The law
Kansas has no college NIL statute. In short: None (athlete agents, K.S.A. 44-1516 to 44-1536). 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). The agent act covers a "student-athlete" in an intercollegiate sport only, so it does not reach high school athletes | K.S.A. 44-1517(l) |
| Disclosure to the school | Not addressed for NIL deals. Within 72 hours of signing an agency contract or before the next athletic event, whichever is first, the agent notifies the athletic director in a record and the athlete informs the athletic director. Deal reporting otherwise comes from campus policy and, at Kansas, Kansas State and Wichita State, 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). H.B. 2264 would have required disclosure to the school within five business days of signing | K.S.A. 44-1526(a), (b) |
| Banned categories | Not addressed. No Kansas statute or Board of Regents policy found lists NIL categories | None |
| Conflicts with team contracts | Not addressed. H.B. 2264 would have barred athlete deals that conflict with a school contract, such as apparel deals; it did not pass | None |
| School and coach involvement | Not addressed. The Board of Regents policy manual (June 2026) addresses multi-year contracts for athletic directors and coaches and conference changes, not NIL | Board of Regents Policy Manual (2026-06-18) |
| Direct pay from the school | Not addressed. No Kansas statute found authorizes or bars school payments to athletes. H.B. 2800 (2026) would have barred using state money or student fees for NIL pay, and H.B. 2264 (2021) would have barred schools from paying athletes for NIL; neither passed | None |
| Agents and attorneys | An individual may not act as an athlete agent in Kansas without a certificate of registration from the Secretary of State; a contract from unregistered conduct is void. Registration costs $500 (initial, reciprocal or renewal) and lasts two years. An agency contract includes one to negotiate an "endorsement contract" and must be a signed record stating the fee, other payees, expenses, services and duration, with a boldface warning near the athlete's signature; a non-conforming contract is voidable by the athlete. "Athlete agent" excludes a spouse, parent, sibling or grandparent; the act has no separate attorney exemption | K.S.A. 44-1517(a), (b), (e); 44-1519; 44-1521(f); 44-1524; 44-1525 |
| High school and minors | Not addressed. The agent act covers intercollegiate athletes only | K.S.A. 44-1517(l) |
| Financial literacy | Not addressed | None |
| Scholarship protection | Not addressed. H.B. 2264 would have barred schools from restricting scholarship eligibility over NIL pay, except need-based awards; it did not pass | None |
| Confidentiality of contracts | Not addressed for NIL. Under the Kansas Open Records Act, a public agency need not disclose records whose disclosure federal law or a state statute prohibits or restricts (which takes in FERPA education records) or records of a personal nature whose disclosure would be a clearly unwarranted invasion of privacy; no exception names NIL contracts | K.S.A. 45-221(a)(1), (a)(30) |
| NCAA and conference penalties | Not addressed. H.B. 2264 would have barred athletic associations from penalizing athletes or schools over NIL pay; it did not pass | None |
| Remedies and enforcement | For agent violations only, the act gives a civil action to the educational institution (not the athlete) against an agent or former athlete, for losses including NCAA or conference penalties; the Secretary of State may assess up to $25,000 per violation, recoverable by the attorney general; the Secretary or attorney general may seek an injunction in Shawnee County; criminal conduct is a class A nonperson misdemeanor, referred to the attorney general for prosecution. The act does not restrict other rights or remedies | K.S.A. 44-1529 to 44-1532 |
| Employee status | Not addressed | None |
Bills that did not pass
H.B. 2264 (2021-2022) came closest. Introduced 2021-02-08, it passed the House 95-29 on 2021-03-02. In the Senate it was referred to Judiciary, withdrawn and sent to Federal and State Affairs on 2021-03-05, heard on 2021-03-18, and recommended for passage on 2021-05-03, but it was not taken up and died on Senate General Orders on 2022-05-23. According to the Legislative Research Department's supplemental note on the bill as recommended by the House Judiciary Committee, it would have:
- barred schools from preventing athletes from earning NIL pay or restricting scholarships for it (except need-based awards);
- barred schools and athletic associations, including the NCAA, from paying athletes for NIL, and associations from penalizing athletes or schools over NIL pay;
- protected athletes' right to professional representation;
- granted schools royalty-free use of athletes' NIL for the school's promotional interests;
- required athletes to disclose NIL contracts to the school within five business days of signing; and
- barred deals that conflict with a school contract, such as apparel or advertising during team activities.
H.B. 2800 (2026), requested by Representative Helgerson and introduced by the House Appropriations Committee on 2026-03-18, took the opposite approach for the post-settlement era: it would have barred any postsecondary school, or a nonprofit that runs its athletics, from spending or commingling state money or student fees to pay athletes for NIL. It died in committee on 2026-04-10. A review of every bill title on the Legislature's 2023-2024 list found no college NIL bill that session.
