Leave is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by University of Iowa, its athletics department or its conference. Everything here comes from what University of Iowa, its conference, the state of Iowa and the NCAA have published, linked under Sources and read on October 21, 2026. "Not published" means the school has not published it.
The rules at Iowa
| Question | What is published | Source |
|---|---|---|
| School NIL policy | Iowa Athletics publishes the "Iowa Name, Image, Likeness (NIL) Policy", shown on its NIL Policy page as "Current as of April 10, 2025" (history: adopted 2021-07-01, revised 2022-04-26, 2024-08-01 and 2025-04-10). It says NIL pay must include quid pro quo and "not be in return for athletics participation or achievement", bars promoting or being paid for NIL during required athletically related activities (practice, competition, travel to and from away-from-home competition, organized team promotional activities, media activities and institutional fundraising events) without express written permission, bars missing required academic appointments for NIL, and says athletes "maintain independent authority over NIL agreements" | Iowa Athletics, Iowa NIL Policy (current as of 2025-04-10) |
| How deals are disclosed | NIL Go for third-party deals of $600 or more within five business days (NCAA Bylaws 22.2.2, 22.2.2.2). Iowa's own policy says athletes are "provided the opportunity and encouraged to disclose" paid NIL activity; activity with the same parties worth $600 or more in the aggregate "must be disclosed for a student-athlete to be eligible to receive UI NIL assistance and services", and athletes "should report NIL activity through INFLCR not later than thirty (30) days after entering or signing an agreement". Disclosures include the parties, the terms, any professional service provider and that provider's fee. Iowa says it will not provide its NIL assistance to an athlete who does not disclose | NCAA Division I Manual 2026-27; Iowa NIL Policy §§ 2.3, 4.1, 4.2 |
| Banned categories | Not published. Iowa's NIL policy and NIL pages list no barred product categories, and Iowa has no state statute listing any. Iowa's NIL page for businesses says an NIL deal may not be based on an athlete's performance | Iowa NIL Policy; Iowa Athletics, Support NIL page (read 2026-10-21) |
| School marks and group licensing | University of Iowa marks, logos and any part of team-issued uniforms or gear may be used for NIL only with permission from the Trademark Licensing Office (UI Policy Manual § II-21), requested through Iowa's student-athlete trademark request form, which asks whether the athlete will be paid and whether the deal mentions Iowa branding. Iowa's athlete page says photos and videos from the athletics department, including content provided via INFLCR, may not be used in paid partnerships without approval from the Trademark and Licensing Office, and that INFLCR photos are permissible "for personal NIL use purposes". Iowa bars the sale of team-issued gear and awards, and commercial filming on campus needs written permission (Policy Manual § II-37). The Iowa NIL Store by Campus Ink offers licensed NIL apparel for individuals and teams | Iowa NIL Policy § 3; Iowa Athletics, NIL for Student-Athletes and NIL Partners pages |
| Revenue sharing | The College Sports Commission puts the 2026-27 cap at approximately $21.58 million per school and lists Iowa as a participating school. Iowa's athletic director, Beth Goetz, said on 2025-06-09 that Iowa was "committed to participating at the maximum level in revenue-sharing". Donor gifts to the Flight Funds (football, men's basketball, women's basketball, men's wrestling, volleyball and a general fund) support revenue sharing; the Flight Funds page says gifts "cannot legally be designated to a specific student-athlete" and the department decides how they are distributed. Iowa says sport general managers, an executive senior associate AD for cap management and its NIL general manager "review and approve all agreements". No per-sport or per-athlete figures are published | Iowa Athletics, revenue sharing release (2025-06-09) and Flight Funds page; College Sports Commission |
| Collective or NIL group | The Swarm. Iowa Athletics' 2023-09-21 release said fans could support NIL for all 22 Hawkeye teams through the Swarm Collective, and from 2024-07-01 to 2025-06-30 Swarm gifts earned athletic priority points. On 2026-07-08 Iowa Athletics and The Swarm Inc. announced that The Swarm "will phase out its membership payments, end auto-renewals, pause future NIL activations, and direct remaining organizational resources" to Iowa's Flight Funds. Read on 2026-10-21, Iowa's NIL Partners page still listed SWARM ("Iowa Swarm empowers Iowa student-athletes to achieve their NIL potential...", linking iowaswarm.com, which returned 403) alongside Compass, Flight Funds, Greenfly and Campus Ink. On 2025-11-12 Iowa Athletics and Learfield added three Learfield Impact NIL positions alongside Learfield's Hawkeye Sports Properties team and said Iowa would use Learfield's Compass NIL technology | Iowa Athletics releases (2023-09-21, 2024-12-06, 2025-11-12, 2026-07-08); NIL Partners page |
