The law
Ohio's college NIL law is Ohio Rev. Code Chapter 3376 (R.C. 3376.01 to 3376.14) (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 | "Student-athletes" at Ohio state institutions of higher education (as defined in R.C. 3345.011) and private colleges (as defined in R.C. 3365.01): anyone eligible to participate, participating or who has participated in intercollegiate athletics; intramural and professional athletes are excluded. NIL includes "personal services" (nondelegable, skill or talent based services) since 2026-03-20 | 3376.01(D), (E), (G), (H), (I) |
| Disclosure to the school | A student-athlete who intends to enter a verbal or written NIL contract discloses the proposed contract to the official the school designates, for review, before entering it. No number of days is set. The school may set reasonable policies for a failure to disclose | 3376.06(C)(1), (D) |
| Banned categories | A school, conference or association may prohibit NIL contracts associated with controlled substances, marijuana (medical and adult-use), alcohol, tobacco, vaping and nicotine products; licensed marijuana cultivators, processors, labs or dispensaries; adult entertainment; casinos or gambling sponsors; and similar categories the school communicates before the athlete enrolls. The list is permissive, not an outright state ban | 3376.07(A) to (E) |
| Conflicts with team contracts | A school's contract with an athlete may not stop commercial NIL use outside official team activities. An athlete may not sign an NIL contract requiring display of a sponsor's product or advertising that conflicts with a contract the school is party to; if the school finds a conflict it names the provision, and the athlete may negotiate a revision subject to further review. No school or association may make an agreement barring NIL pay for activity unrelated to academic, athletic department or official team activities | 3376.06(A) to (C)(2); 3376.04(D) |
| School and coach involvement | A school may give money, assets, resources, opportunities or services to an "institutional marketing associate" or other third party to incentivize it to facilitate NIL opportunities for athletes. An association may not stop a school, its marketing associate or a third party from identifying, creating, facilitating, negotiating, supporting, assisting with, engaging with or otherwise enabling NIL opportunities. Nothing requires a school to do so. Athletes may use school facilities, equipment, apparel, uniforms and marks only as the school authorizes. Coaches are not named | 3376.09(A)(2); 3376.03(F); 3376.08(A), (B); 3376.10 |
| Direct pay from the school | A state institution or private college may compensate a student-athlete for NIL, but may not use fees paid by or for students to do so. An association may not stop a school from paying for NIL or providing "other compensation related to the student-athlete's position on the roster" | 3376.09(A)(1), (B); 3376.03(E) |
| Agents and attorneys | Schools and associations may not stop an athlete from obtaining an athlete agent or attorney, or bench the athlete for it. "Athlete agent" means an individual registered with the Ohio athletic commission under R.C. 4771.08 or 4771.09; serving as an athlete agent in Ohio without that registration is barred. Since 2026-03-20, an agent contract for NIL representation may not run past the athlete's eligibility, and an agent fee agreement may not take post-eligibility NIL pay or rights. Agent fees are otherwise negotiable; no percentage cap | 3376.01(A); 3376.02 to 3376.04; R.C. 4771.06, 4771.021, 4771.12(A), (D) |
| High school and minors | A student-athlete under 18 may not enter an NIL contract unless it includes the written consent of a parent, guardian or custodian. The chapter covers intercollegiate athletes only; it does not govern high school NIL | 3376.13; 3376.01(E) |
| Financial literacy | Not addressed | None |
