"Report my deal" means a different form, a different office and a different clock at each level of sport, and the searches show it: athletes ask how to file a contract, when a marketplace deal counts, and how to report an agent, often without knowing which rulebook applies. This page sorts the question by level, from the primary texts: the NCAA's three 2026-27 manuals, the NAIA handbook, state statutes and the high school associations' bylaws. Reporting a deal is not reporting income; the taxes page covers that.
Who gets the report, level by level
| Level | Reported to | Window | Floor | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NCAA Division I, third-party deals | NIL Go (College Sports Commission) | 5 business days from signing or agreeing terms | $600, same payor added together | Bylaw 22.2.2 |
| Division I prospects (high school and two-year college) | NIL Go | 14 days after full-time enrollment, or before the first outside contest if sooner | $600 | Bylaw 22.2.2.5 |
| NCAA Division II | The school, under state law and school policy | Set by the school or state | None in the manual | Bylaw 14.1.5.5 |
| NCAA Division III | The school, under its own policy and state law | Set by the school or state | None in the manual | Article 22 (no reporting rule) |
| NAIA | The athletics director, in writing, when the deal refers to the school or student-athlete status | No day count in the handbook | None | Article VII, Section B, Item 8 |
| High school, Ohio | The OHSAA | 14 days | None ("each agreement") | Bylaw 4-11-3 |
| High school, Pennsylvania | The principal or athletic director | 72 hours | None | PIAA By-Laws, Article II, Section 3.J |
| An agent contract, any college athlete | The athletic director, by both athlete and agent | 72 hours, or before the next athletic event if sooner | None | 15 U.S.C. § 7805 |
Division I: NIL Go
Bylaw 22.2.2 has every Division I athlete, including those at schools outside the House settlement's defendant conferences, report "all noninstitutional" NIL contracts or payment terms with a total value of $600 or more to the clearinghouse the College Sports Commission runs, NIL Go. Deals from the same or substantially the same third party are added together. The report is written documentation with "clear evidence of agreement" from both sides, filed within five business days of signing the contract or agreeing payment terms (22.2.2.2). Failure to report on time "may result in disciplinary action," including ineligibility; once a school discovers an unreported deal it has two business days to review and notify the Commission, and if the deal is still not reported the athlete is ineligible until it is (22.2.2.2.1, adopted October 28, 2025).
Three points the bylaw settles that searches often ask about:
- Marketplace deals. The bylaw has no exception for a deal found through a marketplace or an app; it is a third-party deal and follows the same $600 line and five-day clock.
- The school's own payments. Revenue-share and other institutional NIL payments are reported by the school through the benefits cap system (22.2.1), not by the athlete.
- The other side reports too. After the athlete submits, the payor attests whether it is associated with the school, that the terms are complete, and that it paid with its own money (22.2.3). The Commission then reviews deals involving associated entities for a valid business purpose and pay in line with comparable people (22.2.4).
Prospects report deals of $600 or more from the first day of classes of their junior year of high school, or from enrollment at a two-year college; four-year transfers report from the day they enter the transfer portal (22.2.2.5, adopted October 30, 2025). The Commission lets an athlete name one representative to enter deals; the athlete makes the final submission. The NIL Go page has the review, the outcomes and the appeal route in full.
Division II, Division III and the NAIA
Division II. Bylaw 14.1.5.5, adopted October 18, 2022 and unchanged in the 2026-27 manual: "Individuals should report name, image and likeness activities consistent with state law and/or institutional requirements." The NCAA "will not monitor" NIL activity for compliance with state law (14.1.5.4). There is no clearinghouse, no NCAA deadline and no dollar floor in the manual, so the school's policy and the state's NIL law are the reporting rules.
Division III. Article 22, adopted July 23, 2024, allows NIL pay and agent representation, bars pay for athletic participation and enrollment inducements, and contains no reporting rule. Bylaw 22.1.2 calls for the NCAA national office to make available a central registry of professional service providers. On April 30, 2026 the Division III Presidents Council approved a framework to review NIL activity in the division, with a working group to follow; no reporting rule had been adopted in the manual as generated on October 21, 2026. The school's policy and state law decide.
NAIA. The NAIA allowed NIL pay in 2020. Its 2026-27 handbook, Article VII, Section B, Item 8, makes it "the responsibility of the student-athlete to notify their institution's athletics director in writing" of NIL compensation "in relation to their school or status as a student-athlete." Under Article VI, Section B, Item 11, a failure to report becomes an institutional self-report reviewed by the National Coordinating Committee, which may issue a warning or reprimand, withhold the athlete from competition, or find that amateur status is lost. The handbook sets no number of days; a school's policy may.
The school and state law
Below Division I's single system, the school is where most reports go, and a school's policy usually draws on its state's NIL statute. State laws differ widely on timing, and several were rewritten after the House settlement, so the statute's current text is the authority. Three examples, read from the enacted texts on October 21, 2026:
- Colorado. HB25-1041, signed and effective March 28, 2025, repealed C.R.S. § 23-16-301(3), which had required disclosure to the athletic director within 72 hours. The statute no longer sets an NIL disclosure deadline, so the school's policy decides. Some secondary summaries online still show the old 72-hour text.
- Missouri. RSMo § 173.280.4(3), as in effect from August 28, 2023: before an NIL or representation contract is signed, and before any advance payment, the athlete discloses it to the school "in a manner prescribed by such institution."
- Pennsylvania. 24 P.S. § 20-2006-M(f) (Public School Code Article XX-M, added by Act 89 of 2024): the athlete "may disclose" the contract's contents before signing to an official the school designates, and the school "may have policies" on when. The timing comes from the school.
