The law
Montana's college NIL law is MCA 20-1-232 and 28-2-903(1)(f) (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 enrolled in a "postsecondary institution", defined as "a 2-year or 4-year public or private college or university located in the state", so two-year colleges are included | 20-1-232(1)(a), (b) |
| Disclosure to the school | A student-athlete who enters a contract providing NIL compensation "shall disclose the contract to an official of the postsecondary institution" as a team member, or when seeking to become one. No number of days and no designated office are set. Since 2025-06-01 the agreement itself must be in writing | 20-1-232(3)(b), (6); 28-2-903(1)(f) |
| Banned categories | Not addressed. A school may prohibit use of an athlete's NIL on school property, at school functions or in advertising distributed or placed on school property, and may enforce a conduct code that applies to all students | 20-1-232(4)(b), (5) |
| Conflicts with team contracts | An athlete may not enter an NIL contract whose terms conflict with team rules or a contract between the school and a third party, but those may not stop NIL pay when the athlete is not engaged in official team activities. If the school asserts a conflict, it discloses the specific rules or terms to the athlete or the athlete's representative | 20-1-232(3)(a), (c) |
| School and coach involvement | A school may include provisions in scholarship agreements letting the school use the athlete's NIL, and may "serve as an agent for the athlete to manage any contract using an athlete's name, image, and likeness". Coaches are not named | 20-1-232(4)(a), (c), (d) |
| Direct pay from the school | No longer barred. The 2021 rule that a school or association "may not provide" NIL pay to a current or prospective athlete was repealed by SB 271, effective 2025-05-05. The statute does not expressly authorize school pay, and "student-athlete rights" still "does not include a right to receive compensation from a postsecondary institution" | 20-1-232(1)(b)(ii); SB 271 (2025) |
| Agents and attorneys | Schools and associations may not restrict an athlete's right to contract with and retain an athlete agent. Montana has no athlete-agent registration law in the current code: its athlete-agent law (Title 37, chapter 76, "Athletic Agents", enacted by Ch. 410, L. 2003) was repealed in 2007 (Sec. 24, Ch. 11, L. 2007). A school may act as the athlete's agent for NIL contracts. No fee cap | 20-1-232(1)(b)(i), (2)(a), (4)(c); Title 37, ch. 76 (repealed) |
| High school and minors | Not addressed. The section covers students enrolled at postsecondary institutions only | 20-1-232(1)(b) |
| Financial literacy | Not addressed | None |
| Scholarship protection | A school or association may not impose an eligibility requirement on a scholarship or grant that requires the athlete to refrain from NIL pay or an agent, subject to the school's power to include NIL-use provisions in scholarship agreements | 20-1-232(2)(d), (4)(a) |
| Confidentiality of contracts | Not addressed. The section has no public-records exemption for NIL contracts disclosed to a school | None |
| NCAA and conference penalties | An athletic association, conference or organization with authority over intercollegiate sports may not prohibit, prevent or restrict an athlete's NIL rights, penalize or retaliate against the athlete, or bar the athlete from competing for exercising them. The section does not address association investigations or penalties against schools | 20-1-232(2)(a) to (c) |
| Remedies and enforcement | No enforcing agency or private right of action is named. An NIL agreement that is not in writing and subscribed by the party to be charged or that party's agent is invalid, and evidence of it is not admissible without the writing or secondary evidence of its contents | 28-2-903(1)(f), (2) |
| Employee status | Not addressed | None |
What changed in 2025
SB 271 and SB 482 were both sponsored by Senator Boldman, both signed on 2025-05-05, and both amend MCA 20-1-232.
- SB 271 (Chapter 380) struck former subsection (4): "A postsecondary institution or an athletic association, conference, or organization with authority over intercollegiate sports may not provide to a prospective or current student-athlete compensation for use of the student-athlete's name, image, or likeness." It took effect on passage and approval, 2025-05-05, about a month before the House settlement was approved on 2025-06-06. It did not add a sentence authorizing school pay and did not change the definition in 20-1-232(1)(b)(ii).
- SB 482 (Chapter 407) added subsection (6) and MCA 28-2-903(1)(f), putting NIL agreements alongside real estate sales and long-term leases in Montana's statute of frauds. It took effect 2025-06-01.
The 2021 law itself waited two years: SB 248 was signed on 2021-04-30 with a delayed effective date of 2023-06-01 (SB 248, section 3). A 2023 bill draft, LC 969, "Generally revise collegiate student-athlete rights and protections", was never introduced; the Legislature's records show it died in process on 2023-05-02. Montana's Legislature convenes its regular sessions in odd-numbered years (MCA 5-2-103), so 2021, 2023 and 2025 are the regular sessions in this period; the Legislature's bill system lists no special session since, and no 2027 bill draft on student-athlete rights as of 2026-10-21.
