The NCAA Division I Board of Directors and the College Sports Commission have codified a series of name, image and likeness bylaws resulting from this summer’s House settlement, including new standards for prospective high school and junior college student-athletes.
According to guidelines issued by the CSC, which was established in the wake of the House settlement as a clearinghouse for all NIL deals, high school and junior college prospects will need to disclose all NIL deals worth $600 or more upon enrollment.
All high school prospects will be required to report all third-part NIL agreements over $600 that “were executed, agreed upon, or that include payments” beginning on July 1, 2025, or a prospect’s first day of junior year. Likewise with JUCO prospects, who will have to report NIL deals over that total as of July 1 or the “initial enrollment at a two-year college, whichever occurs later.”
In each case, prospective student-athletes will have two weeks from initial enrollment to report all deals into a clearinghouse, called NIL Go, developed by the CSC. That timeline differs slightly from the rules established for current Division I student-athletes, who must submit documentation of new NIL deals totaling over $600 within five business days or face ineligibility.
The codified bylaws set forth the standard by which all possible NIL deals will be evaluated, confirming that all agreements must be for “a valid business purpose and do not exceed a reasonable range of compensation.”
According to the CSC, the reasonable range for NIL payments are “at rates and terms commensurate with compensation paid to similarly situated individuals.” The bylaws state that “pay-for-play” deals do not meet the standard of a valid business purpose.
The bylaws also set the amount of revenue sharing institutions can provide to student-athletes at $20.5 million for the 2025-26 academic year, a total equal to “22% of the average total revenue in certain categories as set forth in the House settlement,” according to the CSC.
The CSC was established after the House settlement as an independent body tasked with enforcing compliance with new NIL regulations. The CSC is the designated enforcement group responsible for the investigation of alleged violations and assessment of penalties.
