The law
West Virginia's college NIL law is W. Va. Code §§ 18B-22-1 to 18B-22-5 (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 an individual enrolled at an "institution", meaning a state institution of higher education as defined in § 18B-1-2, who participates in intercollegiate athletics. Private colleges are not in the definition. NIL is defined broadly, including nicknames, voice, recorded performances, signatures, biographical data and related intellectual property | 18B-22-1 |
| Disclosure to the school | No direct statutory duty. A state institution may make its NIL pay conditional on terms it sets, including "a requirement that the student-athlete disclose any similar agreements with other persons or entities" | 18B-22-2(a)(3) |
| Banned categories | A state ban: no student-athlete may earn NIL pay in connection with alcohol; adult entertainment; cannabis and its derivatives (not hemp); controlled substances; performance enhancing drugs; drug paraphernalia; tobacco, nicotine and vapor products; or casinos and gambling, including sports betting. A school may add "prohibited endorsements" as a condition of its own NIL pay | 18B-22-4(1) to (8); 18B-22-2(a)(3) |
| Conflicts with team contracts | As a condition of school NIL pay, a school may limit an athlete's outside earnings, including "conflicting endorsements" and activities during official team activities (games, practices, team appearances, photo sessions, media interviews and similar events the school specifies) | 18B-22-1; 18B-22-2(a)(3) |
| School and coach involvement | A state institution may "identify, create, negotiate, facilitate, support, engage with, or otherwise assist" an athlete with an NIL opportunity. The NCAA and conferences may not act against an institution, its employees, its authorized agents or an entity it controls for activity the article authorizes. Coaches are not named | 18B-22-2(a)(4); 18B-22-3(b) |
| Direct pay from the school | A state institution may enter agreements to pay athletes for NIL and "share a portion of the revenues generated by an intercollegiate athletic department" with them; athletes may earn NIL pay "directly from the institution where the student-athlete is enrolled". It may not use "any moneys appropriated by the Legislature" for NIL, endorsement or revenue sharing pay | 18B-22-2(a)(1), (2); (b) |
| Agents and attorneys | Athletes may retain an athlete agent or attorney for NIL matters. The article's "athlete agent" holds a certificate of registration under § 30-39-5 (the Uniform Athlete Agents Act, registration with the Secretary of State), and "attorney" means one licensed in West Virginia. Registration costs $50 (initial, or based on another state's registration) and $10 to renew, and lasts two years; the athlete may cancel an agency contract within 14 days. No fee cap | 18B-22-1; 18B-22-2(b); 30-39-4, 30-39-5, 30-39-6(f), 30-39-9, 30-39-12 |
| High school and minors | Not addressed; the article covers students enrolled at state colleges | 18B-22-1 |
| Financial literacy | Not addressed | None |
| Scholarship protection | No institution, athletic association, conference or similar body may reduce, cancel, revoke or not renew an athletic scholarship as a result of an athlete engaging in activities the article authorizes | 18B-22-3(a)(2) |
| Confidentiality of contracts | Not addressed | Not addressed |
| NCAA and conference penalties | No institution, association, conference or similar body may open an investigation, penalize, suspend, take other adverse action against or declare ineligible an athlete for authorized activity. No association, conference or similar body may open an investigation, penalize, suspend or take other adverse action against an athlete, institution, employee, authorized agent or controlled entity for authorized activity | 18B-22-3(a)(1), (b) |
| Remedies and enforcement | An athlete aggrieved by an institution's or association's violation may sue for injunctive relief. An institution, employee, authorized agent or controlled entity that faces an actual or threatened complaint, investigation or penalty from an association or conference for permitted activity may sue for actual damages and reasonable attorney fees and seek an injunction. Institutions and their employees are not liable for damages to an athlete's NIL earning from routine athletics decisions | 18B-22-5(a) to (c) |
| Employee status | Nothing in the article may be construed to qualify a student-athlete as an employee because the athlete engages in NIL, endorsement or revenue sharing opportunities | 18B-22-2(b) |
West Virginia's first NIL statute
West Virginia had no college NIL law until 2025. HB 2583 (2021), which would have authorized NIL pay for student athletes, stayed in the House Education Committee. In 2025, SB 647 stayed in the Senate Education Committee, and HB 2576 passed the House on 2025-04-01 and the Senate on 2025-04-10, each with a separate vote to make it effective from passage, was presented to the Governor on 2025-04-21 and approved on 2025-04-30 as Acts 2025 ch. 98. It took effect about two months before the House settlement was approved.
The West Virginia article reads as a grant of authority to state institutions: they "may" pay athletes, share athletic department revenue, set conditions on outside deals and help arrange NIL opportunities (§ 18B-22-2(a)), with the athlete's own rights stated "subject to" that authority (§ 18B-22-2(b)). It covers only state institutions of higher education, so private colleges in West Virginia are outside it.