| Scholarship protection | Earning NIL pay or obtaining an athlete agent or attorney "shall not affect the student-athlete's scholarship eligibility or renewal" | 3376.02(B) |
| Confidentiality of contracts | Any contract, proposed contract or related documentation disclosed to the school under 3376.06 is confidential and not a public record under R.C. 149.43 | 3376.06(C)(3) |
| NCAA and conference penalties | An athletic association, conference or similar body may not bench athletes or exclude schools over NIL pay, roster-position pay or representation; may not consider a complaint, open an investigation or take adverse action against a school, institutional marketing associate or third party for conduct the chapter allows; and may not penalize a school or athlete because a booster or other third party broke the association's NIL rules | 3376.03(A) to (F); 3376.04(A) to (C) |
| Remedies and enforcement | An injured athlete may sue a school or association for injunctive relief. A school, marketing associate or third party threatened or penalized by an association for conduct the chapter allows may also sue for an injunction. Employees of a school, marketing associate or third party are not liable for damages when an athlete loses NIL pay because of a decision or action that routinely occurs in intercollegiate athletics. A contract that breaks 3376.14 is void, and since 2026-03-20 NIL contract disputes must be resolved in Ohio under Ohio law | 3376.12(A) to (C); 3376.14(B), (E) |
| Employee status | A student-athlete at a state institution or private college is not an employee of the school because of participating in athletics or being paid by the school for NIL | 3376.11 |
How Ohio's law changed in 2025 and 2026
- 2021. Governor DeWine signed Executive Order 2021-10D on 2021-06-28, setting duties for Ohio colleges on athletes' NIL pay; by its text it remains in effect until superseded by state or federal law. H.B. 110, the 2021 budget act, then created Chapter 3376 effective 2021-09-30: no school or association rule could bench an athlete for NIL pay, deals were disclosed to the school, and a scholarship could not be cut for NIL pay (former 3376.05).
- 2025. H.B. 315, a township-law bill, rewrote the chapter effective 2025-04-03, two months before the House settlement was approved on 2025-06-06. It added school pay (3376.09), protection for "compensation related to the student-athlete's position on the roster" (3376.02, 3376.03), bars on association complaints, investigations and penalties against schools, institutional marketing associates and third parties (3376.03(C), (D)), an injunction route for athletes and schools (3376.12), the employee-status rule (moved from 3345.56 to 3376.11), parental consent for athletes under 18 (3376.13), and repealed the old scholarship section, 3376.05, folding scholarship protection into 3376.02(B).
- 2026. S.B. 56, the marijuana law rewrite, added adult-use marijuana to the categories in 3376.07. H.B. 184 added 3376.14 and the matching agent rules in R.C. 4771.021 and 4771.12(D). Both took effect 2026-03-20, and H.B. 184's contract limits apply to contracts entered into on or after that date (H.B. 184, Section 3).
Agents in Ohio
Ohio's agent law is its own act, R.C. Chapter 4771, in place since 1988 (R.C. 4771.03, effective 1988-06-14), not the Uniform Athlete Agents Act. It covers anyone who recruits an athlete into an agent contract, procures employment for an athlete for a fee, or otherwise attempts to market an athlete or the athlete's reputation (4771.01(B)), and "athlete" includes students at Ohio schools and colleges (4771.01(D)). Registration with the Ohio athletic commission is required (4771.06), the commission approves the agent contract form (4771.02(A)(1)), and both the agent and the athlete give written notice of the agent contract to the athletic director within 72 hours or before the next practice or game, whichever is first (4771.02(C)). The printed warning that 4771.02(A)(3) still requires predates the NIL chapter.
