The law
Nebraska's college NIL law is Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 48-3601 to 48-3609 (Nebraska Student-Athlete Name, Image, or Likeness Rights Act) (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" as defined in the Uniform Athlete Agents Act: anyone who engages in, is eligible to engage in, or may be eligible in the future to engage in an intercollegiate sport. The act binds "postsecondary institutions" as defined in § 85-2403, any institution with a physical presence in Nebraska that provides postsecondary education and is exempt from the Private Postsecondary Career School Act, public or private. Protection covers athletes who earn or intend to earn NIL pay | § 48-3602(6), (9); § 48-2602(12); § 85-2403(10); § 48-3603(1) to (3) |
| Disclosure to the school | An athlete who enters into a contract or agreement that pays for the use of the athlete's NIL rights or athletic reputation discloses it to an official of the school, designated by the school and named to athletes in writing. The statute sets no deadline and does not require disclosure before signing. Reporting under the House settlement (deals above $600 go to the school and a third-party clearinghouse, as the Attorney General's 2025-10-23 ruling describes it) is separate from state law | § 48-3604(1) |
| Banned categories | No statewide list. A school may prohibit athletes from NIL contracts or activities for products, services, entities or activities it reasonably deems inconsistent with its educational mission | § 48-3603(8) |
| Conflicts with team contracts | An athlete may not sign a sponsor deal that requires wearing the sponsor's apparel or advertising for it during official team activities if that would conflict with a contract between the school (or its athletic department) and a sponsor. A school asserting a conflict discloses the full team contract to the athlete and the athlete's professional representation, who may not disclose terms the school deems a trade secret. No team contract may stop NIL pay for activity outside official team activities | § 48-3605(1), (2); § 48-3602(10) |
| School and coach involvement | No school may be prohibited from creating, identifying, facilitating, enabling or supporting athletes' NIL activities, or from agreeing with a third party to do so. No third party may be prohibited from contacting athletes about NIL, paying them, or paying them to promote an athletics event or the school. The act gives athletes no right to use the school's names, marks or logos. Coaches are not named | § 48-3603(4), (5), (10) |
| Direct pay from the school | A school may not pay an athlete for NIL "unless otherwise permitted or authorized by" a collegiate athletic association and school policy, a court order, or a settlement agreement. LB 1393 removed the 2022 bar on pay from a school or its employees. All NIL pay must be for services actually performed, and no athlete may be paid under a contract that extends beyond the athlete's participation in the school's athletic program, involves selling awards, or pays for work not performed | § 48-3603(7)(a), (b) |
| Agents and attorneys | Schools and associations may not penalize an athlete, or an association a school, because the athlete obtains professional representation for an NIL contract or legal matter. "Professional representation" includes an athlete agent registered under the Nebraska Uniform Athlete Agents Act, a financial advisor registered under the Securities Act of Nebraska, or an attorney admitted in Nebraska. Under the agent act an "agency contract" covers endorsement contracts, so an NIL agent registers with the Secretary of State (two-year term), the contract carries a printed warning, the agent and athlete notify the athletic director within 72 hours or before the next athletic event, and the athlete may cancel within 14 days. The statute sets no fee amounts; it lets the Secretary of State set registration and renewal fees by rule and regulation. No cap on agent fees | § 48-3606(1), (2); § 48-3602(7); §§ 48-2602(1), (5), 48-2604, 48-2606(6), 48-2609, 48-2610, 48-2611, 48-2612 |
| High school and minors | Not addressed. The act protects athletes participating for a postsecondary institution; it sets no parental-consent or age rule. A 2026 high school NIL bill, LB 1046, was indefinitely postponed on 2026-04-17 | § 48-3603(1) to (3) |
| Financial literacy | A school may offer athletes education and training on NIL opportunities, including networking and communication, brand-building and management, financial literacy and compliance. It is permissive, not required | § 48-3606(3) |
| Scholarship protection | No school may let NIL pay affect the duration, amount, eligibility for or renewal of an athletic grant-in-aid or other institutional scholarship, except that NIL pay may count as income for need-based financial aid. An athletic grant-in-aid does not include NIL pay | § 48-3603(6); § 48-3602(1) |
| Confidentiality of contracts | Unless otherwise required by law, a school may not disclose any information it holds that includes or reveals any term of an athlete's NIL contract or proposed contract. Exception: a contract for the use of an athlete's NIL entered into by an entity subject to the Public Records Act (§§ 84-712 to 84-712.09) is a public record under that act | § 48-3604(1), (2) |
| NCAA and conference penalties | No collegiate athletic association (any association, conference or other body with authority over intercollegiate sports) may penalize an athlete, or penalize or exclude a school, because an athlete earns or intends to earn NIL pay or obtains professional representation. A school may not uphold any rule that keeps an athlete from fully participating for earning NIL pay | § 48-3603(1) to (3); § 48-3606(1), (2); § 48-3602(2) |
| Remedies and enforcement | An aggrieved athlete or school may sue the school or association that broke the act for actual damages, preliminary, equitable or declaratory relief, and reasonable attorney's fees. Suits against a public school are allowed only to the extent of the State Tort Claims Act, State Contract Claims Act or State Miscellaneous Claims Act, and must be brought within one year after the claim accrues. Schools may not enter into, modify or renew contracts that conflict with the act | § 48-3608(1) to (3); § 48-3607(2) |
| Employee status | Nothing in the act makes an athlete an employee of a school based solely on earning NIL pay or engaging in NIL activities under the act | § 48-3603(11) |
How the act changed: 2020, 2022 and 2024
- 2020. LB 962, passed 37-6 and approved 2020-07-24, adopted the Nebraska Fair Pay to Play Act, in force 2020-11-14. It barred school rules and association penalties tied to NIL pay or representation, protected scholarships, required disclosure of NIL contracts to a designated school official, and let each school choose the date, no later than 2023-07-01, when the act began to apply to it (§ 48-3609).
