The law
Indiana has no college NIL statute. In short: None (athlete agents, IC 25-5.2). Rows drawn from a statute come from the enacted text on the legislature's own site; rows drawn from a school or board policy name that policy. Every source is linked under Sources, read on October 21, 2026.
What it says
| Question | What applies | Section or source |
|---|---|---|
| Who is covered | Not addressed (no NIL statute). IC 25-5.2 covers any "student athlete" who engages in, is eligible to engage in, or may be eligible in the future to engage in an interscholastic or intercollegiate sport, so it reaches high school and college athletes | IC 25-5.2-1-2(19) |
| Disclosure to the school | Not addressed for NIL deals. When an athlete signs an agency contract, the agent gives written notice to the athletic director, and the athlete informs the athletic director and gives the agent's name and contact information, each within 72 hours or before the next scheduled athletic event, whichever is first. Deal reporting otherwise comes from campus policy and, at Division I schools, NCAA Bylaws 22.2.2 and 22.2.2.2 (third-party deals of $600 or more reported to the NCAA's designated NIL clearinghouse within five business days) | IC 25-5.2-2-9(b), (c) |
| Banned categories | Not addressed. The withdrawn 2026 high school amendment listed adult entertainment, alcohol, tobacco, vaping, nicotine, controlled substances, prescription drugs, gambling, weapons and NIL collectives; it is not law | H.B. 1266 (2026), Amendment No. 1 (withdrawn) |
| Conflicts with team contracts | Not addressed. No Indiana statute found governs conflicts between an athlete's deal and a school sponsorship contract | None |
| School and coach involvement | Not addressed. A school employee acting exclusively for the school's benefit is not an "athlete agent" merely by advising an athlete on finances, business pursuits or career decisions | IC 25-5.2-1-2(3)(B) |
| Direct pay from the school | Not addressed. No Indiana statute found authorizes or bars a college paying its athletes; NCAA rules and the House settlement govern | None |
| Agents and attorneys | An individual may not act as an athlete agent in Indiana without a certificate of registration from the attorney general; a contract from unregistered conduct is void. Registration lasts two years; the fee is set by the attorney general under IC 25-1-8-2. An agency contract, including one for an endorsement contract, must be a signed record listing fees, other payees, expenses, services and duration, carry a boldface warning near the athlete's signature, and come with a separate signed acknowledgment; a non-conforming contract is voidable by the athlete. A licensed attorney is outside "athlete agent" unless the attorney also recruits or solicits the athlete, procures pro employment, or charges athletes differently. Under the right of publicity law, a written consent to commercial use of an athlete's name or likeness that an agent got through a void or voided agency contract is itself void | IC 25-5.2-1-2(1), (3), (7), (11); 25-5.2-2-2; 25-5.2-2-4(f); 25-5.2-2-7; 25-5.2-2-8; 32-36-1-8(b) |
| High school and minors | Not addressed for NIL. IC 25-5.2 covers interscholastic athletes, and a parent or guardian signs a minor's agency contract and may cancel it. A 2026 amendment to add high school NIL rules (IC 20-33-15) was withdrawn | IC 25-5.2-1-2(10), (19); 25-5.2-2-8(g); 25-5.2-2-10(a) |
| Financial literacy | Not addressed | None |
| Scholarship protection | Not addressed. No Indiana statute found protects scholarships from NIL earnings | None |
| Confidentiality of contracts | Not addressed. The Access to Public Records Act has no exception naming NIL or athlete contracts; records stay closed only under a listed exception, such as a state statute, an authorized agency rule, federal law (such as FERPA) or trade secrets. An athlete agent's application for registration or renewal is a public record | IC 5-14-3-3; IC 5-14-3-4(a)(1) to (4); IC 25-5.2-2-3(a); 25-5.2-2-4(d) |
| NCAA and conference penalties | Not addressed. No Indiana statute found limits NCAA or conference action over NIL | None |
| Remedies and enforcement | For agent violations only, a school or athlete harmed by an agent may sue for damages, and the court may award costs and attorney's fees to the prevailing party; the claim accrues on discovery. Courts may impose a civil penalty up to $25,000 per violation, and the attorney general may sue for an injunction and restrict, suspend or revoke registration. False promises, inducements, unregistered contact and predating contracts are Level 6 felonies | IC 25-5.2-2-12 to 25-5.2-2-14 |
| Employee status | Not addressed | None |
What the General Assembly has and has not done
The General Assembly has passed no statute on college NIL. A search on 2026-10-21 of the General Assembly's own index (the 2026 Indiana Code, and every bill, amendment and committee report from the 2021 through 2026 sessions, including the 2022 special session) for "name, image, and likeness" found one NIL proposal, plus the right of publicity law described below.
