The law
California's college NIL law is Cal. Educ. Code § 67456 (status: in force). Everything on this page is taken from the enacted text on the legislature's own site, linked under Sources, read on October 21, 2026.
What it says
| Question | What the statute says | Section or source |
|---|---|---|
| Who is covered | Students participating in intercollegiate athletics at any campus of the University of California, the California State University or the California Community Colleges, an independent institution of higher education (§ 66010) or a private postsecondary educational institution (§ 94858). Operative September 1, 2021. | (g), (h) |
| Disclosure to the school | A student athlete who enters into a contract paying for use of name, image, likeness or athletic reputation 'shall disclose the contract to an official of the institution, to be designated by the institution.' The statute sets no deadline. | (e)(2) |
| Banned categories | Not addressed | none |
| Conflicts with team contracts | An athlete may not enter into an NIL contract that conflicts with a provision of the athlete's team contract; a school asserting a conflict discloses the conflicting provisions to the athlete or the athlete's legal representation. A team contract may not prevent commercial use of the athlete's name, image, likeness or athletic reputation when the athlete is not engaged in official team activities. | (e)(1), (e)(3), (f) |
| School and coach involvement | Not addressed | none |
| Direct pay from the school | Not addressed for enrolled athletes. A school, athletic association, conference or other governing group 'shall not provide a prospective student athlete with compensation' in relation to name, image, likeness or athletic reputation. | (b) |
| Agents and attorneys | Schools, associations and conferences may not prevent a California student athlete from obtaining professional representation, including athlete agents and attorneys. Representation must come from persons licensed by the state: athlete agents under the Miller-Ayala Athlete Agents Act (Bus. & Prof. Code § 18895 and following), attorneys under Bus. & Prof. Code § 6000 and following. Agents must comply with the federal Sports Agent Responsibility and Trust Act. | (c)(1), (c)(2), (c)(3) |
| High school and minors | Not addressed for high school athletes (the section covers postsecondary students). The bar in (b) on schools and associations paying a prospective student athlete for NIL does not mention age. | (b) |
| Financial literacy | Not addressed | none |
| Scholarship protection | Earning NIL compensation 'shall not affect the student's scholarship eligibility'. A cost-of-attendance scholarship is not compensation, and a scholarship may not be revoked for earning compensation or obtaining legal representation under the section. | (a)(1), (d) |
| Confidentiality of contracts | Not addressed | none |
| NCAA and conference penalties | The NCAA, a conference or any other governing group may not prevent a student from earning NIL compensation, and may not prevent a school from participating in intercollegiate athletics because a student athlete is paid for NIL. | (a)(2), (a)(3) |
| Remedies and enforcement | Not addressed: the section sets no enforcement procedure, penalty or private right of action. | none |
| Employee status | Not addressed | none |
What has changed since 2021, and what has not
SB 206 was approved and chaptered on 2019-09-30 and set a 2023 start. SB 26, an urgency act signed 2021-08-31, moved the start date to September 1, 2021, added community colleges and added "athletic reputation." No act since has amended § 67456. Later bills did not become law: SB 1401 (2022) was held in committee, AB 252 (2023-24, the College Athlete Protection Act) stopped in a Senate committee, and SB 906 (2024) was vetoed.
The 2024 veto (SB 906)
SB 906 would have required any person or entity giving a student athlete or the athlete's family more than $5,000 in compensation or value to disclose it to the athlete's school, and the school to publish yearly totals by sport and team gender. Schools would also have published yearly totals of the NIL support they provide and of any revenue they share with athletes. The Governor vetoed it on 2024-09-30, writing that college sports are "in a period of transition" with schools changing conferences and issues pending in the courts.
The House settlement
The House settlement (In re College Athlete NIL Litigation, No. 20-cv-03919) was approved on 2025-06-06 by the federal court for the Northern District of California, as S. 4668 cites it. It is a federal court order, not California law, and § 67456 has not been amended to refer to it.
