Leave is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Vanderbilt University, its athletics department or its conference. Everything here comes from what Vanderbilt University, its conference, the state of Tennessee 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 Vanderbilt
| Question | What is published | Source |
|---|---|---|
| School NIL policy | "Vanderbilt's Name, Image, Likeness Information" (vucommodores.com/nil-policy, undated; read 2026-10-21) sets the requirements. It says athletes may be paid for NIL under the NCAA policy from 2021-07-01 and Tennessee's HB1351, "effective beginning January 1, 2022 and amended on April 20th, 2022". Its restrictions: athletes "shall not miss class" or required team activities for NIL; no Vanderbilt facilities or uniforms without approval from Athletics compliance staff; a contract may not run beyond the athlete's participation in a Vanderbilt athletic program; no Vanderbilt logos, trademarks or trade dress without a license; and "Vanderbilt staff (including coaches) are not permitted to provide or arrange for compensation to student-athletes for their name, image, & likeness." The page's "Disclosure Process" section reads "Information coming soon" | Vanderbilt Athletics, Vanderbilt's Name, Image, Likeness Information |
| How deals are disclosed | NIL Go for noninstitutional deals of $600 or more within five business days (NCAA Bylaws 22.2.2, 22.2.2.2). Vanderbilt's policy page says athletes "are required to disclose all NIL activities (via Opendorse) prior to entering into an agreement", and "All disclosures must include a contract, term sheet, or other acceptable designation of terms." Vanderbilt's 2022-11-03 release on its Opendorse marketplace says that once a deal booked there is completed, "the activity is automatically disclosed to ensure compliance". The policy page's "Disclosure Process" section reads "Information coming soon". Tennessee law says an athlete "may be required" to disclose third-party agreements to the school or association (49-7-2802(d)) | Vanderbilt Athletics, NIL policy page; Vanderbilt Announces Name, Image and Likeness Marketplace (2022-11-03); NCAA Division I Manual 2026-27; /nil/college/tennessee |
| Banned categories | Vanderbilt's policy page says "Tennessee State Law and Vanderbilt NIL policy prohibit activities in the following categories": alcohol, tobacco and drugs, adult entertainment, and gambling and sports wagering. Tennessee law as rewritten in 2025 bars NIL that promotes gambling, tobacco, THC products, alcohol and adult entertainment, and lets a school bar activity that conflicts with its values (49-7-2802(g)). Vanderbilt's NIL FAQ adds that any pay offered as an inducement to attend Vanderbilt is "still impermissible" | Vanderbilt Athletics, NIL policy page and Vanderbilt NIL FAQ; /nil/college/tennessee |
| School marks and group licensing | Logos, trademarks, trade dress (uniforms) and other Vanderbilt intellectual property need "the appropriate license from Vanderbilt prior to such use", and facilities and uniforms need compliance staff approval. On 2022-11-01 Vanderbilt announced personalized name and number T-shirts through Fanatics and the group licensing company OneTeam; Vanderbilt's NIL page describes player-specific merchandise at official brand partners "with a portion of the sale for each purchase going to the student-athlete" | Vanderbilt Athletics, NIL policy page; Vanderbilt NIL; Vanderbilt, Fanatics to Provide Custom NIL Apparel (2022-11-01) |
| Revenue sharing | The College Sports Commission lists Vanderbilt University as a participating school for 2026-27, when the cap is "approximately $21.58 million per school". Vanderbilt's Competitive Excellence Fund page (undated) says the fund "was created in response to" the House v. NCAA settlement, "approved in June 2025", that "Vanderbilt is committed to supporting student-athletes directly via revenue sharing", and that the fund gives the university "philanthropic resources to support our student-athletes through revenue sharing and scholarship support". The Anchored for Her page says its women's athletics general fund covers operating funds "required in a sustainable revenue-sharing model". No total or sport split was found on Vanderbilt's pages | Vanderbilt Athletics, Competitive Excellence Fund and Anchored for Her; College Sports Commission, Revenue Sharing and Participating Schools |
| Collective or NIL group | Anchor Advantage. Vanderbilt's 2026-02-12 release says Vanderbilt Athletics "has launched Anchor Advantage to assume direct control of the university's NIL efforts", a "new internal organization" that "will fully absorb and build on the strong NIL foundation created by Anchor Impact, the third-party collective that operated independently of Vanderbilt Athletics"; it adds "Anchor Advantage is Vanderbilt." As of 2026-10-21, Vanderbilt's NIL page still describes Anchor Impact as "a third-party collective" and "an official third-party collective of Vanderbilt Athletics", and anchorimpact.com forwards to Vanderbilt's Competitive Excellence Fund page. Separately, on 2026-04-02 Vanderbilt Athletics announced the Anchor Access Exchange with Teamworks Influencer, a portal "for exploring and fulfilling NIL transactions", free to athletes and commercial parties, where registered businesses and supporters can search athletes and start conversations about deals | Vanderbilt Athletics, Anchor Advantage Launch (2026-02-12) and Anchor Access Exchange (2026-04-02); Vanderbilt NIL |
