The law
Rhode Island has no college NIL statute. In short: None (no college NIL statute); athlete agents, R.I. Gen. Laws ch. 5-74.1. 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 | No state NIL statute. The agent act's "student athlete" is anyone who engages in, is eligible to engage in, or may be eligible in the future to engage in any intercollegiate sport; it does not mention interscholastic (high school) sports | R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-74.1-2(12) |
| Disclosure to the school | No state NIL rule. Under the agent act, the agent and the athlete each notify the athletic director within 72 hours of an oral or written agency contract or before the next athletic event, whichever is first. At the University of Rhode Island, the NIL procedures (last revised 2025-05-22) require disclosure of NIL compensation of $600 or more through Opendorse within 10 days of receiving it or signing for future pay, whichever is first; for Division I, NCAA Bylaws 22.2.2 and 22.2.2.2 (NIL Go, $600 or more, five business days) also apply | § 5-74.1-11; URI NIL procedures § III; NCAA Bylaws 22.2.2, 22.2.2.2 |
| Banned categories | Not addressed by statute. URI's NIL policy (06.101.5, revised 2025-05-22) lists no product categories; it bars endorsements that violate University policies, Board of Trustees regulations or NCAA bylaws, and endorsements using University marks that may reasonably be construed as objectionable to the NCAA's or the University's mission | URI Policy 06.101.5 § I.E, I.G |
| Conflicts with team contracts | Not addressed by statute. URI's policy lets athletes work with University sponsors or their competitors, but requires contract footwear and apparel while training, competing or promoting the University, and bars endorsing a competitor of the University's exclusive beverage provider on campus or in University gear. H 7644 (2024) would have barred apparel, equipment or beverage deals requiring display during official team activities that conflict with a school contract; not enacted | URI Policy 06.101.5 § I.F; H 7644 (2024), not enacted |
| School and coach involvement | No state statute. URI's procedures let the university run an NIL "marketplace" through a service provider, supply stock photos, arrange meeting space and promote an athlete's NIL activity if the athlete or NIL entity pays the going rate, but bar it from negotiating for athletes or NIL entities, recommending a specific provider, or reviewing whether a contract complies with law | URI NIL procedures § II |
| Direct pay from the school | No Rhode Island statute allows or bars it. URI's policy (06.101.5, revised 2025-05-22) allows compensation "from a third party (but not from the University)", and its procedures quote NCAA Bylaw 22.1.1 as adopted 2024-04-18; both predate the House settlement's approval (2025-06-06), and no later version is posted in URI's policy library as of 2026-10-21 | URI Policy 06.101.5 § I.A; URI NIL procedures § II |
| Agents and attorneys | Agents register with the Secretary of State ($50 initial, $25 renewal, two-year term); the Secretary sends each registration to the athletic directors of Rhode Island's Division I, II and III schools. An "agency contract" covers negotiating an endorsement contract; spouses, parents, siblings, grandparents and guardians are not athlete agents. Agents may initiate contact only with athletes who have completed their collegiate eligibility; otherwise they may respond only if the athlete initiates contact, after giving the athletic director prior notice. URI's policy says an NIL agent must be registered in Rhode Island | §§ 5-74.1-2(1), (2), (5); 5-74.1-6(f), (g); 5-74.1-9; 5-74.1-14.1; URI Policy 06.101.5 § I.D |
| High school and minors | No state NIL statute; high school NIL is set by the Rhode Island Interscholastic League. The agent act adds that if a student athlete is a minor, an agent must initiate contact with the parents or legal guardians | § 5-74.1-14.1(a)(1) |
| Financial literacy | Not addressed by statute. URI's policy says it will educate athletes with the Atlantic 10, including professional development in "decision-making, due diligence, money, and contracts"; its procedures list NIL education on engaging in NIL, best practices, rules and risks, and building a personal brand | URI Policy 06.101.5, Policy Statement; URI NIL procedures § II |
