The law
Nevada's college NIL law is NRS 398.300 to 398.330 (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" is anyone eligible to attend an institution who engages in, is eligible to engage in or may be eligible in the future to engage in an intercollegiate sport, except a person permanently ineligible in that sport. An "institution" is any public or private institution offering education beyond the secondary level, including postsecondary institutions under NRS 394.099 and universities under NRS 396.838. "Compensation" does not include a scholarship | 398.011; 398.045; 398.047; 398.071 |
| Disclosure to the school | A student athlete who enters into an NIL contract "must disclose the contract to the institution in which the student athlete is enrolled". No number of days is set. A prospective student athlete discloses any previous or existing NIL contract to a school before signing a letter of intent with it | 398.310(2); 398.330 |
| Banned categories | Not addressed as a list. A school may adopt a policy imposing reasonable restrictions on NIL contracts with an organization or person whose goods, services or mission are contrary to the school's mission | 398.300(2)(a) |
| Conflicts with team contracts | An NIL contract "may not conflict with any provision of a contract between the student athlete and the institution". If the school alleges a conflict, it informs the athlete and, if the athlete has legal representation, the athlete's attorney. A school may also prohibit NIL pay where the use of NIL is related to official activities of the school or its intercollegiate sports | 398.310(1), (3); 398.300(2)(b) |
| School and coach involvement | Not addressed. The sections do not mention collectives, marketing associates or coaches; since 2025-07-01 an athlete may contract with the school itself | 398.310(1) |
| Direct pay from the school | Since 2025-07-01 an athlete may enter into an NIL contract with "an organization, an institution or a national collegiate athletic association", and the ban on a school compensating its current athletes was struck. A school may not compensate a prospective student athlete for NIL, and neither may the NCAA. No funding-source limit is set | 398.310(1); 398.300(1)(c), (3)(c) |
| Agents and attorneys | Schools and the NCAA may not prevent an athlete from obtaining "professional services", which include representation on contracts or legal matters by an attorney or by an athlete agent registered under NRS chapter 398A. Agents register with the Secretary of State before acting (two-year registration, fees set by regulation); the agency contract carries a printed warning; the athlete and agent notify the athletic director within 72 hours or before the next scheduled athletic event; the athlete may cancel within 14 days | 398.300(1)(d), (3)(d), (4); 398A.200, 398A.220, 398A.270, 398A.350 to 398A.380 |
| High school and minors | Not addressed in NRS 398.300 to 398.330, except that a prospective athlete discloses existing NIL contracts before signing a letter of intent. Nevada's agents act covers interscholastic as well as intercollegiate athletes | 398.330; 398A.100 |
| Financial literacy | A school "may require" an athlete to take courses or receive education or training in contracts, financial literacy or any other subject the school considers necessary to prepare the athlete to enter into contracts | 398.320 |
| Scholarship protection | A school may not alter, withhold or reduce a scholarship "solely because" an athlete is paid for NIL by an organization, the school or the NCAA, or obtains professional services | 398.300(1)(e) |
| Confidentiality of contracts | NIL contracts entered into with a school, contracts an athlete discloses to the school, and any communications and materials relating to either "are confidential and are not public records" under NRS 239.010 (since 2025-07-01) | 398.310(4) |
| NCAA and conference penalties | A school may not uphold or enforce an NCAA rule that prevents an enrolled athlete from being paid for NIL. A "national collegiate athletic association" (a group of institutions in 40 or more states) may not bar an athlete from intercollegiate sports, or a school from membership or activities, "solely because" an athlete is paid for NIL, and may not prevent an athlete from obtaining professional services. Conferences are not named | 398.300(1)(a), (3); 398.055 |
| Remedies and enforcement | Not addressed. NRS 398.300 to 398.330 set no private right of action, injunction route or penalty. (The injunction and damages section in the same chapter, NRS 398.245, covers only the 1991 NCAA due-process sections, which the Ninth Circuit held unconstitutional in 1993) | 398.300 to 398.330; 398.245 |
| Employee status | Not addressed | None |
Nevada's 1991 NCAA statute and NCAA v. Miller
Chapter 398 carries a part that has not been enforceable for three decades. In 1991 Nevada enacted NRS 398.155 to 398.255, which required "a national collegiate athletic association" to give Nevada schools and people charged in its proceedings notice, counsel, confrontation of witnesses, sworn statements, an impartial presiding officer and judicial review, and let a Nevada court enjoin the NCAA and award a school 100 percent of its monetary loss (NRS 398.245). The case came when people charged in an NCAA investigation of UNLV invoked the statute. In NCAA v. Miller, 10 F.3d 633 (9th Cir. 1993), the Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court and held that the entire statute violates the Commerce Clause because it "directly regulates interstate commerce" and, in practice, would require the NCAA to use Nevada's procedures "in every state in the union". The sections remain in the printed NRS. The NIL sections reuse the same definition of "national collegiate athletic association" (NRS 398.055). No court decision applying Miller to NRS 398.300(3) was found.