- 2022. LB 1137, approved 2022-04-18 and in force 2022-07-21, renamed it the Nebraska Student-Athlete Name, Image, or Likeness Rights Act and added limits: pay only for services actually performed, no contracts beyond the athlete's participation, no sale of awards, no pay from the school or its employees, and no pay for work not performed. It also let schools bar categories inconsistent with their educational mission and offer NIL education.
- 2024. LB 1393, introduced at the Governor's request and passed 42-0 with an emergency clause, was approved 2024-04-16 and in force 2024-04-17 (Revisor's table). It removed the bar on school pay and replaced it with § 48-3603(7)(b), which allows school pay when association and school policy, a court order or a settlement agreement permits it. It also let schools and third parties facilitate NIL deals, added the employee-status rule, and widened confidentiality from terms the athlete deems trade secrets to any term of an NIL contract, with a public-records exception for contracts signed by public bodies. The same act changed the unemployment tax rate (§ 48-649.03).
Revenue-sharing records: the Attorney General's 2025 ruling
On 2025-10-23 Attorney General Mike Hilgers closed a public-records petition against the University of Nebraska System. The request sought the total amount and number of the University's direct payments to athletes under the House settlement from 2025-07-01 to 2025-09-30, and any breakdown by sport or gender. The University said its seven spreadsheets of individual payment transactions showed its method for allocating the House settlement's revenue-sharing cap (about $20.5 million for 2025-26) and were trade secrets under § 84-712.05(3). The Attorney General agreed that the University had met its burden, noted the University's position that the payments are for a license to use athletes' NIL and that athletes are not employees, and found no violation of the Public Records Act. The ruling did not decide whether FERPA or § 84-712.05(1) also applied, and it did not discuss § 48-3604.
Bills that did not pass
- LB 370 (2025). Senator Hunt's bill would have rewritten the act. Her statement of intent says it would permit universities to pay athletes directly, set requirements for written athlete agreements, set NIL-specific rules for athlete agents, and bar athletic associations from restricting, investigating or punishing athletes or universities for NIL activity the statute allows. It was heard by the Business and Labor Committee on 2025-03-17, carried over to 2026, and indefinitely postponed on 2026-04-17.
- LB 1046 (2026). Senator McKinney's bill would have had the State Board of Education adopt a model high school NIL policy by 2027-01-01. It was referred to the Education Committee, heard on 2026-02-02, and indefinitely postponed on 2026-04-17.
Agents in Nebraska
Nebraska's agent law is the Nebraska Uniform Athlete Agents Act, §§ 48-2601 to 48-2619, enacted in 2009. Because an "agency contract" covers endorsement contracts, it reaches NIL representation. An agent registers with the Secretary of State before acting (§ 48-2604); a contract made in violation is void. The contract states the fee and how it is calculated, the services and the duration (§ 48-2610). The Secretary of State may impose a civil penalty up to $25,000 (§ 48-2617), prohibited conduct is a Class I misdemeanor (§ 48-2615), and a school has a right of action for damages against an agent or former athlete (§ 48-2616). The act sets no cap on agent fees and no registration fee amounts; § 48-2609 lets the Secretary of State set fees by rule and regulation, and the Secretary of State's guidance document (updated 2023-12-19) lists $300 to register and $150 to renew.
