The law
Texas's college NIL law is Tex. Educ. Code § 51.9246 (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 a general academic teaching institution or a private or independent institution of higher education, as defined in Educ. Code § 61.003. Public junior (community) colleges are not listed. Prospective student athletes are reached by (c-2) and (k-1). | (a)(2), (b) |
| Disclosure to the school | The athlete 'shall, before entering into the contract, disclose to the institution, in the manner prescribed by the institution, any proposed contract' for use of name, image or likeness. | (g)(1) |
| Banned categories | No pay in exchange for athletic performance, or for endorsing alcohol, tobacco products, e-cigarettes or other nicotine delivery devices, anabolic steroids, sports betting, casino gambling, a firearm the athlete cannot legally purchase, or a sexually oriented business. No contract may run beyond the athlete's participation in the program. | (g)(2)(B), (g)(2)(C) |
| Conflicts with team contracts | No NIL contract may conflict with the athlete's team contract, the school's institutional (sponsorship) contracts, an athletic department policy or the honor code. A school that finds a conflict in a disclosed contract tells the athlete or representative promptly, and the athlete or representative is responsible for resolving it within 10 days. A team contract may not bar NIL use outside official team activities. The school's facilities, uniforms, trademarks and logos may be used only with its express permission, and the school may give it only if it requires compliance with its own requirements, including licensing, and is paid at market rates. | (g)(2)(A), (h), (f), (g)(5), (g-2) |
| School and coach involvement | A school, a third party acting for it, or their employees may identify, create, facilitate or assist with NIL opportunities from third parties, but may not act as the athlete's agent, be paid by the athlete or the third party for the help, try to influence the choice of representative, or try to diminish competing offers. The school defines official team activities. | (m), (a-1) |
| Direct pay from the school | HB 126 (2025) removed the former ban on compensation 'by the institution'. To the extent of a conflict with association or conference rules or a court order, a school, an athlete or anyone else may do what an athletic association or conference, or a final court order applicable to one, authorizes or requires, subject to that body's rules and enforcement. | (c-2), (c-3) |
| Agents and attorneys | A school may not prevent professional representation, including a Texas-licensed attorney, for NIL contracts. The section does not let an athlete agent do anything barred by Occupations Code § 2051.351. Agent registration is in Occupations Code ch. 2051, not in this section. | (c)(2), (k) |
| High school and minors | Unless a prospective student athlete younger than 17 is enrolled at a college, no individual, company or organization, including a school, may enter into an NIL arrangement with the athlete or with a relative by blood or marriage. | (k-1) |
| Financial literacy | Schools require a financial literacy and life skills course of at least five hours in the athlete's first academic year, covering financial aid, debt management, time management, budgeting and academic resources; no financial product or service provider may market or solicit during it. | (i) |
| Scholarship protection | A cost-of-attendance scholarship is not compensation, and an athlete may not be disqualified from a scholarship for earning NIL compensation outside official team activities or for obtaining representation. | (d), (e) |
| Confidentiality of contracts | Information held by the school that reveals any term of an NIL contract or proposed contract is confidential and excepted from the Public Information Act; the school may withhold it without asking the Attorney General for a decision. | (l) |
| NCAA and conference penalties | An athletic association, conference or other governing group may not enforce a rule that bars or penalizes a school for performing, participating in or allowing an activity the section requires or authorizes. Activity done under (c-2) is subject to the association's own rules and enforcement. | (c-1), (c-3) |
| Remedies and enforcement | The section does not create a cause of action against a school or its officers or employees relating to an athlete's name, image or likeness. | (p) |
| Employee status | The athlete is not considered an employee of the school based on participation in the athletic program. | (g)(3) |
How HB 126 changed the law in 2025
HB 126 took effect immediately on June 5, 2025, when it was signed. It removed three items from the banned list in (g)(2)(B): pay "by the institution," pay for "accepting an offer of admission," and pay for an act during an official team activity. Pay for athletic performance stays banned. It also deleted the old (c)(2), which had barred a school from providing or soliciting NIL pay for a prospective athlete. It repealed (j), which had barred anyone from an NIL arrangement with a prospective athlete before enrollment and from using promised NIL pay to recruit, and replaced it with the narrower under-17 rule in (k-1). The new (c-2) and (c-3) let schools and athletes do what an association, conference or final court order authorizes, under that body's enforcement. By HB 126 § 3, the changes apply to compensation paid on or after the effective date.