That proposal reached the House floor once, for high school athletes. On 2026-01-27, during second reading of H.B. 1266 (an omnibus education bill), Representative Burton moved Amendment No. 1 to add a new chapter, IC 20-33-15, "Student Athlete Name, Image, and Likeness." It would have let high school athletes earn NIL pay with written parental permission under age 18, banned deals involving adult entertainment, alcohol, tobacco, vaping, nicotine, controlled substances, prescription drugs, gambling, weapons and NIL collectives, capped an agent's share at 3 percent, and created "registered advisers" who notify the principal. The motion was withdrawn. H.B. 1266 passed without it and became P.L. 159-2026.
The agent law that does apply
Indiana's athlete agent law is older than most NIL statutes: IC 25-5.2 dates to P.L. 54-2001 and was updated to the Revised Uniform Athlete Agents Act by S.B. 57 (P.L. 95-2019, effective 2019-07-01). Indiana gives registration to the attorney general, who issues two-year certificates. According to the attorney general's athlete agents page (read 2026-10-21), the office keeps a public list of registered agents updated every three months, takes applications only through an online portal, and enforces the act alongside the Deceptive Consumer Sales Act. The core misconduct provisions are Level 6 felonies, and a court may add a civil penalty of up to $25,000 for each violation. The section histories in the 2026 Indiana Code show no act from 2021 through 2026 amending IC 25-5.2; the last change was P.L. 156-2020, to the right-of-action section.
Indiana's right of publicity law
Indiana has a statute on commercial use of a person's identity that predates NIL. Under IC 32-36-1-8(a), no one may use a "personality's" name, voice, signature, photograph, image, likeness, distinctive appearance, gestures or mannerisms for a commercial purpose without prior written consent; a personality is someone whose identity has commercial value (IC 32-36-1-6). The chapter applies to acts in Indiana (IC 32-36-1-1(a)) and does not apply to uses in connection with the broadcast or reporting of an event or topic of general or public interest (IC 32-36-1-1(c)(3)). Damages are $1,000 or actual damages, whichever is greater, with treble or punitive damages for a knowing, willful or intentional violation (IC 32-36-1-10). IC 32-36-1-8(b) ties the chapter to the agent law: a written consent that an athlete agent obtained from a student athlete through an agency contract that was void under IC 25-5.2-2-2, or voided under IC 25-5.2-2-8, is void.
Public records at Indiana's public universities
Under the Access to Public Records Act, records of a public agency are open unless an exception applies (IC 5-14-3-3, 5-14-3-4). None of the exceptions names NIL contracts. The listed exceptions that could matter are records declared confidential by state statute or by an authorized agency rule, records federal law requires to be kept confidential, such as education records under FERPA, and trade secrets. Indiana's private universities are not public agencies under the Act.
