The law
Michigan's college NIL law is Mich. Comp. Laws §§ 390.1731 to 390.1741 (2020 PA 366) (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 at a "postsecondary educational institution": a public or private institution in Michigan that offers a degree or course of study beyond the twelfth grade and receives state or federal funding of any kind. "Student" is not defined. The protection for professional representation names a student "who resides in this state and participates in intercollegiate athletics" | 390.1731(1); 390.1733(b) |
| Disclosure to the school | A student who intends to enter a verbal or written NIL opportunity or contract discloses it to the official the school designates "at least 7 days prior to committing to the opportunity or contract," for the school's review. This did not apply to contracts entered, modified or renewed on or before the act's effective date | 390.1737(1), (4) |
| Banned categories | Not addressed. The act lists no product or industry categories; a school's academic, conduct, governance and disciplinary rules are left in place | 390.1740(3) |
| Conflicts with team contracts | A student may not sign an apparel contract that requires displaying a sponsor's apparel or advertising during official team activities if it conflicts with the school's team contract. If the school finds a conflict with its existing agreements, it tells the student, who may negotiate a revision subject to further review and approval. A team contract may not stop NIL pay for commercial use outside official team activities | 390.1736; 390.1737(2), (3) |
| School and coach involvement | Nothing in the act requires a school, association or conference to identify, create, facilitate, negotiate or otherwise enable NIL opportunities, and the act gives no right to use school or association names, marks or logos. Coaches, collectives and institutional facilitation are not otherwise addressed | 390.1740(1), (2) |
| Direct pay from the school | A school, association or conference may not provide "a prospective college athlete who will attend a postsecondary educational institution with compensation in relation to the athlete's name, image, or likeness rights." Pay from a school to an enrolled athlete is not addressed. An athletics grant-in-aid or stipend scholarship is not NIL compensation under the act | 390.1733(a); 390.1734 |
| Agents and attorneys | Schools and associations may not stop a Michigan-resident athlete from obtaining representation for NIL contracts, including an athlete agent or an attorney, and may not bench the athlete or penalize the school for representation by an athlete agent, financial advisor or attorney. That representation "must be provided by persons licensed in this state, as applicable." No Michigan athlete-agent licensing or registration statute was found on the Legislature's site; 2020 PA 367 repealed the penal code section on prohibited conduct by athlete agents, MCL 750.411e, and MCL 600.2968 on liability for improper gifts or services to student athletes | 390.1733(b); 390.1735(1) to (3) |
| High school and minors | Not addressed, apart from the bar on a school, association or conference paying a "prospective college athlete who will attend" a Michigan school for NIL. No parental-consent or age rule | 390.1733(a) |
| Financial literacy | Not addressed | None |
| Scholarship protection | Earning NIL pay "shall not affect a student's scholarship eligibility or renewal," and a school may not revoke or reduce an athletics grant-in-aid or stipend scholarship because a student earns NIL pay in accordance with the act | 390.1731(2); 390.1734 |
| Confidentiality of contracts | Not addressed | None |
| NCAA and conference penalties | An athletic association, conference or other group with authority over intercollegiate athletics, "including, but not limited to, the National Collegiate Athletic Association," may not keep a student from fully participating because of NIL pay, may not keep a school from fully participating "without penalty" because of a student's NIL use, and may not penalize a school because a student obtained professional representation | 390.1732(a), (b); 390.1735(2) |
| Remedies and enforcement | Not addressed: the act names no private right of action, penalty or enforcing agency. It says "a legal settlement arising under this act shall not permit noncompliance with this act" | 390.1738 |
| Employee status | Not addressed | None |
What has not changed since 2020
Michigan's act has its 2020 text. The Legislature's "Bills Affecting this Statute" search lists no enacted amendment in the 2021-2022, 2023-2024 or 2025-2026 sessions, and each section's history line reads only "2020, Act 366." So the act says nothing about the 2025 House settlement, revenue sharing, collectives or the College Sports Commission. Its main rules are the bars on athletic associations (390.1732, 390.1735(2)) and the 7-day advance disclosure to the school (390.1737(1)).
Bills pending in 2025 and 2026 (not law)
- HB 4643 of 2025 (Rep. Tate) would amend sections 1 to 8 and 10, add sections 7a, 8a, 12 and 13, and repeal sections 9 and 11. As introduced it would, among other changes, bar schools from complying with association investigations or rules on NIL and from reporting NIL deal information to an association, bar associations from investigating or penalizing athletes, agents, schools or third parties for activity the act protects, drop the ban on paying prospective athletes, and let schools arrange NIL deals without taking a commission. Introduced and referred to the House Committee on Regulatory Reform on 2025-06-12; the last journal entry (2025-06-17) records the bill as electronically reproduced, with no committee action since.
