The law
North Carolina has no general college NIL statute. The narrower laws that touch NIL are G.S. 78C-85 to 78C-105 (Uniform Athlete Agents Act, as amended by S.L. 2025-46) and G.S. 132-1.2(11). Rows drawn from a statute come from the enacted text on the legislature's own site; rows drawn from a school or board policy name that policy. Every source is linked under Sources, read on October 21, 2026.
What it says
| Question | What applies | Section or source |
|---|---|---|
| Who is covered | G.S. 78C covers a "student-athlete", meaning anyone who engages in, is eligible for or may be eligible for an intercollegiate sport. An "NIL contract" is a contract between a student-athlete and any entity paying for the license or use of the athlete's name, image or likeness. The rescinded EO 223 covered athletes at postsecondary schools in North Carolina. | G.S. 78C-86(6b), (11) |
| Disclosure to the school | Not addressed for NIL deals. Since 2025-07-01 the agent's and athlete's 72-hour notice to the athletic director applies only to professional-sports-services agency contracts. EO 223 had let schools set reporting rules; it was rescinded on 2024-03-08. | G.S. 78C-95 |
| Banned categories | Not addressed. EO 223 had let schools exclude products "antithetical to the values of the institution"; rescinded 2024-03-08. | EO 223 (rescinded); S.L. 2025-46 |
| Conflicts with team contracts | Not addressed. EO 223 had let schools bar deals conflicting with a school contract; rescinded 2024-03-08. The NIL agency contract warning says a contract that conflicts "with State law or your institution's policies may have negative consequences, such as loss of athletic eligibility." | G.S. 78C-94(c1) |
| School and coach involvement | An athlete agent who is, or within the prior two years was, employed by or in a contractual relationship with an educational institution may not enter into an NIL agency contract with an athlete enrolled there, and an NIL agency contract is void if the athlete later enrolls there. | G.S. 78C-98(c) |
| Direct pay from the school | Not addressed. EO 223 said postsecondary schools "may not compensate student-athletes" for NIL; that order was rescinded 2024-03-08. | EO 223 (rescinded); S.L. 2025-46 |
| Agents and attorneys | An NIL agency contract is an "agency contract". Agents register with the Secretary of State ($200, one year); an in-state licensed and resident attorney who does not advertise special qualifications and represents no more than two student-athletes is exempt, except from the two-year bar in G.S. 78C-98(c). Contracts must be in a record with fees, services and duration, and carry the NIL warning; the athlete may cancel within 14 days. A spouse, parent, sibling or guardian is not an athlete agent. | G.S. 78C-86(1), (2), (6a); 78C-88; 78C-90(f); 78C-93; 78C-94; 78C-96 |
| High school and minors | Not addressed as such. The agent act's "student-athlete" is defined by intercollegiate sport but includes anyone who "may be eligible in the future" to play one, which on its text can reach recruits still in high school; it has no rule specific to minors. EO 223 covered postsecondary schools only. | G.S. 78C-86(11) |
| Financial literacy | Not addressed. EO 223 "encouraged" schools to offer financial literacy programs; rescinded 2024-03-08. | EO 223 (rescinded); S.L. 2025-46 |
| Scholarship protection | Not addressed. EO 223 said NIL pay "shall not affect a student-athlete's scholarship eligibility"; rescinded 2024-03-08. | EO 223 (rescinded); S.L. 2025-46 |
| Confidentiality of contracts | Nothing in the Public Records Act requires or authorizes a public agency to disclose information that "reveals records related to a student-athlete's name, image, and likeness contract". It applies retroactively to all such records "ever in the possession of the institution of higher education". | G.S. 132-1.2(11); S.L. 2025-46, s. 8(b) |
| NCAA and conference penalties | Not addressed | S.L. 2025-46 |
| Remedies and enforcement | For agent violations, a school's civil action for damages against an agent or former student-athlete (G.S. 78C-100), a civil penalty up to $25,000 (G.S. 78C-101), and a Class I felony for inducements and false promises (G.S. 78C-99). A contract made by an unregistered agent is void (G.S. 78C-88(d)); a non-conforming contract is voidable by the athlete (G.S. 78C-94(d)). EO 223 created no private right of action. | G.S. 78C-88(d), 78C-94(d), 78C-99 to 78C-101 |
| Employee status | Not addressed | S.L. 2025-46 |
Executive Order No. 223, and its rescission
On 2021-07-02 Governor Roy Cooper signed Executive Order No. 223, "Postsecondary educational institutions' responsibilities regarding name, image, and likeness compensation of student-athletes" (published at 36 N.C. Reg. 152-154). It said athletes at North Carolina postsecondary schools could earn NIL pay and obtain representation, but not "as a direct inducement to enroll" or "as compensation for performance, participation, or service"; that representatives must comply with G.S. 78C and the federal Sports Agent Responsibility and Trust Act; that schools "may not compensate student-athletes" for NIL; and that schools could, but were not required to, limit conflicts with school contracts, pay from the school's supporting organizations, product categories, pay during team activities, use of school marks, and could require that NIL pay match fair market value and set reporting rules. Section 1.C "encouraged" financial literacy programs. Section 2 said it created no right "enforceable at law or in equity".
On 2024-03-08 Executive Order No. 306 rescinded it "in its entirety, effective immediately", citing the 2024-02-23 decision in Tennessee v. NCAA (E.D. Tenn.) and "the changing legal landscape". Since then no executive order or statute found here sets NIL conditions for North Carolina colleges.
