The law
Maine's college NIL law is 20-A M.R.S. §§ 12971 to 12974 (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 | A student athlete "participating in an intercollegiate athletic program" at a "college or university", meaning a postsecondary institution in Maine, including degree-granting institutions regulated under chapter 409, the University of Maine System, the Maine Community College System and Maine Maritime Academy | 12971(1); 12972(1)(A) |
| Disclosure to the school | Not addressed. No Maine statute requires an athlete to report an NIL deal to the school. A school may adopt policies that set "conditions by which a student athlete may monetize" NIL, and Division I athletes report deals of $600 or more through NIL Go within five business days under NCAA Bylaws 22.2.2 and 22.2.2.2 | 12972(2) |
| Banned categories | Not addressed as a list. A school may adopt and enforce policies that bar use of its trademark, logo or facility, or NIL use "inconsistent with a college or university code of conduct or other college or university policy" | 12972(2) |
| Conflicts with team contracts | A school may not prescribe a team contract that stops an athlete from using NIL for a commercial purpose when not engaged in official team activities. A "team contract" includes athletic department or head coach rules required as a condition of participation, and each school decides what counts as official team activities | 12971(2); 12972(1)(C), (1) final paragraph |
| School and coach involvement | Not addressed, apart from counting a head coach's required rules as part of the team contract. The chapter says nothing on schools arranging or facilitating deals | 12971(2) |
| Direct pay from the school | Not addressed. Chapter 443 neither allows nor bars a school paying athletes for NIL; the House settlement and NCAA and conference rules set what a school pays | None |
| Agents and attorneys | A school may not prevent an athlete from obtaining professional representation, including an attorney, for contracts or other legal matters relating to NIL. Maine has no athlete-agent registration law: no such chapter appears in Title 32, and the Uniform Athlete Agents Act, proposed as LD 229 in 2003, was reported Ought Not to Pass | 12972(1)(A)(2), (1)(B)(2) |
| High school and minors | Not addressed. The chapter covers intercollegiate athletes at postsecondary institutions only | 12971(1) |
| Financial literacy | Not addressed | None |
| Scholarship protection | A school may not disqualify an athlete from receiving a "full scholarship" based on athletics because the athlete earns NIL pay outside official team activities or obtains representation, including an attorney, for NIL contracts or legal matters. "Full scholarship" means one that covers the full cost of attendance, including tuition, room and board; partial scholarships are not mentioned | 12972(1)(B) |
| Confidentiality of contracts | Not addressed. The chapter has no public-records rule, and no NIL exemption appears in Maine's Freedom of Access Act (1 M.R.S. chapter 13) | None |
| NCAA and conference penalties | An athletic association, conference or other organization with authority over intercollegiate athletics "may not prevent in this State a college or university from participating in intercollegiate athletics" because an athlete was paid for NIL. The chapter does not address penalties against individual athletes | 12974 |
| Remedies and enforcement | Not addressed. No private right of action or enforcing agency is named | None |
| Employee status | Not addressed | None |
What Maine's chapter does and does not say
Maine's law is four sections long and protects athletes against their own schools more than it regulates deals. It bars a college from adopting or enforcing any "policy, requirement, standard or limitation" that stops an athlete from earning NIL pay when not engaged in official team activities or from obtaining professional representation, including an attorney, for NIL contracts or legal matters, and from writing a team contract that stops commercial NIL use outside official team activities (§ 12972(1)). It then lets the college set "conditions by which a student athlete may monetize" NIL, including bars on using school trademarks, logos or facilities and on NIL use that conflicts with the code of conduct or other school policy (§ 12972(2)). Each college decides what counts as official team activities.
It has no rule on disclosure, banned products, school pay, public records, agents, minors or remedies. Those gaps are filled by each school's policy and, for Division I, NCAA rules: deals of $600 or more are reported through NIL Go within five business days under Bylaw 22.2.2.
Autographs
§ 12973 is unusual: it names autograph sales expressly. A student athlete "may earn compensation from selling the student athlete's autograph" as long as the sale does not otherwise conflict with the chapter. The bill's title reflected it: "An Act Regarding the Use of a Student Athlete's Name, Image, Likeness or Autograph".