What Nevada changed in 2025, and what it did not pass
- S.B. 293 (Statutes of Nevada 2025, ch. 297; approved 2025-06-05; in force 2025-07-01). Before it, Nevada barred a school, and the NCAA, from paying even current athletes for NIL and limited athlete contracts to organizations "other than" the school or the NCAA. S.B. 293 struck "or current" and "other than", added NRS 398.310(4) on confidentiality, and listed NRS 398.310 among the confidentiality exceptions in the public records statute, NRS 239.010.
- S.B. 70 (2023), not enacted. Filed on behalf of the Joint Interim Standing Committee on Education, it would have required a collective, booster, vendor or other third party that regularly facilitates NIL contracts for athletes at Nevada schools to register annually with the Secretary of State. It was referred to the Senate Committee on Education, never received a vote, and died on 2023-04-15 under Joint Standing Rule 14.3.1.
Agents in Nevada
Nevada adopted the Revised Uniform Athlete Agents Act in 2017 (NRS chapter 398A), administered by the Secretary of State. An agent registers before acting, except that an agent contacted first by an athlete may act, short of signing a contract, while applying within 7 days (NRS 398A.200). The act makes it a misdemeanor to make false promises, to give an athlete something of value that may cost eligibility without notifying the athletic director within 72 hours, or to contact an athlete to recruit them without registering (NRS 398A.400), and allows an administrative fine of up to $50,000 for a willful violation (NRS 398A.440).
How it changed
| Act | What it did | Effective |
|---|---|---|
| A.B. 254 (81st Session, 2021; Statutes of Nevada 2021, ch. 202, p. 941; approved 2021-05-29) | added NRS 398.011, 398.047, 398.071 and 398.300 to 398.330: schools may not uphold NCAA rules that stop NIL pay from outside organizations, schools and the NCAA may not pay current or prospective athletes for NIL, athletes may contract with outside organizations if the deal does not conflict with a school contract, disclosure to the school, optional contract and financial literacy training, disclosure of existing deals before a letter of intent; directed an interim study of NIL (that section effective on approval, 2021-05-29) | 2022-01-01 |
| S.B. 293 (83rd Session, 2025; Statutes of Nevada 2025, ch. 297, p. 1980; approved 2025-06-05) | removed the bans on a school or the NCAA paying current athletes for NIL and on athletes contracting with their school or the NCAA (the ban on paying prospective athletes stays); extended scholarship protection to NIL pay from the school or the NCAA; made NIL contracts with a school, contracts disclosed to a school and related communications confidential and not public records (NRS 398.310(4), added to NRS 239.010) | 2025-07-01 |
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, with no House action; it is not law. If enacted as passed, § 121(a)(2) reaches state laws that govern, regulate or invalidate school, conference or association rules on NIL compensation, transfers or eligibility; on its text that describes NRS 398.300(1)(a) and (b) (schools may not uphold NCAA rules that stop NIL pay or otherwise prevent NIL pay) and NRS 398.300(3)(a) and (b) (bars on the NCAA). Several Nevada rules run parallel to the bill: the ban on paying prospective athletes (NRS 398.300(1)(c), (3)(c)) and § 114(a)(1)(C), which bars schools, conferences and associated entities from paying a prospective athlete before enrollment; the letter-of-intent disclosure (NRS 398.330) and § 101(b)(2), which requires recruited athletes to report current deals over $600 to the school they enroll at and to the association or its designated entity; and the right to professional services (NRS 398.300(1)(d)) and § 101(d). § 121(b)(1) keeps, unless they conflict with § 121(a), Uniform Athlete Agent Acts (Nevada's NRS chapter 398A is the Revised Uniform