The law
Illinois's college NIL law is 110 ILCS 190 (Student-Athlete Endorsement Rights Act) (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 | Any "student-athlete": a student who engages in, is eligible to engage in, or may be eligible in the future to engage in an intercollegiate athletics program at a public university, community college, or private university or college. A student permanently ineligible in a sport is not a student-athlete for that sport. P.A. 103-724 removed the words "currently enrolled". | § 5 |
| Disclosure to the school | The athlete discloses "the existence and substance of all publicity rights agreements" to the school, in the manner and at the time the school prescribes. A deal worth $500 or more in cash or other compensation must be a written contract, and the contract goes to the school in the manner and at the time it prescribes. An agreement with an agent or lawyer is also given to the school with written notice. | § 20(c); § 15(f) |
| Banned categories | No deals for gambling, sports betting, controlled substances, cannabis, tobacco or alcohol companies, brands or products, alternative or electronic nicotine products, performance-enhancing supplements, adult entertainment, or anything reasonably considered inconsistent with the school's values or mission or that reflects adversely on the school or its athletic programs. | § 20(i) |
| Conflicts with team contracts | No deal for services performed during school-sanctioned activities if it conflicts with a school contract, rule or standard. A school may set reasonable limits on dates and times of NIL activity, controls its marks and logos and the gear worn in competition and school events, and may bar other brands' gear at those events. School marks, logos or name may be used only with the school's written permission given before the contract is signed or paid; the school may then be paid at market rates by agreement of all parties. | § 20(d); § 15(c) |
| School and coach involvement | A school may directly or indirectly identify, create, facilitate, arrange, negotiate or otherwise enable deals between athletes and third parties. A school may fund an independent third-party administrator for education, monitoring, disclosures and reporting; that administrator cannot be a registered athlete agent. A school may give intangible benefits (priority status, items of de minimis or nonmonetary value) to donors of an outside entity that mainly supports athlete NIL deals. Coaches are not addressed. | § 20(g); § 20(f); § 45 |
| Direct pay from the school | Allowed when permitted "by a court order, a settlement agreement, an athletic association, conference, or other group or organization with authority over intercollegiate athletics programs, or a policy of a postsecondary educational institution": the school, conference or association may then sign a publicity rights agreement with, or pay NIL compensation to, a prospective or current athlete or the athlete's family. The pay is compensation "in relation to the use of" the athlete's name, image, likeness or voice. Section 10(2), which bars pay for athletic ability or participation, applies "except as provided in Section 15". | § 15(e); § 10 |
| Agents and attorneys | An athlete may obtain and retain an agent, and no school, conference or association may stop an athlete from using an athlete agent or attorney. Agents, legal representatives and other service providers must comply with the federal Sports Agent Responsibility and Trust Act "to the extent required". No state registration and no fee cap: Illinois repealed its Athlete Agents Act (225 ILCS 401) by P.A. 100-534, effective 2017-09-22. A representation agreement signed while the athlete competes may not run past the athlete's participation in the sport at an institution. | § 10(1); § 15(f); § 20(a); § 25 |
| High school and minors | Not addressed as such. The definition reaches a student who "may be eligible in the future" for a college program, and § 15(e) refers to prospective athletes; P.A. 103-724 repealed the former bar on deals before college enrollment (§ 20(h)). High school NIL is governed by IHSA rules. | § 5; § 15(e) |
| Financial literacy | Schools are "encouraged" to offer financial literacy, brand management and life skills programming; marketing or solicitation by financial product providers may not be included. | § 22 |
| Scholarship protection | NIL pay may not affect scholarship eligibility, grant-in-aid, other aid or athletic eligibility, and a grant-in-aid (including cost of attendance) may not be revoked, reduced or altered because the athlete earns NIL pay or hires an agent or lawyer. | § 15(a); § 20(b) |
| Confidentiality of contracts | Information a school holds that includes, reveals or relates to the terms of an existing or proposed publicity rights agreement is exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act. | § 40 |
| NCAA and conference penalties | The NCAA, NAIA, NJCAA, a conference or any group with authority over college athletics may not prevent an athlete from earning NIL pay or enforce a rule that does, and may not enforce a rule that keeps a school out of competition because its athletes are paid for NIL. Any school contract or rule that prevents NIL pay is void. | § 15(a), (b), (d) |
| Remedies and enforcement | No enforcement agency or private right of action is named. A school is not subject to a claim for damages of any kind under the Act, or for adopting or enforcing rules in compliance with it, and keeps its immunities. | § 35 |
| Employee status | The Act may not be interpreted to make an athlete an employee, agent or independent contractor of an association, conference or school. | § 10(4) |
After the House settlement
Before 2025, § 15(e) barred Illinois schools, conferences and associations from signing or paying athletes for NIL, and § 20(g) barred schools from paying athletes or signing agreements with them, adding that nothing in the Act required a school to arrange deals. P.A. 103-724 (effective 2025-01-01) changed both: § 15(e) now allows direct agreements and pay where "a court order, a settlement agreement" or an association, conference or school policy allows it, and § 20(g) lets a school "identify, create, facilitate, arrange, negotiate, or otherwise enable" deals with third parties. The same act repealed the bars on recruiting inducements and on deals signed before enrollment, made school-held deal terms exempt from FOIA (§ 40), and let schools give perks of de minimis or nonmonetary value to donors of a collective (§ 45). The House settlement was approved on 2025-06-06 (In re College Athlete NIL Litigation, No. 20-cv-03919, N.D. Cal., as cited in S. 4668 § 123(b)).