What S.L. 2025-46 added
Parts VII and VIII of S.L. 2025-46 (HB 378, approved 2025-07-01) are the only North Carolina statutes found here that address college NIL:
- NIL agents. An NIL agency contract is an agency contract under the Uniform Athlete Agents Act, so the agent must register with the Secretary of State and the 14-day cancellation right applies. The contract must carry, near the athlete's signature: "ENTERING INTO AN NIL CONTRACT THAT CONFLICTS WITH STATE LAW OR YOUR INSTITUTION'S POLICIES MAY HAVE NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES, SUCH AS LOSS OF ATHLETIC ELIGIBILITY."
- Agents tied to a school. An agent employed by or under contract with a school within the prior two years may not sign that school's athletes to an NIL agency contract (G.S. 78C-98(c)). The section applies to NIL agency contracts entered into on or after 2025-07-01.
- Records. Records related to a student-athlete's NIL contract are confidential under the Public Records Act, retroactively (G.S. 132-1.2(11)).
Pending: revenue-sharing records
Senate Bill 229 ("College Sports Updates") passed the Senate 44-0 on 2025-05-06. Its current edition would "exempt records containing revenue sharing information from public records requirements", among other changes. A House committee substitute was reported favorably on 2026-05-06 and re-referred to the House Rules Committee the same day, which is its last action as of 2026-10-21. It is not law.
How it changed
| Act | What it did | Effective |
|---|---|---|
| S.L. 2003-375 (SB 563) | repealed the earlier athlete agent law (G.S. 78C, Article 8) and enacted the Uniform Athlete Agents Act, now G.S. Chapter 78C, Article 9 (registration with the Secretary of State, contract form, notice to the school, 14-day cancellation, penalties) | 2003-08-01 (G.S. 78C-99, the criminal penalty, from 2003-12-01) |
| Executive Order No. 223 (Gov. Cooper) | set conditions for NIL at postsecondary schools, including no NIL pay as a direct inducement to enroll or for performance; schools may not pay athletes for NIL; schools may limit conflicts, categories and use of marks and set reporting rules; no private right of action | 2021-07-02 |
| Executive Order No. 306 (Gov. Cooper) | rescinded Executive Order No. 223 "in its entirety, effective immediately", citing Tennessee v. NCAA (E.D. Tenn. 2024-02-23) | 2024-03-08 |
| S.L. 2025-46 (HB 378), Parts VII and VIII | made NIL agency contracts "agency contracts" under G.S. 78C, added an NIL warning notice, limited school notice to professional contracts, barred agents tied to a school within two years from NIL contracts with its athletes; made records of a student-athlete's NIL contract confidential under the Public Records Act, retroactively | 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; it is not law. North Carolina has no state rule that governs NCAA, conference or school NIL rules, so § 121(a)(2) has little to reach. § 121(b)(1)(A) lists "Uniform Athlete Agent Acts" among state laws not preempted unless they conflict with § 121(a), a category that on its text includes G.S. 78C as amended by S.L. 2025-46. The bill would add a federal 5% cap on agent fees for endorsement contracts and a bar on agency contracts running past eligibility (§ 102, amending the Sports Agent Responsibility and Trust Act). § 121 does not name state public-records laws such as G.S. 132-1.2(11); its preserved list includes "laws that relate to privacy or data breach" (§ 121(b)(1)(E)). The bill separately requires Division I athletes to report deals over $600 to the school and to the association or its designated entity within 5 days (§ 101(b)), and bars a school from releasing information identifying an athlete in those reports without written consent, except as the bill provides (§ 101(b)(4)).
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. North Carolina's athlete-agent rules are on the state-by-state registration table.
- High school. High school NIL in North Carolina 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 North Carolina
Does North Carolina have an NIL law in 2026?
Not a general one. The NIL provisions found in North Carolina's statutes come from S.L. 2025-46 (HB 378), in force since 2025-07-01, which regulates NIL agents under the Uniform Athlete Agents Act (G.S. 78C) and makes NIL contract records confidential (G.S. 132-1.2(11)). Governor Cooper's Executive Order No. 223 of 2021-07-02 was rescinded by Executive Order No. 306 on 2024-03-08. Senate Bill 229, whose current edition would "exempt records containing revenue sharing information from public records requirements", has sat in the House Rules Committee since 2026-05-06, its last action as of 2026-10-21.
Can North Carolina colleges pay athletes directly?
No state statute addresses it. Executive Order No. 223 said schools "may not compensate student-athletes" for NIL, but Executive Order No. 306 rescinded that order in full on 2024-03-08. What a school may pay is set by NCAA and conference rules and the House settlement, not by a North Carolina statute.
Do I have to tell my school about an NIL deal in North Carolina?
No state law requires it. Since 2025-07-01 the 72-hour notice to the athletic director in G.S. 78C-95 applies only to professional-sports-services agency contracts. School policy, conference rules and NCAA rules can still require reporting.
Does North Carolina require an NIL agent to be licensed?
Yes, registered. Since 2025-07-01 an agreement authorizing someone to negotiate or solicit NIL deals is an "agency contract" (G.S. 78C-86(1), (6a)), so the agent must register with the Secretary of State (G.S. 78C-88), at $200 a year (G.S. 78C-93, 78C-90(f)). An in-state licensed and resident lawyer representing no more than two student-athletes without advertising is exempt (G.S. 78C-88(c)). The contract must carry an NIL warning and can be cancelled within 14 days (G.S. 78C-94(c1), 78C-96).
Are NIL contracts public records in North Carolina?
No. G.S. 132-1.2(11), added by S.L. 2025-46, says nothing in the Public Records Act requires or authorizes disclosure of information that reveals records related to a student-athlete's NIL contract, and it applies retroactively to all such records ever in a college's or university's possession.
Be your own agent. Leave.
