Leave is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by East Carolina University, its athletics department or its conference. Everything here comes from what East Carolina University, its conference, the state of North Carolina and the NCAA have published, linked under Sources and read on October 23, 2026. "Not published" means the school has not published it.
The rules at East Carolina
| Question | What is published | Source |
|---|---|---|
| School NIL policy | The 2025-26 Student-Athlete Handbook (dated 2025-08-08, posted 2025-08-11) has sections on NIL, NIL disclosure, NIL professional service providers, "ECU NIL Policy Information" and "Institutional NIL Contracts (Rev Share Contracts)". It says that from 2025-06-06 ECU may, but is not required to, license an athlete's NIL and may act as a marketing agent for third-party deals. The compliance NIL Information and Resources page restates the NIL Go rules, and a "Logos and NIL Policy" sheet is posted. No 2026-27 handbook was found | ECU Athletics, Student-Athlete Handbook 2025-26, NIL Information and Resources page and Logos and NIL Policy |
| How deals are disclosed | Handbook: "Effective 6/6/25, all D1 student-athletes are required to disclose their third-party NIL contracts/terms of $600 or more through the NIL Go system" and "are required to submit these outside NIL deals prior to receiving payment"; repeated deals from the same or related payers count toward $600 in the aggregate; written documentation goes to NIL Go "within five business days of execution" (NCAA Bylaws 22.2.2, 22.2.2.2). The NIL page says athletes register with their ECU student email. For institutional NIL, the handbook says ECU is "required to submit all signed institutional NIL contracts to the NCAA's internal CAPs management system". North Carolina law sets no disclosure rule | ECU Athletics, Student-Athlete Handbook 2025-26 and NIL Information and Resources page; NCAA Division I Manual 2026-27 |
| Banned categories | North Carolina law lists none, and ECU publishes no category list. The handbook bars missing class or required athletic activities for NIL, bars selling or exchanging apparel and equipment distributed by ECU Athletics until eligibility is exhausted, and requires ECU Adidas footwear and apparel while training or competing; otherwise athletes "may enter endorsements or businesses with sponsors of the University or entities that compete with sponsors of the University" | ECU Athletics, Student-Athlete Handbook 2025-26; /nil/college/north-carolina |
| School marks and group licensing | Handbook: athletes "shall not use or wear uniforms, registered trademarks, products/designs protected by copyright, or official logos, names, and marks in connection with a personal NIL activity without the express written permission of the institution", but may say they are ECU athletes and name their team. The Logos and NIL Policy sheet (a 2022 document posted 2023-05-17) quotes the rule with "colors" added, says it covers any ECU Athletics mark and the ECU Athletics Brand Pattern, and lists "Purple or gold shirt" under "What Can I Wear" and "ECU Branded T-Shirts/Hats" under "What I Cannot Wear". Facilities are used under the same rules and fees as any third party, with approval in advance. ECU's 2026-07-01 release says its Trademark Licensing Coordinator manages logo licensing and names the East Carolina NIL Store, "a one-stop-shop to support East Carolina student-athletes"; the store's terms for athletes are not published on ECU's pages | ECU Athletics, Student-Athlete Handbook 2025-26, Logos and NIL Policy, and NIL Store release (2026-07-01) |
| Revenue sharing | The College Sports Commission puts the 2026-27 cap at approximately $21.58 million per school and lists East Carolina University as participating in 2026-27. Gilbert wrote on 2025-05-06 that "institutions that opt into the settlement (as we have)" may pay athletes through a licensing agreement and that "Football is going to be a central part of our revenue sharing strategy". The handbook says head coaches set each athlete's institutional NIL value, "Institutional administration and outside entities are not involved in setting the NIL value", signed contracts "are to remain confidential", and payments run through Teamworks applications. ECU has not published a 2026-27 total or its division by sport | College Sports Commission; ECU Athletics, update from AD Jon Gilbert (2025-05-06) and Student-Athlete Handbook 2025-26 |