No single count of states with a disclosure window was confirmed for this page.
High school: the state association decides
For high school athletes the reporting rule comes from the state's high school association, and each one names its own recipient and window; the state pages are built from each association's text. Two examples:
- Ohio. OHSAA member schools passed the NIL referendum on November 24, 2025. Bylaw 4-11-3: a student "shall disclose each agreement to the OHSAA within 14 days after entering into said agreement." Not disclosing, or disclosing late, brings ineligibility for up to 20 percent of the sport season and other penalties under Bylaw 11. The OHSAA's reporting page has the student and a parent complete an affirmation, notarized, and upload it with a full copy of the agreement. The Ohio page has the rest of the rule.
- Pennsylvania. PIAA By-Laws, Article II, Section 3.J (2026-27): "Within 72 hours after entering into any type of NIL contracts/agreements, a student, or the student's parents/guardians must notify the Principal or Athletic Director." Section 4: a violation of the amateur rule, NIL included, makes the student ineligible from the date of the violation. The Pennsylvania page has the rest.
A high school athlete headed to Division I also reports to NIL Go, from the first day of junior year, on the Division I clock described above.
Agents: reporting one you hired, and reporting a problem
"How to report an NIL agent" covers two different things.
Reporting the contract. Under SPARTA, 15 U.S.C. § 7805, within 72 hours after entering into an agency contract or before the athlete's next athletic event, whichever is first, the agent and the student athlete each inform the athletic director, or the person responsible for athletics, at the athlete's school. The Revised Uniform Athlete Agents Act (§ 11) has the agent give notice in a record and the athlete give the athletic director the agent's name and contact information. An "agency contract" there is one that authorizes a person to negotiate or solicit a professional or endorsement contract for the athlete (§ 2(1)), and an "endorsement contract" is one paying the athlete for value that comes from "publicity, reputation, following, or fame" earned through sport (§ 2(7)), which describes most NIL deals. In Ohio high school sports, an agreement with an athlete agent, allowed only for marketing, goes to the OHSAA within 14 days (Bylaw 4-11-8). In Division I men's basketball, an agreement with an NCAA-certified agent is put in writing and disclosed to the school, or to the NCAA national office for a two-year college prospect (Bylaw 12.3.2.1.5). The 2026-27 Division I manual sets up no agent registry with the College Sports Commission.
Registering. Registration is the agent's obligation, filed with the state, usually the Secretary of State; the athlete does not register anyone. The registration page covers who must register, and the check-an-agent page links each state's lookup.
Complaining about an agent. Under the uniform act the state registrar may limit, suspend, revoke or refuse to renew an agent's registration (§ 7), so a complaint about a registered agent's conduct belongs with that office, and each office sets its own process. The Federal Trade Commission enforces SPARTA; its January 2026 alert for parents and student athletes invited families to share their experiences with agents, anonymously if they prefer.
How Leave fits
Leave keeps every deal, its terms and its contract in one record, and counts down the reporting window that applies from the day the terms were agreed, whether that is NIL Go's five business days, a state association's 14 days or a school's own deadline, so the window is visible rather than remembered. Leave is software: it does not submit to NIL Go, a school or an association for anyone, does not negotiate or represent, and is not legal advice. The athlete, or the person they name, sends the report.
Questions athletes ask
Who do I report my NIL deal to?
It depends on the level. A Division I athlete reports third-party deals of $600 or more to NIL Go, the College Sports Commission's system. Division II and Division III athletes follow their school's policy and their state's NIL law, because neither division's bylaws set a reporting system. NAIA athletes give written notice to the athletics director when the deal refers to their school or student-athlete status. High school athletes follow their state association, which may want the report sent to the association itself (Ohio) or to the principal or athletic director (Pennsylvania).
Do I have to report an NIL deal under $600?
Not to NIL Go. Division I Bylaw 22.2.2 covers deals with a total value of $600 or more, with deals from the same or substantially the same payor added together, so several small deals from one brand can cross the line. A school's own policy, a state law or a high school association's rule can still ask for smaller deals; the OHSAA's bylaw says "each agreement," with no dollar floor.
When do I report a deal I got through an NIL marketplace?
On the same clock as any other deal. The Division I bylaw covers "all noninstitutional" contracts and payment terms and has no exception for deals found through a marketplace or app, so a Division I deal of $600 or more goes to NIL Go within five business days of signing or agreeing terms. At other levels the school's, state's or association's window applies the same way.
How long do I have to report an NIL deal in Ohio high school sports?
Fourteen days after entering into the agreement, to the OHSAA itself, under Bylaw 4-11-3. The OHSAA's reporting page asks the student and a parent to complete a notarized affirmation and upload it with a full copy of the agreement. Not disclosing, or disclosing late, can bring ineligibility for up to 20 percent of the sport season. An agreement with an athlete agent is disclosed the same way, within the same 14 days (Bylaw 4-11-8).
How do I report that I hired an NIL agent?
Federal law (SPARTA, 15 U.S.C. § 7805) has both the agent and the student athlete tell the athletic director within 72 hours of signing an agency contract or before the next athletic event, whichever comes first; the Revised Uniform Athlete Agents Act adds that the athlete gives the agent's name and contact information. Registering is the agent's job, not the athlete's, at the state registrar, usually the Secretary of State. In Ohio high school sports the agreement also goes to the OHSAA within 14 days.
How do I report an NIL agent who did something wrong?
To the state office that registered the agent, which under the uniform act may limit, suspend or revoke a registration, and to the Federal Trade Commission, which enforces SPARTA and in January 2026 invited parents and athletes to share their experiences with agents, anonymously if they prefer. The check-an-agent page lists each state's registrar.
Be your own agent. Leave.
