defined cap, calculated based on 22% of the average revenue of defined revenue streams among schools in the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, and SEC. Schools have flexibility to allocate funds across sports as they choose.
NCAA scholarship limits have been removed and replaced with sport-specific roster limits. Institutions can now offer partial or full scholarships to every athlete on a roster, as long as the team stays within its roster limit.
Schools must support timely responses to CSC inquiries about associated entities and individuals tied to submitted NIL deals. Accurate, prompt information is critical to evaluating deals in a timely manner.
CAPS is the official reporting system participating institutions use to track and report revenue-sharing distributions, manage rosters, and ensure compliance with the cap. It integrates directly with the NCAA Eligibility Center database so every student-athlete is accounted for and roster movements are accurately tracked.
Division I schools outside the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, and SEC may opt into revenue sharing annually by May 1 of the preceding academic year subject to a process administered by the CSC. A school may decide to opt-in any year during the ten-year settlement term. Power conference schools are automatically opted in.
NIL Go is the online portal built by the CSC, in partnership with Deloitte, that the CSC uses to evaluate third-party NIL deals. To submit a deal in NIL Go, register via the link below, set up your profile, and complete the required onboarding.
You can submit any deal – even if below the $600 reporting threshold – for review by the CSC. You may also select one representative to enter deals in NIL Go on your behalf.
Track all payments that count toward the cap and report accurately through CAPS.
Provide CSC with timely information about entities and individuals connected to submitted NIL deals.
Stay within sport-specific roster limits and verify your roster. Designated student-athletes with eligibility remaining do not count against the limit.
No. Schools cannot promise a student-athlete – either verbally or in writing – a third-party NIL contract or payment.
Defined institutional payments to student-athletes count toward the benefits cap. Detailed accounting rules are set out in the Approved NCAA Benefits Cap Accounting and Roster Limits Inclusion Rules. Read more about what payments count toward the cap here.
| Permissible Types of Benefits / Payments / Expenses | Counts Against Cap |
|---|---|
| Total value of institutional payments to student-athletes for use of NIL (including from institutional designee or contractor) | X |
| Other direct institutional payments of additional benefits to student-athletes and/or student-athletes’ families not currently permitted or exempted by NCAA rules | X |
| Academic or graduation awards or incentives (i.e., Alston) | X* |
| Athletically related financial aid in excess of the 2024-25 AY team limit | X* |
If a school exceeds its annual benefits cap (July 1 – June 30), the College Sports Commission may assess penalties, and the amount over the cap may also be deducted from the school’s cap the following year. The penalty depends on how the overage was incurred. Overages from revenue sharing or Alston awards are treated differently from overages from new and incremental scholarships. For more information on the CSC Incremental Scholarship Counting Policy click here.
Division I schools outside the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC can opt in or out annually by May 1 of the preceding academic year subject to a process administered by the CSC. A school may decide to opt in or out any year during the ten-year settlement term.
An anonymous tipline is available for student-athletes, coaches, administrators and others to confidentially report potential violations.
Institutions are required to self report NIL, revenue-share, and roster limit violations to the DOI in accordance to the rules
Following final approval of the House settlement on June 6, 2025, the NCAA Division I Board of Directors adopted new bylaws to implement the agreement. The College Sports Commission enforces these rules and issues additional policies and guidance memos