No athlete-agent law
Montana enacted an athlete-agent law in 2003 (Chapter 410, Laws of 2003, codified as Title 37, chapter 76, "Athletic Agents") and repealed it in 2007 (Sec. 24, Ch. 11, Laws of 2007). The Montana Code Annotated 2025 shows every section of chapter 76 as repealed. No current Montana statute was found that requires an NIL agent to register with a state office or sets a notice, cancellation window or fee rule for agents, except that the NIL agreement must be in writing (MCA 28-2-903(1)(f)) and, by 20-1-232(4)(c), the school itself may act as the athlete's agent.
How it changed
| Act | What it did | Effective |
|---|---|---|
| SB 248 (2021), Chapter 396, Laws of 2021 | enacted 20-1-232: schools and associations may not restrict NIL pay or an athlete agent, disclosure to the school, team-contract conflicts, no NIL pay from schools or associations, and a school may use NIL in scholarship agreements, bar NIL use on school property and serve as the athlete's agent; signed 2021-04-30 with a delayed effective date | 2023-06-01 |
| SB 271 (2025), Chapter 380, Laws of 2025 | repealed the ban on a school, association or conference paying a current or prospective athlete for NIL (former 20-1-232(4)); effective on passage and approval, signed 2025-05-05 | 2025-05-05 |
| SB 482 (2025), Chapter 407, Laws of 2025 | added 20-1-232(6) and 28-2-903(1)(f): an agreement relating to a college athlete's student-athlete rights, including NIL, is invalid unless it, or a note or memorandum of it, is in writing and subscribed by the party to be charged or that party's agent; signed 2025-05-05 | 2025-06-01 |
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) covers state laws that govern, regulate or invalidate school, conference or association rules on NIL compensation; on its text that describes MCA 20-1-232(2), which limits what schools and associations may do about NIL pay. Montana's statute is silent on school pay since 2025; § 101(c) would say schools, conferences and collectives may pay, subject to the revenue share cap (§ 114), and § 114(a)(1)(C) would bar a school from paying a prospective athlete for any purpose before enrollment (apart from limited development-camp costs), a payment Montana's statute no longer bars. The writing rule in MCA 28-2-903(1)(f) is contract law, which § 121(b)(1)(F) keeps except where it conflicts, and it matches the bill's own requirement that endorsement contracts be in writing (new SPARTA § 10(1), in § 102). Montana has no athlete-agent act, so there is no state law for § 121(b)(1)(A) to preserve, and the bill's rule that an agent for an endorsement contract register "with a State" (new SPARTA § 9) has no Montana registry to point to; § 9(b)(1) also counts registration with a professional league or players association. The bill would require Division I athletes to report deals over $600 to the school and the association or its designated entity within 5 days of signing (§ 101(b)(1), (5)) and would cap an agent's fee on an endorsement contract at 5% (§ 102, new SPARTA § 3(a)(5)).
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. Montana's athlete-agent rules are on the state-by-state registration table.
- High school. High school NIL in Montana 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 Montana
What is Montana's NIL law in 2026?
MCA 20-1-232, enacted by SB 248 (2021) and in force since 2023-06-01, amended by SB 271 (in force 2025-05-05) and SB 482 (in force 2025-06-01). It bars Montana colleges and the NCAA or conferences from restricting or penalizing NIL pay or an athlete agent, requires disclosure of NIL contracts to the school, and, with MCA 28-2-903(1)(f), requires NIL agreements to be in writing.
Can Montana colleges pay athletes directly?
State law no longer forbids it. SB 271 struck the 2021 rule that a school or association "may not provide" NIL compensation to a current or prospective athlete, effective 2025-05-05. MCA 20-1-232 does not expressly authorize school pay either, and its definition still says an athlete's rights do not include "a right to receive compensation from a postsecondary institution". What a school pays is set by NCAA and conference rules and the House settlement.
Do I have to tell my school about an NIL deal in Montana?
Yes. MCA 20-1-232(3)(b) says an athlete who enters an NIL contract "shall disclose the contract to an official of the postsecondary institution", or, if not yet on the team, at the time of seeking to join it. It sets no deadline. Division I athletes also report deals of $600 or more through NIL Go within five business days under NCAA Bylaw 22.2.2, which is an NCAA rule, not Montana law.
Does Montana require an NIL agent to be licensed?
No state registration exists in the current Montana Code. Montana repealed its athlete-agent law (Title 37, chapter 76, "Athletic Agents") in 2007, and no other athlete-agent registration statute was found. MCA 20-1-232 protects an athlete's right to retain an agent, and 20-1-232(4)(c) lets the school itself serve as the athlete's agent to manage NIL contracts.
Does an NIL deal in Montana have to be in writing?
Since 2025-06-01, yes. SB 482 added MCA 28-2-903(1)(f): an agreement relating to a college athlete's student-athlete rights, including name, image and likeness, is invalid unless it, or a note or memorandum of it, is in writing and subscribed by the party to be charged or that party's agent. 20-1-232(6) says contracts under the section must meet that rule.
Be your own agent. Leave.