How it changed
| Act | What it did | Effective |
|---|---|---|
| H.B. 110 (134th G.A., 2021 budget act) | enacted R.C. 3376.01 to 3376.08: no school or association rule may bar an athlete for NIL pay or representation, disclosure of proposed contracts to the school, banned categories, scholarship protection (former 3376.05) | 2021-09-30 |
| H.B. 315 (135th G.A., signed 2025-01-02) | rewrote the chapter: schools may pay athletes for NIL (3376.09), associations may not take complaints, investigate or act against schools, institutional marketing associates or other third parties for conduct the chapter allows, or penalize a school or athlete for a third party breaking association NIL rules (3376.03), roster-position pay protected, school property rule (3376.10), employee-status rule moved from 3345.56 to 3376.11, injunctive relief (3376.12), parental consent under 18 (3376.13); repealed 3376.05 | 2025-04-03 |
| S.B. 56 (136th G.A., signed 2025-12-19) | added adult-use marijuana products and businesses to the categories a school or association may bar (3376.07) | 2026-03-20 |
| H.B. 184 (136th G.A., signed 2025-12-19) | defined NIL to include personal services (3376.01(H), (I)); NIL contracts may not run past eligibility, take post-eligibility pay or rights, or put disputes outside Ohio (3376.14); same limits for athlete-agent contracts and fees (R.C. 4771.021, 4771.12(D)); applies to contracts entered on or after the effective date | 2026-03-20 |
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 Ohio's bars on association and school rules and penalties (R.C. 3376.02(A), 3376.03, 3376.04(A) to (C)) and the injunction routes that enforce them (3376.12(A), (B)). § 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; Ohio's contract-term rules (3376.13, 3376.14) are closest to contract law and the confidentiality rule (3376.06(C)(3)) to privacy law, which is a reading for a lawyer to confirm, while Ohio's agent law (R.C. Chapter 4771) is Ohio's own act, dating to 1988, rather than the Uniform Act. School pay under 3376.09 matches § 101(c), which lets schools and collectives pay, subject to the revenue share cap in § 114, and § 122 says the title is neutral on employee status (3376.11). S. 4668 would also add a report to the school and the association within 5 days for Division I deals over $600 (§ 101(b)), a 5% cap on agent fees for endorsement contracts and State registration for those agents (§ 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. Ohio's athlete-agent rules are on the state-by-state registration table.
- High school. High school NIL in Ohio 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 Ohio
What is Ohio's NIL law in 2026?
Ohio Revised Code Chapter 3376, first enacted by H.B. 110 (effective 2021-09-30), rewritten by H.B. 315 (effective 2025-04-03) and amended by S.B. 56 and H.B. 184 (both effective 2026-03-20). It lets Ohio colleges pay athletes for NIL, bars associations and conferences from investigating or penalizing schools, athletes or third parties for conduct the chapter allows, requires disclosure of proposed deals to the school, and since 2026-03-20 voids NIL contracts that run past eligibility or put disputes outside Ohio.
Can Ohio colleges pay athletes directly?
Yes, under state law. R.C. 3376.09(A)(1) says a state institution of higher education or private college may compensate a student-athlete for the use of their name, image or likeness, but 3376.09(B) bars using fees paid by or for students to do it. R.C. 3376.03(E) says an athletic association or conference may not prevent a school from paying for NIL or providing other compensation related to a roster position.
Do I have to tell my school about an NIL deal in Ohio?
R.C. 3376.06(C)(1) says a student-athlete who intends to enter a verbal or written NIL contract discloses the proposed contract to the official the school designates, for review, before entering it. The statute sets no number of days. If the school finds a conflict with one of its own contracts, the athlete may not enter that version but may negotiate a revision. What is disclosed is confidential and not a public record (3376.06(C)(3)).
Does Ohio require an NIL agent to be licensed?
Ohio requires athlete agents to register with the Ohio athletic commission. R.C. 4771.06 says no person may serve as an athlete agent in Ohio without a certificate of registration, and R.C. 3376.01(A) defines "athlete agent" in the NIL chapter as an individual holding that registration. Since 2026-03-20, an agent contract for NIL work may not run past the athlete's eligibility (R.C. 4771.021). Ohio sets no percentage cap on agent fees (R.C. 4771.12(A)).
Can an Ohio NIL contract last after college?
Not one signed on or after 2026-03-20. R.C. 3376.14, added by H.B. 184, voids an NIL contract with a college athlete that stays in effect past the date the athlete is no longer eligible, that takes pay or NIL rights earned after eligibility, or that sends disputes to another state. The same limits apply to a contract that comes with an athlete transferring into an Ohio school (3376.14(D)).
Be your own agent. Leave.