Bills from 2021 to 2026
LD 1893 is the only NIL bill in Maine in this period. It was a 130th Legislature bill from the 2022 session, amended by committee amendment C-A (S-427), enacted and signed on 2022-03-31 and, with no emergency clause, effective on the session's general effective date, 2022-08-08. A title search of the Legislature's bill status system for the 130th (2021-2022), 131st (2023-2024) and 132nd (2025-2026) Legislatures finds no other bill on athlete NIL or athlete agents (checked 2026-10-21), and the Revisor's text of chapter 443, current through the 132nd Legislature's Second Regular Session, shows no amendment since 2022.
No athlete-agent law
Maine never adopted the Uniform Athlete Agents Act. LD 229 (2003) would have enacted it as Title 32, chapter 4, with agent registration; the Business, Research and Economic Development Committee reported it Ought Not to Pass on 2003-02-24, and that was its final disposition on 2003-03-06. So a person representing a Maine athlete in NIL deals registers with no state office, and no state cancellation window, notice to the athletic director or fee rule applies. The athlete's right to representation comes from § 12972(1)(A)(2), and federal law (the Sports Agent Responsibility and Trust Act) still applies.
How it changed
| Act | What it did | Effective |
|---|---|---|
| LD 1893 (SP 663), Public Law 2021, chapter 544 | enacted Title 20-A, chapter 443, Student Athletes: colleges may not bar NIL pay earned outside official team activities or professional representation for NIL matters, or take away a full athletic scholarship for either, may not use team contracts to stop NIL use outside team activities, athletes may sell autographs, and associations may not keep a Maine school out of competition over NIL pay; signed 2022-03-31 | 2022-08-08 |
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) covers state laws that govern, regulate or invalidate school, conference or association rules on NIL compensation, which on its text describes 20-A M.R.S. § 12972(1) (limits on college policies) and § 12974 (the bar on associations keeping a Maine school out of competition). The bill would put similar federal rules in their place: § 101(a) bars schools, conferences and associations from restricting NIL pay or cutting a grant-in-aid over it, and § 101(d) bars restricting eligibility for having an agent or legal representative. In a state with no disclosure, pay or agent statute, it would also add a duty to report the terms of each NIL agreement worth more than $600 (counting payments from the same entity over 12 months) within 5 days of signing, and NIL pay over $600 not already reported within 30 days, to the school and to the athletic association or its designated entity, limited by § 101(b)(5) to athletes at Division I schools (§ 101(b)(1), (5)); permission for schools and collectives to pay (§ 101(c)) within the revenue share cap (§ 114), and federal agent rules (§ 102): registration "with a State", a 5% fee cap on endorsement contracts and a bar on agency contracts running past eligibility. Maine has no agent registry for § 9(b)(2) of the amended SPARTA to point to; § 9(b)(1) also counts registration with a professional league or players association.
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. Maine's athlete-agent rules are on the state-by-state registration table.
- High school. High school NIL in Maine 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 Maine
Does Maine have an NIL law in 2026?
Yes, a short one. Title 20-A, chapter 443 (§§ 12971 to 12974), enacted by LD 1893 and in force since 2022-08-08, bars Maine colleges from stopping athletes from earning NIL pay outside official team activities or from hiring representation for NIL matters, protects full athletic scholarships, allows autograph sales, and bars associations from keeping a Maine school out of competition over NIL pay. No other NIL bill has been filed in Maine since (the Legislature's bill status title search for the 130th to 132nd Legislatures, checked 2026-10-21).
Can Maine colleges pay athletes directly?
Maine law does not address it. Chapter 443 neither authorizes nor bars a college paying athletes for NIL, so what a school may pay is set by NCAA and conference rules and the House settlement.
Do I have to tell my school about an NIL deal in Maine?
No Maine statute requires it. 20-A M.R.S. § 12972(2) lets a college adopt policies setting "conditions by which a student athlete may monetize" NIL, which can include reporting, and Division I athletes report deals of $600 or more through NIL Go within five business days under NCAA Bylaw 22.2.2 (timing in Bylaw 22.2.2.2).
Does Maine require an NIL agent to be licensed?
No. Maine has no athlete-agent registration or licensing law; the Uniform Athlete Agents Act was proposed as LD 229 in 2003 and reported Ought Not to Pass. 20-A M.R.S. § 12972(1)(A)(2) bars a college from preventing an athlete from obtaining professional representation, including an attorney, for NIL contracts.
Can a Maine college athlete sell autographs?
Yes. 20-A M.R.S. § 12973 says a student athlete may earn compensation from selling the athlete's autograph in a manner that does not otherwise conflict with the chapter, for example a school's trademark or code-of-conduct policy allowed by § 12972(2).
Be your own agent. Leave.