How it changed
| Act | What it did | Effective |
|---|---|---|
| SB 206 (2019), Stats. 2019, ch. 383 | added § 67456 (and a temporary § 67457 community college working group); the section was written to become operative on 2023-01-01 and did not cover community colleges | 2020-01-01 |
| SB 26 (2021), Stats. 2021, ch. 159, the Fair Pay to Play Act | urgency act that rewrote § 67456: operative date moved to 2021-09-01, community colleges added, 'athletic reputation' added alongside name, image and likeness | 2021-08-31 |
Federal law
As of 2026-10-21, S. 4668 (Protect College Sports Act) passed the Senate 77-22 on 2026-09-28 and has been held at the House desk since 2026-10-05; it is not law. If enacted as passed, § 121(a)(2) would bar any state law that "governs, regulates, or invalidates" NCAA, conference or school rules on NIL compensation. That reaches § 67456(a)(1) to (a)(3) (no school or association rule preventing NIL earnings; no penalty on a school for an athlete's NIL pay) and, on its face, § 67456(b) to the extent it regulates compensation from schools and associations (the bill's own § 114(a)(1)(C) also bars schools and associated entities from paying a prospective athlete before enrollment). § 121(b) would preserve uniform athlete agent acts, contract, privacy and consumer protection law, so the agent rules in (c) and the team-contract rules in (e) and (f) are the parts most likely to be argued as preserved; California's agent law is its own Miller-Ayala Athlete Agents Act (Bus. & Prof. Code § 18895), not titled a uniform act. The bill would add a federal disclosure duty for Division I athletes (deals over $600 reported within 5 days, § 101(b)) and a 5% agent fee cap on endorsement contracts (§ 102). It is neutral on employee status (§ 122).
What sits on top of it
- Division I reporting. Third-party deals of $600 or more go to NIL Go within five business days, whatever the state's own rule (NIL Go, reporting a deal, level by level).
- Your school. A school can set a stricter policy than the statute, and most set the disclosure process.
- Agents. California's athlete-agent rules are on the state-by-state registration table.
- High school. High school NIL in California is set by the state's athletic association, not this statute.
- Taxes. NIL taxes in plain words.
How Leave fits
In Leave, every deal thread carries a rules summary for the athlete's state and level, and keeps the contract, its dates and the disclosure deadline that applies. It is a summary, not a ruling; the school and the statute decide. Leave is software, not an agent, and takes 0% of any deal. You decide, you send.
Questions about college NIL law in California
What is California's NIL law in 2026?
Education Code § 67456, the Fair Pay to Play Act. It has been operative since September 1, 2021, and was last amended by SB 26 in 2021. It covers UC, CSU, community colleges and private colleges, protects an athlete's right to earn from name, image, likeness or athletic reputation, and requires each NIL contract to be disclosed to an official the school designates. As checked on 2026-10-21, no later amendment has been enacted.
Can California colleges pay athletes directly?
The statute does not address payments from a school to an enrolled athlete. It does bar schools, athletic associations and conferences from providing a prospective student athlete with compensation for name, image, likeness or athletic reputation (§ 67456(b)). The section does not mention revenue sharing or the House settlement, and no act since 2021 has amended it.
Do I have to tell my school about an NIL deal in California?
Yes. Section 67456(e)(2) says an athlete who enters into an NIL contract "shall disclose the contract" to an official the school designates. The statute sets no deadline and no form; the school designates the official.
Does California require an NIL agent to be licensed?
The statute says professional representation must come from persons licensed by the state, with athlete agents under the Miller-Ayala Athlete Agents Act and attorneys licensed by the State Bar (§ 67456(c)(2)). Miller-Ayala's definition of an athlete agent includes recruiting an athlete into an endorsement contract, and it requires an agent to file information with the Secretary of State before doing business (Bus. & Prof. Code §§ 18895.2, 18896). Agents must also comply with the federal Sports Agent Responsibility and Trust Act (§ 67456(c)(3)).
Does California's NIL law cover community college athletes?
Yes, since SB 26 (2021). Section 67456(g) lists the California Community Colleges along with UC, CSU, independent institutions and private postsecondary institutions. The 2019 version did not include them.
Be your own agent. Leave.