| Collective or NIL group | Team Boneyard, launched in 2022 and run by volunteers per ECU's 2024-11-04 release. ECU's 2025-06-26 release says Team Boneyard and The 23 Club operations would cease at 5:00 p.m. on 2025-06-30 and asked supporters to move monthly gifts to the Pirate Club's Athletics Excellence Fund, described as "ECU's primary vehicle for supporting student-athlete recruitment and retention, scholarships, and revenue sharing". The August 2025 handbook still names Team Boneyard as an example of an associated entity. As of 2026-10-23 no current ECU collective is named | ECU Athletics, Team Boneyard releases (2024-11-04, 2025-06-26) and Student-Athlete Handbook 2025-26 |
| Agents and representation | Handbook: ECU "may not prevent or restrict a student-athlete from obtaining representation by an athlete agent or an attorney" for NIL; an NIL athlete agent must be registered with the North Carolina Athlete Agent Registration Office and give ECU a copy of the agent's state credential, sent to AthleticsCompliance@ecu.edu. The NIL page adds that all agents and advisors register with the athletics department before contacting athletes. North Carolina law, as amended by S.L. 2025-46, covers NIL agency contracts, with Secretary of State registration and a 14-day right to cancel | ECU Athletics, Student-Athlete Handbook 2025-26 and NIL Information and Resources page; /nil/college/north-carolina |
| Compliance contact | ECU Athletics Compliance Office, AthleticsCompliance@ecu.edu; Alex Keddie, Senior Associate AD for Compliance, is listed in the handbook's staff chart | ECU Athletics, NIL Information and Resources page and Student-Athlete Handbook 2025-26 |
| State law | Narrow law. North Carolina has no general college NIL statute; S.L. 2025-46 (in force 2025-07-01) puts NIL agency contracts under the Uniform Athlete Agents Act and makes records related to an athlete's NIL contract confidential under the Public Records Act, which applies to public universities like ECU | /nil/college/north-carolina |
What is specific to East Carolina
ECU wrote the mechanics of revenue sharing into its athlete handbook more fully than most schools its size. The 2025-26 handbook says institutional NIL is "not required by the institution for any student-athlete or sport", that the head coach sets the value of each athlete's agreement, that contracts are confidential, and it defines associated individuals to include anyone who has given more than $50,000 in a lifetime to ECU, the Pirate Club or Team Boneyard. The donor side changed in the same summer: ECU announced that Team Boneyard and The 23 Club would stop operating on 2025-06-30 and that the Pirate Club's Athletics Excellence Fund would carry recruitment, retention, scholarships and revenue sharing. For education ECU runs SABRE, the Student-Athlete Brand Resource Education program built with the Miller School of Entrepreneurship, covering financial literacy, branding, licensing, taxes and compliance, and on 2026-10-03 it posted College Sports Commission NIL guides for high school, junior college and transfer recruits.
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 law decide. Leave is software, not an agent, and takes 0% of any deal. You decide, you send.
Questions about NIL at East Carolina
Does East Carolina pay its athletes?
ECU opted into the House settlement, per Jon Gilbert's 2025-05-06 update, and the College Sports Commission lists ECU as participating in 2026-27, with a cap of approximately $21.58 million per school. ECU's handbook says institutional NIL agreements are optional by sport and that each head coach sets the value. ECU has not published totals.
How do ECU athletes report NIL deals?
Through NIL Go. ECU's handbook says third-party deals of $600 or more, counted in the aggregate per payer, are submitted before payment, with documentation due within five business days of execution under NCAA Bylaws 22.2.2 and 22.2.2.2. Athletes register using their ECU student email.
What happened to Team Boneyard at ECU?
ECU announced on 2025-06-26 that Team Boneyard and The 23 Club would cease operations on 2025-06-30 and asked supporters to give to the Pirate Club's Athletics Excellence Fund instead, which ECU says supports recruitment, retention, scholarships and revenue sharing.
Can ECU athletes wear Pirates gear in NIL deals?
Not without ECU's express written permission. The handbook and the Logos and NIL Policy cover uniforms, logos, marks and the ECU Athletics Brand Pattern; the sheet lists a purple or gold shirt as allowed and ECU-branded shirts and hats as not allowed, and athletes may say they play for ECU.
Can ECU athletes endorse a Nike product?
ECU's handbook says athletes may work with sponsors of the university or their competitors, but they wear ECU Adidas footwear and apparel while training or competing for ECU unless an exemption is given.
Be your own agent. Leave.