| Scholarship protection | No state statute. Each bill from 2021 to 2024 would have barred revoking a scholarship over NIL pay (H 7644 and S 2674 also barred reducing it); none was enacted | H 5082 (2021), H 7644 (2024), not enacted |
| Confidentiality of contracts | No NIL exemption. The Access to Public Records Act excludes personal individually identifiable records that are confidential under federal or state law or whose disclosure would be a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, and trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person that is privileged or confidential; neither names NIL contracts. An agent's registration application is a public record | §§ 38-2-2(4)(A)(I)(b), (4)(B); 5-74.1-5(a) |
| NCAA and conference penalties | Not addressed. The 2021 to 2024 bills would have barred the NCAA from preventing athletes from earning NIL pay or keeping schools out of competition over it; none was enacted | None |
| Remedies and enforcement | Under the agent act, a school may sue an agent or former athlete for damages (§ 5-74.1-16), the Secretary of State may impose a civil penalty up to $25,000 (§ 5-74.1-17), and prohibited conduct is a misdemeanor (§ 5-74.1-15). Separately, § 9-1-28 lets anyone whose name, portrait or picture is used commercially in Rhode Island without written consent sue in superior court to stop the use and recover damages, which the court may treble for knowing use | §§ 5-74.1-15 to 5-74.1-17; 9-1-28 |
| Employee status | Not addressed | None |
Bills filed, 2021 to 2026
Rhode Island's House has passed a college NIL bill twice. Rep. Joseph J. Solomon's H 5082 ("Compensation for Students Participating in Intercollegiate Athletics") was referred to House Health, Education and Welfare, transferred to House Education, held for further study on 2021-02-10, then recommended on 2021-06-09 and passed by the House on 2021-06-15; it was referred to Senate Education on 2021-06-25 and went no further. His H 6673 passed the House on 2022-04-13, and Senate Education held it for further study on 2022-06-01. H 5340 (2023) was held for further study by House Education on 2023-03-01. In 2024 the bill moved to the Judiciary committees with a Senate companion: H 7644 (Reps. Solomon, Finkelman, Voas, McNamara and Casey) was held for further study on 2024-03-12, and S 2674 (Sen. LaMountain and eight cosponsors) on 2024-03-19. The 2024 version would have added a new chapter 16-114 covering "institutional marketing associates", representation by agents and financial advisors, and a bar on the NCAA penalizing Rhode Island schools. The titles and summaries of every 2025 and 2026 bill in the Legislature's status system show no NIL bill.
The agent act and its contact rule
Rhode Island adopted the Uniform Athlete Agents Act in 2008 (P.L. 2008, ch. 246), replacing an earlier athlete agents chapter, and kept a section that is not part of the uniform act. Under § 5-74.1-14.1 an athlete agent may initiate contact only with athletes who have completed their collegiate eligibility, including postseason tournaments; may contact an athlete with eligibility left only if the athlete makes first contact, and then only after notifying the athletic director; and must give the athletic director any information before giving it to an eligible athlete. Each Rhode Island college may sponsor on-campus agent interviews under rules set by an institutional committee. The Secretary of State also sends each new agent registration to the athletic directors of Rhode Island's NCAA schools (§ 5-74.1-6(g)). Because the act's "agency contract" includes negotiating endorsement contracts, these rules sit alongside any NIL representation of a current athlete.
What fills the gap at URI
The University of Rhode Island's NIL policy (06.101.5, effective 2024-10-10, revised 2025-05-22) allows pay from third parties but not from the University, bars pay for athletic performance, requires any agent to be registered in Rhode Island, and sets rules on University marks, sponsor apparel and the University's beverage contract. Its procedures (last revised 2025-05-22) set disclosure through Opendorse within 10 days for compensation of $600 or more, keep NIL documentation for seven years, and route violations to the Dean of Students or Athletics Compliance. They let URI promote an athlete's NIL activity on, for example, a video board, provided the athlete or NIL entity pays the going rate, and bar URI from reviewing whether an athlete's NIL contract complies with law. For Division I reporting, see how NIL Go works.
