How NIL deals actually happen
Forget the headlines about seven-figure quarterbacks. In the NCAA's NIL Assist data for 2025, the median NIL deal was $60 and the average was $5,594, as Student-Athlete Insights reported in January 2026. A few large deals pull the average up; most athletes are dealing in the small, local market that nobody builds tools for.
Deals come from four places:
- Brands. Casting calls and sponsor programs, usually through a marketplace or an agency. National, competitive, slow.
- Local businesses. The dealership, the barbershop, the cheesesteak shop near school. No marketing budget, real value in an athlete with a few thousand nearby followers.
- Your school's marketplace. Many colleges run a branded directory where vetted businesses can find their athletes.
- Collectives and revenue share. Since the House settlement, participating Division I schools can pay athletes directly, up to approximately $21.58 million per school in 2026-27, the College Sports Commission's cap. That money is the school's to allocate and report; it is not a third-party NIL deal.
What athletes say afterward is the useful part. In a year-end 2025 survey of 1,061 college athletes by Student-Athlete Insights, 58% wished they had understood contract negotiation before their first deal, 44% wished they knew how to say no professionally, and 47% wished they had done fewer deals for more money. Athletes ranked "simple requirements" (44%) above "fair compensation" (38%) when describing their best deal, and 65% prefer ongoing partnerships over one-off deals.
Run a business near a school? Leave for Brands (not open yet) will let you post a deal that nearby athletes see in plain words and answer themselves, with the payment held by Stripe until the work is delivered. There is a demo on fictional data on that page.
What you're worth
Athletes with 1,000 to 500,000 followers typically charge $150 to $5,000 for a post, according to Launchpoint's rate guide (March 2026). Where you land in that range depends on five things: engagement rate (RallyFuel writes that a gymnast with a loyal TikTok following can frequently out-earn a starting linebacker), sport, level, market size, and what the deal asks for. A single story is not a feed post; a two-hour appearance is not a signing; six months of usage rights is not "in perpetuity".
Rates are usually set per deliverable, not per deal. A useful rate card has a range for a feed post, a story, a short video, an appearance and a signing, and it moves as your numbers move. In Leave this is the Your rate screen, built from your public record and public rate data. It is information, not a promise, and the low end of any range is still yours to refuse.
More: what your NIL is worth, with rates by format.
The rules, by level
NIL rules are a patchwork: your state, your level, your school and, in college, the NCAA and the College Sports Commission all get a say. The deadlines are the part that gets athletes in trouble; they're first below.
| Who | What to report | To whom | By when |
|---|---|---|---|
| High school · Pennsylvania (PIAA) | Any NIL agreement | Your principal or athletic director | Within 72 hours of signing |
| College · NCAA Division I | Third-party deals of $600 or more, same payor added together | NIL Go (College Sports Commission) | Within 5 business days of signing or agreeing terms (Bylaws 22.2.2 and 22.2.2.2) |
| College · Division II and III | Set by the school or the state | Your school, under its policy and state law | Set by the school or the state |
| Schools · revenue share | Every revenue-share payment | College Athlete Payment System (CAPS) | Within 5 business days (the school's job, not yours) |
High school
As of October 2026, most states allow high school athletes to sign NIL deals. Published counts run from 39 to 46 states plus Washington, D.C., because lists count limited rules differently. Read in each association's own rulebook, 44 of 51 allow it in some form, and four do not: Alabama, Hawaii, Mississippi and Wyoming; Indiana, which older lists show as prohibiting it, allows it from 2026-27. Of the other three, Texas limits it to agreements with colleges for students 17 and older, Arkansas leaves it to state law, and South Carolina's 2026-27 text is unclear. Each state sets its own rule, usually through its athletic association, and the state-by-state page shows all 51, read in each association's own rulebook. Nearly every state that allows it shares the same conditions: nothing can depend on how you play, where you enroll or whether you stay; no school, team or association marks in the ad; restricted categories are off limits (alcohol, tobacco and vaping, gambling, adult entertainment, controlled substances and weapons are on most lists); and someone is told, usually the school or the association, inside a set number of days. California, Illinois and New York write no deadline into the rule.
Pennsylvania is a good example of how specific it gets. The PIAA gives you 72 hours to tell your principal or athletic director, bans PIAA and school references in the ad, and uses a three-step penalty that ends in permanent ineligibility. Pennsylvania's rule in full. Each state's rule, and each school's policy on top of it, sets the details.