An agent law frozen in 2003
Kansas still runs the original 2000 Uniform Athlete Agents Act, enacted in 2003 (L. 2003, ch. 109) and never amended. That leaves it narrower than the 2015 revised uniform act: it covers only intercollegiate athletes, its "athlete agent" definition does not reach paid financial or career advisors who do not negotiate contracts, the right to sue an agent belongs to the school rather than the athlete, and it keeps the flat ban on an agent furnishing anything of value, with intent to induce a signing, before the athlete signs (K.S.A. 44-1529(a)(1)(B)). The fee is fixed in the statute itself: $500 for an initial, reciprocal or renewal registration (K.S.A. 44-1524).
What governs at the Regents universities
The Kansas Board of Regents policy manual (version of 2026-06-18) has no NIL or revenue-sharing provision. Its athletics rules cover multi-year contracts for athletic directors and coaches at Division I and Division II state universities, Board approval before a university changes athletic conference, and sex-designated teams. NIL at Kansas, Kansas State and Wichita State is therefore set by NCAA and conference rules and campus policy.
How it changed
| Act | What it did | Effective |
|---|---|---|
| L. 2003, ch. 109 | enacted the 2000 Uniform Athlete Agents Act, K.S.A. 44-1516 et seq., with registration with the Secretary of State ($500, two years), a required contract form with a boldface warning, notice to the athletic director within 72 hours, a 14-day cancellation right, class A nonperson misdemeanor penalties, and a civil action for schools; none of the sections has been amended since | 2003-07-01 |
| H.B. 2264 (2021-2022), not enacted | would have let college athletes earn pay for their name, image, likeness or athletic reputation, barred school and association pay, required disclosure to the school within five business days, and set rules for professional representatives; passed the House 95-29 on 2021-03-02 and died on Senate General Orders | not law (died 2022-05-23) |
| H.B. 2800 (2026), not enacted | would have barred postsecondary schools from spending or commingling state money or student fees to pay athletes for NIL; introduced by the House Appropriations Committee on 2026-03-18 | not law (died in committee 2026-04-10) |
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. Its approach differs from both Kansas bills: H.B. 2264 would have barred schools from paying athletes for NIL and H.B. 2800 would have barred state money and student fees for it, while § 101(c) would let schools and collectives pay. With no Kansas NIL statute, § 121(a) would have little or nothing to preempt. For athletes at Kansas, Kansas State and Wichita State, § 101(b) would add a federal duty to report deals over $600 within 5 days; § 101(b)(5) limits that duty to schools whose primary membership is in Division I, so it would not reach Kansas's Division II colleges. The biggest change would be to agent law: § 102's amendments to the Sports Agent Responsibility and Trust Act would give athletes a private right of action, which the 2003 Kansas act gives only to schools (K.S.A. 44-1530), plus a 5 percent fee cap on endorsement contracts and a bar on agency contracts past eligibility. § 121(b)(1)(A) preserves "Uniform Athlete Agent Acts" unless they conflict with § 121(a), and K.S.A. 44-1516 names Kansas's law the uniform athlete agents act.
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. Kansas's athlete-agent rules are on the state-by-state registration table.
- High school. High school NIL in Kansas 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 Kansas
Does Kansas have an NIL law in 2026?
Not for college athletes. The Legislature has passed no college NIL statute. H.B. 2264 passed the House 95-29 on 2021-03-02, was recommended for passage by the Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee on 2021-05-03, and died on Senate General Orders on 2022-05-23. H.B. 2800, introduced 2026-03-18, died in the House Appropriations Committee on 2026-04-10.
Can Kansas colleges pay athletes directly?
No Kansas statute found addresses it either way. H.B. 2800 (2026) would have barred schools from using state money or student fees to pay athletes for NIL, but it died in committee. Payments are governed by NCAA rules and the House settlement.
Do I have to tell my school about an NIL deal in Kansas?
No Kansas statute requires it. School policy and NCAA rules can: at Kansas, Kansas State and Wichita State, 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 with an athlete agent, K.S.A. 44-1526(b) says the athlete informs the athletic director within 72 hours or before the next athletic event, whichever is first.
Does Kansas require an NIL agent to be licensed?
Kansas requires registration with the Secretary of State. K.S.A. 44-1519 says an individual may not act as an athlete agent in Kansas without a certificate of registration, and an "agency contract" includes one to negotiate an endorsement contract (K.S.A. 44-1517(a)). The fee is $500 (K.S.A. 44-1524) and registration lasts two years (K.S.A. 44-1521(f)). The athlete may cancel within 14 days, a right that cannot be waived (K.S.A. 44-1527).
Can an athlete sue an agent under Kansas law?
Not under the agent act itself. K.S.A. 44-1530 gives the right of action to the educational institution, for losses including NCAA or conference penalties, and says the act does not restrict other rights or remedies. The Secretary of State may assess a civil penalty of up to $25,000 (K.S.A. 44-1531).
Be your own agent. Leave.