How it changed
| Act | What it did | Effective |
|---|---|---|
| P.L. 2008, ch. 246 (H 7337 Sub A) | repealed the earlier athlete agents chapter 5-74 and enacted the Uniform Athlete Agents Act, R.I. Gen. Laws ch. 5-74.1, with Secretary of State registration, an agency contract that includes endorsement contracts, a 14-day cancellation right, notice of each registration to the athletic directors of Rhode Island's Division I, II and III schools (§ 5-74.1-6(g)), and a Rhode Island section (§ 5-74.1-14.1) limiting when agents may contact athletes who still have college eligibility | 2008-07-05 (effective upon passage) |
| P.L. 2019, ch. 308, art. 1, § 29 (H 6207, reenactment of title 5) | corrected the cross-reference in § 5-74.1-7(a) to § 5-74.1-6(b) | 2019-12-31 |
| P.L. 2021, ch. 400 and ch. 401, § 21 (S 1001, H 5599) | struck "a crime involving moral turpitude" from §§ 5-74.1-5(a)(8) and 5-74.1-6(b)(1), so the application asks about, and registration may be refused for, felony convictions | 2021-07-13 |
| H 5082 (2021) and H 6673 (2022) | Rep. Joseph Solomon's college NIL bills; each passed the House (2021-06-15; 2022-04-13) and went to Senate Education, where H 5082 had no further action and H 6673 was "held for further study" on 2022-06-01 | not enacted |
| H 5340 (2023) | the same bill, held for further study by House Education on 2023-03-01 | not enacted |
| H 7644 and S 2674 (2024) | companion NIL bills (new chapter 16-114) held for further study by House Judiciary (2024-03-12) and Senate Judiciary (2024-03-19) | not enacted |
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 later action in the congress.gov bill status record; it is not law. Rhode Island has no NIL statute governing NCAA, conference or school rules, so § 121(a)(2) would have little to reach. Chapter 5-74.1 is the Uniform Athlete Agents Act, which § 121(b)(1)(A) preserves "except to the extent" it conflicts with § 121(a); its registration would count as registration "with a State" under § 102 (new Sports Agent Responsibility and Trust Act § 9). Whether Rhode Island's added contact limits in § 5-74.1-14.1 conflict with the federal scheme is not answered by the bill's text. What the bill would add in Rhode Island: a 5 percent cap on agent fees for endorsement contracts, a bar on agency contracts running past eligibility, a federal private right of action for athletes, a duty for athletes at Division I schools to report the terms of each NIL agreement worth more than $600 within 5 days of signing, and NIL pay over $600 not already reported within 30 days (§ 101(b)(1), (5)), and federal authority for schools, conferences and collectives to pay athletes for NIL (§ 101(c)) within the revenue share cap (§ 114).
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. Rhode Island's athlete-agent rules are on the state-by-state registration table.
- High school. High school NIL in Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island
Does Rhode Island have an NIL law in 2026?
No. As of 2026-10-21 Rhode Island has not enacted a college NIL statute. H 5082 (2021) and H 6673 (2022) passed the House but not the Senate; H 5340 (2023), H 7644 (2024) and S 2674 (2024) were held for further study in committee; and the titles and summaries of every 2025 and 2026 bill in the Legislature's status system show no NIL bill.
Can Rhode Island colleges pay athletes directly?
No Rhode Island statute addresses it. The University of Rhode Island's NIL policy, last revised 2025-05-22, allows NIL pay from third parties "but not from the University"; what Division I schools such as URI, Providence College and Brown may pay is now set by the House settlement and NCAA and conference rules.
Do I have to tell my school about an NIL deal in Rhode Island?
No state law requires it. URI's procedures require athletes to disclose NIL compensation of $600 or more through Opendorse within 10 days of payment or of signing for future pay, whichever comes first, and NCAA Bylaws 22.2.2 and 22.2.2.2 require Division I athletes to report noninstitutional deals of $600 or more through NIL Go within five business days of signing.
Does Rhode Island require an NIL agent to be licensed?
Registered, yes. R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-74.1-4 bars acting as an athlete agent in Rhode Island without a certificate of registration, and an agency contract includes one to negotiate endorsement contracts (§ 5-74.1-2(1), (5)). The fee is $50, renewal $25, for two years (§§ 5-74.1-6(f), 5-74.1-9). The athlete may cancel within 14 days (§ 5-74.1-12).
Can an agent contact a college athlete in Rhode Island?
Only in limited ways. R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-74.1-14.1 lets an athlete agent initiate contact only with athletes who have completed their collegiate eligibility, including postseason play. An agent may contact an athlete who still has eligibility only if the athlete initiates the contact, and must first notify the athletic director. Schools may host on-campus agent interviews under rules set by an institutional committee.
Be your own agent. Leave.