Disclosure in Illinois
The Illinois statute sets no deadline or dollar threshold for disclosure: each school prescribes the manner and timing (§ 20(c)), and deals of $500 or more must be written contracts given to the school. The statute does not mention the NIL Go clearinghouse or the College Sports Commission; any reporting to them comes from NCAA, conference or settlement rules, not from 110 ILCS 190.
How it changed
| Act | What it did | Effective |
|---|---|---|
| P.A. 102-42 (SB 2338, 2021) | enacted the Student-Athlete Endorsement Rights Act | 2021-07-01 |
| P.A. 102-687 (HB 307, Second 2021 General Revisory Act) | technical correction to § 20(g) only; the Act says it makes no substantive change | 2021-12-17 |
| P.A. 102-892 (HB 1175, 2022) | added the "booster" and "enrolled" definitions and a generic-depiction carve-out to "likeness"; replaced the 7-day agent notice and the pre-signing contract delivery with "the manner and at a time prescribed by the institution"; dropped "certified" from agent; dropped "or attendance" from § 20(e); narrowed § 20(g) to a bar on school pay and school agreements and added that nothing requires a school to arrange deals; added § 22 (educational programming); extended § 25 to representation agreements | 2022-05-20 |
| P.A. 103-724 (HB 307, 103rd General Assembly) | let schools, conferences and associations sign and pay athletes where a court order, settlement, association rule or school policy allows (§ 15(e)); let schools arrange deals (§ 20(g)); removed the bars on recruiting inducements (§ 20(e)) and pre-enrollment deals (§ 20(h)); dropped "currently enrolled" from "student-athlete" (§ 5), "while enrolled" from § 10(1) and pay for agreeing to attend from § 10(2); replaced § 10(3) (athletes "shall not be deemed" employees) with § 10(4); added the FOIA exemption (§ 40) and perks for collective donors (§ 45) | 2025-01-01 |
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 state laws that govern, regulate or invalidate school, conference or association rules on NIL compensation, which describes Illinois' § 15(a), (b) and (d) (the bars on rules that stop NIL pay or punish schools) and the conditions in § 15(e). Section 121(a)(1) would also reach any Illinois rule that would prevent compliance with the federal title, which among other things requires Division I athletes to report deals over $600 to the school and association within 5 days (§ 101(b)). Section 121(b) would preserve state contract, privacy, consumer protection, civil rights, trademark and copyright law and uniform athlete agent acts, except where they conflict with § 121(a). Illinois has no athlete agent act (repealed 2017); S. 4668 § 102 would add a federal 5% fee cap on endorsement contracts and require agents to register with a State. Section 122 is neutral on employee status, alongside Illinois' § 10(4).
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. Illinois's athlete-agent rules are on the state-by-state registration table.
- High school. High school NIL in Illinois 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 Illinois
What is Illinois' NIL law in 2026?
The Student-Athlete Endorsement Rights Act, 110 ILCS 190, in force since 2021-07-01 and last amended by P.A. 103-724 (effective 2025-01-01). It lets college athletes earn market-value pay for their name, image, likeness and voice, bars rules that stop it, lists banned deal categories, and since 2025 lets schools pay athletes and arrange deals where a court order, settlement, association rule or school policy allows. As of 2026-10-21, no public act of the 2025-2026 General Assembly (the latest posted is P.A. 104-0854) amends it.
Can Illinois colleges pay athletes directly?
Yes, under conditions. Section 15(e), added by P.A. 103-724, says a school, conference or association may sign a publicity rights agreement with, or pay NIL compensation to, a prospective or current athlete if a court order, a settlement agreement, an athletic association or conference, or the school's own policy allows it. Before 2025 the statute barred this.
Do I have to tell my school about an NIL deal in Illinois?
The statute says yes: an athlete discloses the existence and substance of all publicity rights agreements to the school, in the manner and at the time the school prescribes (§ 20(c)). Deals worth $500 or more must be in a written contract that is given to the school. The statute sets no deadline of its own; the school sets it.
Does Illinois require an NIL agent to be licensed?
No state license or registration exists. Illinois repealed its Athlete Agents Act in 2017 (P.A. 100-534). The NIL statute says agents and other representatives must comply with the federal Sports Agent Responsibility and Trust Act to the extent required (§ 20(a)), and a representation agreement may not run past the athlete's participation in the sport (§ 25).
What NIL deals are banned in Illinois?
Section 20(i) bars deals promoting gambling, sports betting, controlled substances, cannabis, tobacco or alcohol, electronic nicotine products, performance-enhancing supplements and adult entertainment, plus any product or service reasonably considered inconsistent with the school's values or mission. School logos and marks need the school's written permission before signing (§ 15(c)).
Be your own agent. Leave.