College
At Division I, every third-party deal worth $600 or more, with deals from the same payor added together, is reported to NIL Go within five business days of signing or agreeing terms (NCAA Bylaws 22.2.2 and 22.2.2.2). School policies and state laws can add their own rules. NIL Go is the College Sports Commission's clearinghouse, built with assistance from Deloitte; it checks a deal's associated status, that it has a valid business purpose, and that the pay does not exceed a reasonable range of compensation. By the Commission's September 9, 2026 report, NIL Go had cleared 46,478 deals worth $582.49 million since it opened in June 2025, 12,283 of them worth $227.25 million in July and August 2026. Its July 2026 report counted 1,812 deals worth $89.9 million not cleared since launch and said 41% of submitted deals reach a decision within 24 hours. A deal that is not cleared can be revised and resubmitted, cancelled with any money refunded, or appealed to neutral arbitration.
State law sits on top of the NCAA rules: what each state says about disclosure, school pay, agents and the federal bill is on College NIL law, state by state, read from each legislature's own text. What each school publishes on top of it (its policy, how deals are disclosed, revenue sharing and its collective) is on NIL rules, school by school.
International athletes
On an F-1 visa, schools' own guidance treats NIL activity done in the United States, a post, a repost, an autograph, as work that F-1 status does not allow. Two routes are described by universities and immigration lawyers, neither settled: passive licensing of an existing name, image or likeness, and work done entirely outside the United States. Fisher Phillips (April 2026) writes that a deal labelled passive licensing while the athlete actually creates content or appears would not survive NCAA rules. Schools ask that any NIL agreement be reviewed by the international office or an immigration lawyer before signing. More: international athletes, NIL and agents.
Taxes on a 1099
NIL money arrives with nothing withheld. It is usually self-employment income: 15.3% self-employment tax applies once net earnings reach $400 in a year, before any federal or state income tax; quarterly estimated payments apply when you expect to owe $1,000 or more; and the money you earn in 2026 shows up on the 2028-29 FAFSA. In the Student-Athlete Insights survey, 51% of athletes with $5,000 or more in NIL income had an unexpected tax situation.
The College Investor (August 2026) puts the amount to move aside at 30 to 40% of each payment, closer to 40% in high-tax states. A tax professional can say what applies to you. Leave doesn't handle deal payments: the business pays the athlete as the contract says, nothing is withheld, and the athlete is responsible for their own taxes. Each contract's Payment tab in Leave lists what it pays and when. It is not tax advice.
More: NIL taxes in full, including the $2,000 line for a 1099 that began in 2026.
Reading the contract
Every NIL agreement has six parts: deliverables, term, usage rights, payment schedule, exclusivity and termination. Four clauses do most of the damage.
- Usage rights "in perpetuity". Forever. A brand can keep using your face after the deal, after college, after your career. Twelve months, social only, is a common alternative that athletes ask for.
- Exclusivity. No other brand in the category for the whole term. A smoothie deal with "beverage and nutrition" exclusivity blocks sports drinks, protein and supplements for a year. How the category is defined decides what it blocks.
- Morality clauses with repayment. Broad language lets the brand decide what counts, and some require you to pay money back.
- Performance-based pay. Money tied to stats, wins, enrollment or staying is pay-for-play, and it is prohibited at every level.
Upload any contract to Leave and each part is labelled in plain language, with the flags called out and new offers checked against your existing exclusivity before you say yes.
More: reading an NIL contract, clause by clause.
Agents and fees
On playing contracts, the NFLPA caps agent fees at 3% and the NBPA at 4%; MLB and NHL have no cap. On endorsement, marketing and NIL deals no union sets a cap; South Carolina and Mississippi cap an NIL agent's fee at 20% by statute. ESPN reported in February 2026 that NFL agents typically earn 3% on salaries and 10% to 20% on endorsement deals; an NIL educator told ESPN he sees agents trying to sign young athletes to lifetime marketing agreements that grant them 15 to 30%; and in a survey of college athletes conducted at ESPN's request by Bill Carter's Student-Athlete Insights, the median agent cut was about 20%. The federal Protect College Sports Act (S. 4668) passed the Senate 77 to 22 on September 28, 2026; it would require agents to register and cap an agent's fee on a college athlete's endorsement contract at 5%, and it is held at the House desk. A 2025 Florida bill (HB 981) proposing a 5% cap died in committee in June 2025. In January 2026 the FTC sent information requests to 20 Division I universities about sports agents' compliance with federal law, and 35 states and D.C. require agents to register or file with the state.
More: how to be your own agent: what the law regulates, each union's rule for a player with no agent, and the athletes who negotiated their own contracts.