The Attorney General and the CSC agreement
On November 26, 2025, Attorney General Ken Paxton announced letters urging Texas universities in the ACC, Big 12 and SEC not to sign the College Sports Commission's University Participation Agreement, and asking other state attorneys general to do the same with their schools. The release says the agreement would penalize schools that cooperate with a suit brought by their home state's Attorney General and "raises serious Texas constitutional issues." The release did not announce a lawsuit, and no court ruling on § 51.9246 was found as of 2026-10-21.
How it changed
| Act | What it did | Effective |
|---|---|---|
| SB 1385 (2021), Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., ch. 613 | enacted § 51.9246: NIL pay allowed outside official team activities, disclosure before signing, banned categories, no pay from the school, no deals before enrollment, financial literacy workshops in the first and third years | 2021-07-01 |
| HB 2804 (2023), Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., ch. 512 | added (a-1) school designates official team activities, (c-1) penalty bar on associations and conferences, (g-1) school help and donor recognition not counted as pay from the school (repealed 2025), (g)(5) and (g-2) school marks only with permission and market-rate payment, (l) confidentiality, (m) school help finding deals, (n) charities, (o) collectives, (p) no cause of action; the workshops became one course in the first year | 2023-07-01 |
| HB 126 (2025), Acts 2025, 89th Leg., R.S., ch. 332 | removed the bans on pay from the school, pay for accepting admission and pay for acts during official team activities; deleted the (c)(2) bar on a school paying recruits; repealed (g-1) and the pre-enrollment ban in (j); added (c-2) and (c-3) allowing what an association, conference or final court order authorizes, and (k-1) on athletes under 17 | 2025-06-05 |
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. If enacted as passed, § 121(a)(2) would bar any state law that "governs, regulates, or invalidates" NCAA, conference or school rules on NIL compensation. In Texas that reaches the penalty bar in § 51.9246(c-1) and, on its face, (c) and (f), which limit school policies and team contracts; (c-2) and (c-3) already defer to association rules. § 121(a)(1) would also bar state rules that prevent compliance with the federal law, which is where the disclosure-before-signing rule (g)(1), the banned categories (g)(2)(B) and the under-17 rule (k-1) would be tested against the bill's own disclosure (Division I deals over $600 reported within 5 days, § 101(b)) and its bar on schools paying recruits before enrollment (§ 114(a)(1)(C)). § 121(b) would preserve uniform athlete agent acts and contract, privacy and consumer protection law, which covers Occupations Code ch. 2051 if it counts as a uniform act and arguably the confidentiality rule (l). The bill is neutral on employee status (§ 122) and adds a federal private right of action for listed sections (§ 119) that (p) would not limit.
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. Texas's athlete-agent rules are on the state-by-state registration table.
- High school. High school NIL in Texas 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 Texas
What is Texas's NIL law in 2026?
Education Code § 51.9246, enacted by SB 1385 (effective 2021-07-01) and amended by HB 2804 (2023-07-01) and HB 126 (2025-06-05). It covers athletes at Texas public universities and private colleges, requires disclosure of each proposed contract before signing, bans a list of endorsement categories, keeps contract terms held by the school confidential, and since HB 126 allows whatever an athletic association, conference or final court order authorizes.
Can Texas colleges pay athletes directly?
The statute no longer forbids it. HB 126 (2025-06-05) removed the ban on NIL compensation "by the institution", and § 51.9246(c-2) lets a school do what an athletic association or conference, or a final court order applicable to one, authorizes or requires, subject to that body's rules and enforcement (c-3). The statute itself does not set an amount or a cap.
Do I have to tell my school about an NIL deal in Texas?
Yes, before signing. Section 51.9246(g)(1) says an athlete "shall, before entering into the contract, disclose to the institution, in the manner prescribed by the institution" any proposed NIL contract. If the school finds a conflict with the team contract, a sponsorship contract, an athletic department policy or the honor code, it says so promptly and the athlete or representative has 10 days to resolve it (h).
Does Texas require an NIL agent to be licensed?
Section 51.9246 does not set a licensing rule; it protects the right to representation, including by a Texas-licensed attorney (c)(2). Texas registers athlete agents with the Secretary of State under Occupations Code ch. 2051 (§ 2051.101), but that chapter defines an athlete agent around agent contracts, financial services contracts, professional sports services contracts and professional team employment (§ 2051.001), and it does not mention name, image or likeness.
Can a high school athlete in Texas sign an NIL deal with a college or a business?
Section 51.9246(k-1) bars anyone, including a college, from an NIL arrangement with a prospective student athlete younger than 17 (or a relative) unless the athlete is enrolled at a college. High school rules are covered on the Texas high school page.
Be your own agent. Leave.