| Agents and representation | Iowa's policy lets athletes hire a professional service provider (agent, advisor, lawyer) for NIL, but "Representation cannot be for future professional athletic opportunities", and business arrangements with the provider must match the provider's arrangements with other clients and industry standards. Iowa's athlete page says an NIL agent or advisor "must be disclosed through the INFLCR app" and that Iowa's Professional Sports Counseling Panel can give feedback on proposed NIL service agreements. State law: Iowa Code chapter 9A has athlete agents, including for endorsement contracts, register with the Secretary of State, and gives the athlete 14 days to cancel | Iowa NIL Policy § 2.4; Iowa Athletics, NIL for Student-Athletes; Iowa Code chapter 9A |
| Compliance contact | Iowa Athletics Compliance, Andy Banse, Associate Athletics Director, Compliance, 319-335-9598, andy-banse@uiowa.edu (staff directory). The NIL policy (§ 6) also directs questions to Scott Brickman, named there as NIL General Manager and listed in the staff directory as Associate Athletics Director for NIL Strategy & Revenue Generation | Iowa Athletics, Staff Directory; Iowa NIL Policy § 6 |
| State law | No statute. Iowa has passed no college NIL law; its athlete agent act (Iowa Code chapter 9A) covers agents who negotiate endorsement contracts | /nil/college/iowa |
What is specific to Iowa
At Iowa, the collective has folded into the school's own revenue-sharing fund. The Swarm, founded in 2022, with Scott Brickman as executive director and COO in Iowa's 2023 release, became the route for fans to fund NIL for all 22 Hawkeye teams in 2023, and its donors earned Iowa priority points in 2024-25. On 2025-06-09, ahead of revenue sharing on 2025-07-01, Iowa created Flight Funds, tax-deductible gifts that now support revenue sharing in five sports plus a general fund, and named Brickman the department's general manager for NIL and strategy "through a partnership with Altius Sports Partners". In November 2025 Iowa and Learfield added three Learfield Impact NIL positions. On 2026-07-08 The Swarm announced it would pause future NIL activations and send its remaining resources to the Flight Funds, with its chief executive saying it would "reengage" if the landscape changes. Iowa's written NIL policy, last revised 2025-04-10, still sets its own 30-day INFLCR disclosure window and says the university and its staff "may not, directly or indirectly, compensate" an athlete for NIL, language written before revenue sharing.
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 Iowa
Does Iowa pay its athletes?
Yes, through House settlement revenue sharing. Iowa Athletics said on 2025-06-09 that it would share revenue directly with athletes from 2025-07-01 and was committed to participating at the maximum level, and the College Sports Commission lists Iowa as a participating school for 2026-27, when the cap is approximately $21.58 million per school. Donor gifts to Iowa's Flight Funds support revenue sharing in football, men's and women's basketball, men's wrestling and volleyball. Iowa publishes no per-athlete amounts.
What happened to the Swarm collective at Iowa?
On 2026-07-08 Iowa Athletics and The Swarm Inc. announced that The Swarm would phase out membership payments, end auto-renewals, pause future NIL activations and direct its remaining resources to Iowa's Flight Funds. The release says athletic departments are increasingly creating opportunities directly with corporate partners, multimedia rights holders and other stakeholders, "reducing the role of third-party collectives". The Swarm's chief executive said that "If the landscape changes in the future, we will reengage". Iowa's NIL Partners page still listed SWARM on 2026-10-21.
What are Iowa's Flight Funds?
Flight Funds are tax-deductible donations, created in 2025, that support Iowa's revenue sharing with athletes in football, men's basketball, women's basketball, men's wrestling and volleyball, plus a general fund. Iowa's Flight Funds page says gifts cannot legally be designated to a specific athlete and that the athletics department decides how the money is distributed.
How do Iowa athletes report NIL deals?
Third-party deals of $600 or more go to NIL Go within five business days (NCAA Bylaws 22.2.2, 22.2.2.2). Iowa's own policy, current as of 2025-04-10, says athletes "should report NIL activity through INFLCR not later than thirty (30) days after entering or signing an agreement", and that disclosing deals of $600 or more is the condition for receiving Iowa's NIL assistance and services.
Can Iowa athletes use Hawkeye logos in NIL deals?
Only with permission from the University of Iowa Trademark Licensing Office, requested through Iowa's student-athlete trademark request form; Iowa's athlete page adds that a licensing fee may be required when the athlete is paid. Athletics department photos and videos, including INFLCR content, need approval for paid partnerships; Iowa says INFLCR photos may be used for personal NIL.
Does Iowa have a state NIL law?
No. Iowa has passed no college NIL statute, so the rules come from Iowa's policy, the NCAA and the College Sports Commission. Iowa Code chapter 9A does require athlete agents, including those negotiating endorsement contracts, to register with the Secretary of State.
Be your own agent. Leave.