Leave is not an agent and never will be. It organizes information for your own use: the deals, the rate, the rules, the deadlines, the clauses. It does not negotiate, represent or sign for you, and it takes no cut of any deal. You decide, you send.
How Leave fits
- 1The deals. NIL opportunities show up as threads in your Web, from public sources: casting calls, brand posts, sponsor and community programs, and press. Leave for Brands, where local businesses will post deals, isn't open to businesses yet.
- 2The paperwork. Every contract explained, with clauses marked “Worth a close look” called out, and a disclosure packet for your school or NIL Go, with a countdown to the deadline where the rule sets one.
- 3The money. The business pays you as the contract says; Leave doesn't handle the money, withholds nothing and takes no cut. Each contract's Payment tab lists every payment with its date and amount, and you mark each one paid.
Leave is $19.99 a month after a 14-day free trial, works inside ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini, and comes with an iOS and Android app. Accounts are 18+; athletes 13 to 17 use Leave through an account a parent or guardian creates.
Questions athletes ask
What is NIL?
NIL stands for name, image and likeness: your right to be paid when a business uses your identity, for example in a social post, an appearance, a signing or an ad. College athletes have been allowed to earn from NIL since 2021, and most states allow it for high school athletes as of October 2026.
How much are NIL deals worth?
In the NCAA's NIL Assist data for 2025, the median NIL deal was $60 and the average was $5,594, as Student-Athlete Insights reported in January 2026; a few large deals pull the average up. Athletes with 1,000 to 500,000 followers typically charge $150 to $5,000 per post, depending on sport, tier and university market size, according to Launchpoint's March 2026 rate guide.
Can high school athletes sign NIL deals?
In most states, yes, with conditions set by the state: no deals tied to athletic performance, no school or team marks in the ads, restricted categories such as alcohol, gambling and weapons, and in most states a disclosure to the school or the association. Read in each association's own rulebook in October 2026, 44 of 51 (the 50 states and Washington, D.C.) allow it in some form and four do not: Alabama, Hawaii, Mississippi and Wyoming. Published counts run from 39 to 46 states plus Washington, D.C., and Texas limits it to agreements with colleges for students 17 and older. In Pennsylvania, athletes must tell their principal or athletic director within 72 hours of signing.
Do I have to report my NIL deal?
Usually. At Division I, every third-party deal of $600 or more, with deals from the same payor added together, goes to NIL Go, the College Sports Commission's clearinghouse, within five business days of signing or agreeing terms (NCAA Bylaws 22.2.2 and 22.2.2.2). At Division II and III, each school's policy and state law set the rule. School policies and state laws can add their own disclosure rules, and high school rules set their own windows, such as 72 hours in Pennsylvania.
Do athletes pay taxes on NIL money?
Yes. NIL income is usually self-employment income, so nothing is withheld, and it is taxable whether or not a 1099 arrives (in 2026 a business sends a 1099-NEC once it pays $2,000 or more). Self-employment tax is 15.3% once net earnings reach $400 in a year, before any income tax; quarterly estimated payments apply when $1,000 or more is expected to be owed; and income earned in 2026 appears on the 2028-29 FAFSA. The College Investor (August 2026) puts the amount to move aside at 30 to 40% of each payment.
What does an NIL agent charge?
No union caps agent fees on endorsement, marketing or NIL deals; South Carolina and Mississippi cap NIL agent fees at 20% by statute. ESPN reported in February 2026 that NFL agents typically earn 3% on salaries and 10 to 20% on endorsement deals, and in a survey of college athletes conducted at ESPN's request by Student-Athlete Insights, the median agent cut was about 20%. The federal Protect College Sports Act, passed by the Senate on September 28, 2026 and held at the House desk, would require agents to register and cap an agent's fee on a college athlete's endorsement contract at 5%. A 2025 Florida bill proposing a 5% cap died in committee. Leave charges athletes nothing per deal.
Is Leave an NIL agent?
No. Leave is software the athlete uses. It organizes public information, deal postings, rates, rules and deadlines and explains contracts in plain language. It never negotiates, represents or signs for anyone, and it is not legal, tax or financial advice. The athlete decides and the athlete sends.
How does Leave help with NIL?
Leave shows NIL opportunities as threads in your Web, explains every contract clause, shows your state's and school's rules on each contract, builds the disclosure packet for your school with the deadline worked out where the rule counts one, and lists what each contract pays and when. Leave doesn't handle deal money: the business pays you as the contract says. It costs $19.99 a month, or $189.99 a year, after a 14-day free trial and takes no cut of any deal.
Be your own agent. Leave.
