Nationwide College Sports "NIL" Law Tracker

Foley’s Sports & Entertainment Group and its “NIL” Task Force are pleased to present its Nationwide Name, Image, and Likeness (“NIL”) Tracker: A Compendium of College Sports NIL Laws in the U.S. – a one-stop compilation and summary of state NIL laws.

NIL rights generally refer to one’s ability to receive compensation from selling the rights to one’s name, image or likeness. In the context of college sports—the NCAA had long restricted college athletes from monetizing their NIL in the name of preserving the principle of amateurism in college sports. Over the past three years, several individual states challenged the NCAA by enacting NIL laws which prohibited local colleges from restricting student-athlete NIL compensation from third parties. On June 30, 2021, the NCAA formally announced that it would allow student-athlete NIL compensation in accordance with applicable state laws. The federal government’s hesitance (thus far) to preempt these state laws with an overarching federal law has created an uneven patchwork of state laws rather than a coherent, uniform national regulatory framework. Consequently, understanding these various (and perhaps competing) NIL laws is critical to various stakeholders in collegiate athletics, including universities, athletic conferences, student-athletes, sports agents, and commercial sponsors.  

By distilling each state NIL law into concise and user-friendly formats, the Tracker is designed to serve as an easy resource and useful guide to NIL rights in every applicable state. The Tracker includes direct links to all currently enacted state laws, and will be updated regularly with the passage or amendment of any relevant laws.

Interactive NIL Law Tracker Map

This interactive map below not only identifies the states where NIL laws have been enacted or are pending, but also provides quick and easy access to specific NIL information for each state.  Just hover your cursor over any state and the relevant information will appear.  To view the map in full screen, click the tab in upper right corner above the map.  The map is also adjustable – just click, hold, and move the cursor.  

Downloadable NIL Law Tracker Report

All of the information contained in the above interactive map can be found in the below report which, as presented, makes it easy to compare NIL laws from state to state across various categories of subject matter.