Agents and other bills
West Virginia's athlete agent law is the Uniform Athlete Agents Act in chapter 30, article 39, administered by the Secretary of State; the NIL article points to registration under § 30-39-5. Bills to adopt the 2015 Revised Uniform Athlete Agents Act, SB 439 (2022, last in the House Judiciary Committee) and SB 19 (2023, last in the Senate Judiciary Committee), were not enacted. In 2026, HB 5178, on preserving the earnings of minors paid for creative services or the use of their name, image or likeness, was last in the House Judiciary Committee (2026-02-04) and was not enacted.
How it changed
| Act | What it did | Effective |
|---|---|---|
| Enr. Com. Sub. for HB 2576 (2025), "NIL Protection Act", Acts 2025 ch. 98 | added article 22 to chapter 18B, West Virginia's first college NIL statute - state colleges may pay athletes for NIL and share athletic department revenue, may set conditions and require disclosure of similar agreements, may arrange NIL deals; associations may not investigate or penalize athletes or schools for authorized activity; eight banned categories; injunctive relief for athletes and damages for schools; no legislative appropriations for athlete pay | 2025-04-10 (in effect from passage; approved 2025-04-30) |
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 bill status record; it is not law. If enacted as passed, § 121(a)(2) covers state laws that govern, regulate or invalidate association, conference or school rules on NIL pay, transfers or eligibility; on its text that describes West Virginia's bars on association and conference investigations and penalties (W. Va. Code § 18B-22-3) and the injunction and damages actions that enforce them (§ 18B-22-5(a), (c)). School NIL pay and revenue sharing under § 18B-22-2(a) line up with S. 4668 § 101(c), subject to the revenue share cap in § 114; the bar on using legislative appropriations is a limit on the state's own money. § 121(b)(1)(A) keeps "Uniform Athlete Agent Acts" unless they conflict with § 121(a), which describes West Virginia's chapter 30, article 39; S. 4668 § 102 would add a 5% cap on agent fees for endorsement contracts and a bar on agency contracts past eligibility. S. 4668 § 101(b) would add a report to the school and the athletic association (or an entity it designates) within 5 days of signing an NIL agreement worth more than $600, for athletes at Division I schools only (§ 101(b)(1), (5)), where West Virginia has only school-set disclosure conditions. § 122 is neutral on employee status (§ 18B-22-2(b)).
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. West Virginia's athlete-agent rules are on the state-by-state registration table.
- High school. High school NIL in West Virginia 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 West Virginia
What is West Virginia's NIL law in 2026?
W. Va. Code §§ 18B-22-1 to 18B-22-5, enacted by HB 2576 (the "NIL Protection Act", Acts 2025 ch. 98) and in effect from passage on 2025-04-10. It lets state colleges such as WVU and Marshall pay athletes for NIL and share athletic department revenue (not with legislative appropriations), bars the NCAA and conferences from investigating or penalizing athletes or schools for authorized activity, and bans NIL deals in eight categories. West Virginia had no college NIL statute before 2025.
Can West Virginia colleges pay athletes directly?
State institutions can. § 18B-22-2(a) says institutions may "enter into agreements providing for the compensation of student-athletes" for NIL and "share a portion of the revenues generated by an intercollegiate athletic department" with athletes. § 18B-22-2(b) bars using "any moneys appropriated by the Legislature" for that pay. The article covers only state institutions of higher education, not private colleges.
Do I have to tell my school about an NIL deal in West Virginia?
West Virginia's statute does not require it directly. § 18B-22-2(a)(3) lets a state college make its own NIL pay conditional on terms it sets, including a requirement that the athlete disclose similar agreements with others, and limits on conflicting endorsements and activity during official team activities. Division I deals of $600 or more are reported to NIL Go within five business days under NCAA rules, which is separate from state law.
Does West Virginia require an NIL agent to be licensed?
West Virginia requires athlete agents to register with the Secretary of State under the Uniform Athlete Agents Act, W. Va. Code chapter 30, article 39, and § 18B-22-1 defines the "athlete agent" an athlete may retain for NIL as one registered under § 30-39-5. The fee is $50 to register and $10 to renew (§ 30-39-9), a registration lasts two years (§ 30-39-6(f)), and an athlete may cancel an agency contract within 14 days (§ 30-39-12). Attorneys must be licensed in West Virginia. Bills to replace the act with the Revised Uniform Athlete Agents Act (SB 439 in 2022, SB 19 in 2023) were not enacted.
What NIL deals are banned in West Virginia?
§ 18B-22-4 says no student-athlete may earn NIL pay in connection with alcohol, adult entertainment, cannabis (not hemp), controlled substances, performance enhancing drugs, drug paraphernalia, tobacco and nicotine products, or casinos and gambling, including sports betting. A school may add prohibited endorsements as a condition of the NIL pay it provides (§ 18B-22-2(a)(3)).
Be your own agent. Leave.