Athlete Agents Act) and state contract and privacy law; § 121 does not mention public-records laws such as NRS 398.310(4). Secretary of State registration would meet the bill's rule that an agent representing an athlete in an endorsement contract "register with a State" (§ 102, new SPARTA § 9). S. 4668 would also add a report to the school and the association or its designated entity within 5 days of signing a deal over $600 (and within 30 days of receiving NIL pay over $600 not already reported) (§ 101(b)(1)), a bar on a school releasing information identifying an athlete in those reports without written consent (§ 101(b)(4)), and a 5% cap on agent fees for endorsement contracts (§ 102). Under § 101(b)(5), the § 101(b) reporting rules apply only to athletes and prospective athletes of schools whose primary membership is in NCAA Division I.
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. Nevada's athlete-agent rules are on the state-by-state registration table.
- High school. High school NIL in Nevada 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 Nevada
What is Nevada's NIL law in 2026?
NRS 398.300 to 398.330, enacted by A.B. 254 (in force 2022-01-01) and amended by S.B. 293 (in force 2025-07-01). Athletes may be paid for NIL by outside organizations, their school or the NCAA; schools may restrict deals with organizations contrary to the school's mission and deals tied to official activities; athletes disclose NIL contracts to the school; prospective athletes disclose existing deals before signing a letter of intent; and NIL contracts held by schools are confidential.
Can Nevada colleges pay athletes directly?
For current athletes, the ban is gone. Until 2025-07-01, NRS 398.300(1)(c) said a school could not compensate a "prospective or current" student athlete for NIL; S.B. 293 struck "or current" and let athletes contract with "an organization, an institution or a national collegiate athletic association" (NRS 398.310(1)). The statute has no sentence saying a school may pay; it lets an athlete sign an NIL contract with the school and removed the prohibition. It speaks of pay for name, image or likeness and does not mention revenue sharing. A school still may not pay a prospective student athlete for NIL.
Do I have to tell my school about an NIL deal in Nevada?
NRS 398.310(2) says a student athlete who enters into an NIL contract "must disclose the contract to the institution in which the student athlete is enrolled". The statute sets no deadline. If the school says the deal conflicts with a contract between the athlete and the school, it tells the athlete and the athlete's attorney (NRS 398.310(3)). What is disclosed is confidential and not a public record (NRS 398.310(4)). Separately, NCAA Division I rules require athletes at Division I schools to report third-party deals of $600 or more through NIL Go, the College Sports Commission's platform, with a five-business-day reporting requirement for new or changed deals (NCAA, as of 2026-10-21).
Does Nevada require an NIL agent to be licensed?
Yes, registered with the Secretary of State. NRS 398A.200 says an individual may not act as an athlete agent in Nevada without a certificate of registration, and an agency contract made in violation is void. Registration lasts two years (NRS 398A.220), fees are set by Secretary of State regulation (NRS 398A.270), and the Secretary of State may fine a willful violator up to $50,000 (NRS 398A.440). NRS 398.300(4) names an agent registered under chapter 398A among the professional services schools and the NCAA may not keep an athlete from using.
Are NIL contracts public at UNLV and Nevada?
No. Since 2025-07-01, NRS 398.310(4) makes confidential, and not public records under NRS 239.010, any NIL contract an athlete enters into with a school, any contract an athlete discloses to the school, and communications and materials relating to them.
Be your own agent. Leave.