How it changed
| Act | What it did | Effective |
|---|---|---|
| LB 962 (106th Legislature, 2020), approved 2020-07-24 | adopted the Nebraska Fair Pay to Play Act (now §§ 48-3601 to 48-3609): no school rule or association penalty for earning NIL pay or hiring representation, scholarship protection, disclosure of contracts to a designated school official, team-contract conflicts, a civil action, and a start date each school picks on or before 2023-07-01; also changed the agent act's contract warning (§ 48-2610) and prohibited-conduct rule (§ 48-2614) | 2020-11-14 |
| LB 1137 (107th Legislature, 2022), approved 2022-04-18 | renamed the act the Nebraska Student-Athlete Name, Image, or Likeness Rights Act; added the rules that pay be for services actually performed, with no contracts beyond the athlete's participation, no sale of awards, no pay from the school or its employees and no pay for work not performed; let schools bar categories inconsistent with their educational mission; kept school marks with the school; let schools offer NIL education, including financial literacy | 2022-07-21 |
| LB 1393 (108th Legislature, 2024), approved 2024-04-16 with an emergency clause | removed the bar on pay from the school and its employees and allowed school pay where association and school policy, a court order or a settlement agreement permits it (§ 48-3603(7)(b)); let schools and third parties create, facilitate and support NIL activity (§ 48-3603(4), (5)); covered athletes who intend to earn NIL pay; said NIL pay does not make an athlete an employee (§ 48-3603(11)); barred schools from disclosing any term of an NIL contract, except that a contract entered into by an entity subject to the Public Records Act is a public record (§ 48-3604) | 2024-04-17 |
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 (bill status record on govinfo.gov, last updated 2026-10-07, read 2026-10-21); it is not law. If enacted as passed, § 121(a)(2)(A) reaches state laws that govern, regulate or invalidate institution, conference or association rules on NIL compensation. On its text that describes Nebraska's bars on association penalties and school rules (§ 48-3603(1) to (3), § 48-3606(1), (2)) and the civil action that enforces them against associations (§ 48-3608). Whether § 48-3603(7)(b), which ties school pay to association and school policy, a court order or a settlement, conflicts with § 101(c) (schools and collectives "may pay") is not settled by the bill's text. § 121(b)(1) keeps, unless they conflict with § 121(a), "Uniform Athlete Agent Acts" (Nebraska's agent law is the Nebraska Uniform Athlete Agents Act, §§ 48-2601 to 48-2619) and state contract, privacy and consumer protection law; § 121 does not mention public-records laws such as § 48-3604. § 122 is neutral on employee status (§ 48-3603(11)). The bill would add a report to the school and the association or its designated entity within 5 days for NIL agreements over $600, by athletes at Division I schools (§ 101(b)(1), (5)), where Nebraska sets no deadline, and, by amending the Sports Agent Responsibility and Trust Act, a 5 percent cap on agent fees for endorsement contracts and a bar on agency contracts running past eligibility (§ 102).
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. Nebraska's athlete-agent rules are on the state-by-state registration table.
- High school. High school NIL in Nebraska 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 Nebraska
What is Nebraska's NIL law in 2026?
The Nebraska Student-Athlete Name, Image, or Likeness Rights Act, Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 48-3601 to 48-3609. LB 962 enacted it in 2020 (in force 2020-11-14), LB 1137 renamed and expanded it in 2022, and LB 1393 last amended it with an emergency clause (in force 2024-04-17). Bills to amend it in 2025 and 2026 (LB 370) did not pass. It bars schools and athletic associations from penalizing athletes or schools over NIL pay or representation, requires athletes to disclose NIL contracts to the school, keeps contract terms confidential at the school, and allows school pay only on the conditions in § 48-3603(7)(b).
Can Nebraska colleges pay athletes directly?
Only on conditions. Since 2024-04-17, § 48-3603(7)(b) says a school shall not pay an athlete for NIL unless a collegiate athletic association and school policy, a court order, or a settlement agreement permits or authorizes it. The Attorney General's public-records ruling of 2025-10-23 describes the House settlement, effective 2025-07-01, as allowing Division I schools to share revenue directly with athletes for NIL, and records the University of Nebraska's monthly revenue-sharing payments to athletes from July 2025. The statute does not name the House settlement. LB 370, which would have stated a direct right for schools to pay athletes, was indefinitely postponed on 2026-04-17.
Do I have to tell my school about an NIL deal in Nebraska?
Section 48-3604(1) says an athlete who enters into an NIL contract or agreement discloses it to the school official the school designates in writing. The statute sets no deadline and speaks of contracts already entered into. The school may not disclose any of the contract's terms unless another law requires it. Division I reporting under the House settlement is a separate requirement.
Does Nebraska require an NIL agent to be licensed?
Nebraska requires registration, not a license. Under the Nebraska Uniform Athlete Agents Act an agency contract includes an endorsement contract (§ 48-2602(1), (5)), so a person who represents a college athlete in NIL deals acts as an athlete agent and registers with the Secretary of State (§ 48-2604). Registration lasts two years (§ 48-2606(6)). The statute sets no fee amounts: § 48-2609 lets the Secretary of State set them by rule and regulation, and the Secretary of State's guidance document (updated 2023-12-19), not the statute, lists a $300 initial fee and a $150 renewal fee. The athlete may cancel an agency contract within 14 days (§ 48-2612), and both the agent and the athlete notify the athletic director within 72 hours or before the next athletic event (§ 48-2611). Parents, spouses, siblings, grandparents and guardians are not athlete agents (§ 48-2602(2)).
Are NIL contracts public records in Nebraska?
It depends on who signed them. Section 48-3604(1) bars a school from disclosing any term of an athlete's NIL contract, but § 48-3604(2) says a contract for an athlete's NIL entered into by an entity subject to the Public Records Act is a public record under that act. In a 2025-10-23 ruling the Attorney General found the University of Nebraska could withhold its revenue-sharing payment records for July to September 2025 as trade secrets under § 84-712.05(3).
Be your own agent. Leave.