- SB 1017 of 2026 (Sen. Singh), introduced 2026-06-04, and HB 6206 of 2026 (Rep. Tate), introduced 2026-07-03, carry the same text: a new section 6a voiding NIL contracts that run past eligibility, take post-eligibility pay or rights, or put disputes outside Michigan, with matching limits on agent contracts and fee agreements. SB 1017 is in the Senate Committee on Regulatory Affairs; HB 6206 is in the House Committee on Regulatory Reform.
Agents after 2020 PA 367
The NIL act came with a companion, 2020 PA 367, which took effect 2021-01-04 and repealed MCL 750.411e (the penal code section on prohibited conduct by athlete agents) and MCL 600.2968 (liability for improper gifts or services to student athletes). The NIL act itself says representation must come from persons "licensed in this state, as applicable" (390.1735(3)), and no Michigan athlete-agent licensing statute appears on the Legislature's site.
How it changed
| Act | What it did | Effective |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 PA 366 (HB 5217 of 2019) | enacted the act; sections 9 and 11 took effect on enactment (filed 2021-01-04), sections 1 to 8 and 10 took effect 2022-12-31 | 2022-12-31 |
| 2020 PA 367 (HB 5218 of 2019) | companion act tie-barred to HB 5217; repealed MCL 750.411e (prohibited conduct by an athlete agent) and MCL 600.2968 (liability for improper gifts or services to student athletes); did not amend MCL 390.1731 to 390.1741 | 2021-01-04 |
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 House action; it is not law. If enacted as passed, its § 121(a)(2) covers state laws that govern, regulate or invalidate school, conference or association rules on NIL compensation, transfers, or the eligibility rules described in § 113, and § 121(a)(1) covers state laws that conflict with the title so as to prevent compliance. On its text, § 121(a)(2) describes Michigan's bars on school and association rules and penalties (MCL 390.1731(2), 390.1732, 390.1733(b), 390.1735(1), (2)). Michigan's bar on paying prospective athletes (390.1733(a)) sits beside § 114(a)(1)(C), which would bar an institution from paying a prospective athlete before enrollment, and its scholarship protection (390.1734) beside § 101(a)(1)(C), (D). § 121(b) keeps, except where they conflict with § 121(a), Uniform Athlete Agent Acts and state contract, privacy, consumer protection, trademark and copyright law, among others; Michigan's NIL act has no contract-term or confidentiality rules, and its only agent rule is that representation come from persons "licensed in this state, as applicable" (390.1735(3)). S. 4668 would also add a report to the school and the association within 5 days after signing for Division I deals over $600 (§ 101(b)), next to Michigan's 7-day advance disclosure to the school; let schools and collectives pay athletes (§ 101(c)), subject to the revenue share cap in § 114; cap agent fees at 5% of an endorsement contract; and require an agent in an endorsement contract to be registered with a State or with a professional league or players association (§ 102, new SPARTA §§ 3(a)(5), 9).
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. Michigan's athlete-agent rules are on the state-by-state registration table.
- High school. High school NIL in Michigan 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 Michigan
What is Michigan's NIL law in 2026?
2020 PA 366, codified at MCL 390.1731 to 390.1741. Its main sections took effect 2022-12-31 and the act has not been amended since; the Legislature's code is complete through PA 114 of 2026. It bars schools and athletic associations, the NCAA included, from benching athletes or penalizing schools over NIL pay or representation, requires disclosure to the school 7 days before committing to a deal, and bars NIL pay to prospective athletes by schools and associations.
Can Michigan colleges pay athletes directly?
The statute does not say. MCL 390.1733(a) bars a school, association or conference from providing a prospective college athlete who will attend a Michigan school with compensation for NIL, but no section addresses a school paying an athlete who is already enrolled, and nothing in the act authorizes it. House Bill 4643 of 2025 would rewrite the act; it has been in the House Committee on Regulatory Reform since 2025-06-12 and is not law.
Do I have to tell my school about an NIL deal in Michigan?
MCL 390.1737(1) says a student who intends to enter a verbal or written NIL opportunity or contract discloses it to the official the school designates at least 7 days before committing to it, for the school's review. If the school identifies a conflict with its existing agreements, it tells the student, who may negotiate a revision that the school then reviews again (390.1737(2)). The act has no confidentiality rule for what is disclosed.
Does Michigan require an NIL agent to be licensed?
MCL 390.1735(3) says professional representation by an athlete agent, financial advisor or attorney "must be provided by persons licensed in this state, as applicable." Michigan has no athlete-agent licensing or registration statute on the Legislature's site: 2020 PA 367, passed with the NIL act, repealed MCL 750.411e, the penal code section on prohibited conduct by athlete agents, along with MCL 600.2968 on liability for improper gifts or services to student athletes.
Is Michigan changing its NIL law?
Three bills are pending, and none has passed either chamber as of 2026-10-21. House Bill 4643 of 2025 would rewrite the act. Senate Bill 1017 and House Bill 6206 of 2026 would add a section 6a that voids NIL contracts running past eligibility or sending disputes outside Michigan, with matching limits on agent contracts. Until one is enacted, the 2020 text is the law.
Be your own agent. Leave.