How it changed
| Act | What it did | Effective |
|---|---|---|
| P.L. 54-2001 | enacted IC 25-5.2, Indiana's Uniform Athlete Agents Act, with registration through the attorney general | 2001 (effective date not confirmed) |
| P.L. 1-2003, SEC. 74 | amended the definitions section, IC 25-5.2-1-2 | 2003 (effective date not confirmed) |
| P.L. 158-2013, SECS. 279 to 281 | amended IC 25-5.2-2-8, 25-5.2-2-9 and 25-5.2-2-12, the misconduct section whose offenses are now Level 6 felonies | effective date not confirmed |
| S.B. 57 (2019), P.L. 95-2019 | brought IC 25-5.2 in line with the Revised Uniform Athlete Agents Act; per the official digest it broadened the "athlete agent" definition, added interscholastic (high school) athletes, recognized parents' and guardians' rights for minors, added application, contract and notice requirements, let certified agents cover limited expenses, and widened criminal liability to agents who encourage others; it also amended the right of publicity section, IC 32-36-1-8 | 2019-07-01 |
| H.B. 1096 (2020), P.L. 156-2020, SEC. 99 | technical corrections; amended the right-of-action section, IC 25-5.2-2-13 | 2020-07-01 |
| H.B. 1266 (2026), House Amendment No. 1 (Burton), not adopted | would have added IC 20-33-15, "Student Athlete Name, Image, and Likeness", for high school athletes (parental permission under 18, banned categories, a 3 percent cap on an agent's share, registered advisers); no version of H.B. 1266, including the enrolled act, contains it; H.B. 1266 became P.L. 159-2026 | not law (motion withdrawn 2026-01-27) |
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 with no later action (congress.gov; govinfo bill status); it is not law. With no Indiana NIL statute, § 121(a) would have little to displace, and the bill's own rules would be the first NIL rules with the force of law in Indiana: no school or association restrictions on NIL pay (§ 101(a)), school and collective pay allowed (§ 101(c)), and reporting of deals over $600 within 5 days (§ 101(b)(1)), which § 101(b)(5) limits to athletes at schools whose primary membership is in Division I, so not at Indiana's Division II and III colleges. On agents, § 121(b)(1)(A) keeps "Uniform Athlete Agent Acts" unless they conflict with § 121(a); IC 25-5.2 calls itself the Revised Uniform Athlete Agents Act (IC 25-5.2-1-1). § 102 would add a new SPARTA § 9 requiring an agent to register with a State before representing a student athlete in an endorsement contract, a 5 percent fee cap on endorsement contracts, and a federal private right of action for athletes, alongside Indiana's felony penalties.
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. Indiana's athlete-agent rules are on the state-by-state registration table.
- High school. High school NIL in Indiana 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 Indiana
Does Indiana have an NIL law in 2026?
Not for college athletes. The General Assembly has passed no statute on college NIL. The closest it came was a 2026 House floor amendment to H.B. 1266 that would have added high school NIL rules (IC 20-33-15); the motion was withdrawn on 2026-01-27 and the bill became P.L. 159-2026 without it. Indiana's athlete agent law, IC 25-5.2, does apply to agents who negotiate athletes' endorsement contracts.
Can Indiana colleges pay athletes directly?
No Indiana statute found addresses it either way. Payments by Indiana's colleges are governed by NCAA rules and the House settlement, not by state law.
Do I have to tell my school about an NIL deal in Indiana?
No Indiana statute requires it. School policy and NCAA rules can: at a Division I school, NCAA Bylaws 22.2.2 and 22.2.2.2 call for reporting third-party deals of $600 or more to the NCAA's designated NIL clearinghouse within five business days. If an athlete signs an agency contract, IC 25-5.2-2-9(c) says the athlete informs the athletic director within 72 hours or before the next scheduled athletic event, whichever is first.
Does Indiana require an NIL agent to be licensed?
Indiana requires registration. IC 25-5.2-2-2 says an individual may not act as an athlete agent in Indiana without a certificate of registration, issued by the attorney general for two years (IC 25-5.2-2-4(f)), and an "agency contract" includes one to negotiate an endorsement contract (IC 25-5.2-1-2(1)). The attorney general's office says all applications go through its registration portal and publishes a list of registered agents.
What penalties apply to agents in Indiana?
IC 25-5.2-2-12 makes it a Level 6 felony for an athlete agent, with intent to influence a signing, to give materially false information or promises or to furnish anything of value before the contract (apart from limited expenses a certified agent may pay), and also to initiate contact without registering or to predate or postdate a contract. IC 25-5.2-2-14 adds a civil penalty of up to $25,000 per violation.
Be your own agent. Leave.