| Agents and representation | Vanderbilt's policy page lets athletes use a third party "solely for purposes of assisting with name, image, or likeness contracts". A third party who is an athlete agent under Tennessee law must be licensed under T.C.A. 49-7-2104 and meet Part 21; an attorney must be active and in good standing where licensed. Agents who wish to contact current Vanderbilt athletes "must be appropriately registered in the state of Tennessee through the Tennessee Secretary of State", and they "may forward correspondence to" James Feeney in Athletics compliance. No separate Vanderbilt agent registration form is published. Under Tennessee law registration costs $500 and lasts two years, parents and other close family members are not agents, and a representation agreement may not last longer than the athlete's participation (49-7-2802(h), (k); 49-7-2106(f), -2109(a)) | Vanderbilt Athletics, NIL policy page; /nil/college/tennessee |
| Compliance contact | Vanderbilt Athletics Compliance, McGugin Center, 2601 Jess Neely Drive, Nashville. The NIL policy page names James Feeney (james.j.feeney@vanderbilt.edu, 615.343.1060) for questions on NIL policy and disclosure, and the NIL page gives nil@vanderbilt.edu for other NIL questions | Vanderbilt Athletics, NIL policy page, Vanderbilt NIL and Compliance staff directory |
| State law | In force. Tennessee's T.C.A. 49-7-2801 to 49-7-2804, rewritten by Public Chapter 300 of 2025, lets athletes be paid for NIL, enrollment and roster position and lets schools and affiliated foundations pay unless federal law, a valid court order or a qualifying association rule expressly limits it; its definition of institution includes private four-year colleges | /nil/college/tennessee |
What is specific to Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt is a private university, and its NIL setup has moved step by step in its own announcements. In 2022 it opened an Opendorse marketplace and a Fanatics and OneTeam name and number apparel program. In 2023 Anchor Impact partnered with Vanderbilt Sports Properties, the Learfield team that sells Vanderbilt's sponsorships. In April 2024 athletic director Candice Storey Lee wrote that Anchor Impact was "the single third-party collective" supporting athletes across all sports and that it "operates independently of the university and Vanderbilt Athletics". In February 2026 Vanderbilt brought that work inside the department as Anchor Advantage, and in April 2026 it launched the Anchor Access Exchange with Teamworks Influencer. Alongside the rules, the policy page describes NIL programming whose objective is "to coach and to support", in five focus areas: financial fluency, social impact, entrepreneurship, value creation and risk management, the last with "access to legal resources to determine the validity and compliance regulation of deals". Some pages have not caught up: the policy page still cites the 2021 and 2022 versions of Tennessee's law, and the NIL page still describes Anchor Impact as a separate collective.
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 Vanderbilt
Does Vanderbilt pay its athletes?
Vanderbilt says it "is committed to supporting student-athletes directly via revenue sharing", and its Competitive Excellence Fund page says the fund gives the university philanthropic resources for revenue sharing and scholarship support. The College Sports Commission lists Vanderbilt for 2026-27, when the cap is about $21.58 million per school. Vanderbilt has not published how much it shares or how it splits the money.
What NIL collective works with Vanderbilt?
Since 2026-02-12, Vanderbilt's NIL work runs through Anchor Advantage, which Vanderbilt Athletics launched as a "new internal organization". It absorbed Anchor Impact, the collective that had operated independently of the athletics department; the release says Anchor Impact had been consolidated "nearly three years ago as the university's official third-party collective".
How do Vanderbilt athletes report NIL deals?
Vanderbilt's policy page says athletes disclose all NIL activities through Opendorse before entering an agreement, with a contract or term sheet. Separately, the NCAA has third-party deals of $600 or more reported to NIL Go within five business days.
What NIL deals can't Vanderbilt athletes do?
Vanderbilt's page lists alcohol, tobacco and drugs, adult entertainment, and gambling and sports wagering; Tennessee law also bars THC products. NIL activity may not cause an athlete to miss class or required team activities, contracts may not outlast the athlete's time in the program, and logos, uniforms and facilities need approval or a license.
How does an agent contact a Vanderbilt athlete?
Vanderbilt's page says agents who wish to contact current athletes must be registered with the Tennessee Secretary of State and may forward correspondence to James Feeney in Athletics compliance. Under Tennessee law, parents, siblings, grandparents, spouses and legal guardians who represent an athlete are not agents.
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