NIL Updates & News — NIL Matters™

Featured

The House Settlement Is Live — Here's What Actually Changed for Athletes

March 2026 · 6 min read

The $2.8B House v. NCAA settlement reshaped college athletics in 2025. Most athletes still don't understand what it means for their specific situation.

The House v. NCAA settlement created a $20.5 million per-school annual revenue sharing cap — the first time in college athletics history that schools can directly pay athletes for the use of their name, image, and likeness in school media and broadcasting.

Here is what most athletes still don't know: 54 schools have opted out of the revenue share program entirely. If you are at one of those schools, the settlement does not benefit you financially — not directly. Zero dollars from the cap flow to athletes at opted-out programs. This is not widely communicated by athletic departments.

For athletes at opted-in schools, the $20.5M is distributed internally by sport and by role. Each school has full discretion in how they allocate. Football and men's basketball typically receive the largest share. Non-revenue sports receive smaller allocations. Walk-ons and depth players may receive significantly less than starters and featured athletes.

This is not automatic. Athletes must proactively ask their athletic department compliance office about their individual allocation. The settlement does not guarantee any specific dollar amount to any specific athlete. Schools are not required to notify individual athletes of their allocation without being asked.

What you should do now:

Contact your school's athletic compliance office and ask directly what your sport's allocation looks like for this academic year.
Ask how allocations are determined — by roster spot, starter status, or another metric.
If your school has opted out, understand that revenue share is off the table and your NIL income must come from brand deals or NIL collectives.
Do not assume what a teammate is receiving applies to you. Allocations vary by individual.

The settlement changed the rules. It did not change the responsibility on athletes to understand and act on their own situation. Run your own projection now: Open the Decision Engines →

Tax

NIL Income and Taxes: What Every Athlete Needs to Know Before April

February 2026 · 5 min read

NIL income is self-employment income. That means two separate tax bills — income tax AND self-employment tax at 15.3%. Most athletes are underprepared.

NIL income is classified by the IRS as self-employment income — the same category as a freelancer, influencer, or independent contractor. That classification has two major consequences most athletes don't expect.

First, you owe regular income tax on every dollar earned — at whatever federal bracket applies to your total income. Second, you also owe self-employment tax at 15.3% on top of that. This covers Social Security (12.4%) and Medicare (2.9%). Your employer would normally split this cost with you — but as a self-employed individual, you pay the full amount yourself.

If your NIL income is $50,000 for the year, you could owe $7,650 in self-employment tax alone before a single dollar of income tax is calculated. Athletes who don't set money aside before spending it regularly face penalties and surprise bills come April.

Quarterly estimated payments are required by the IRS if you expect to owe more than $1,000 in taxes for the year. The 2026 quarterly deadlines are April 15, June 16, September 15, and January 15. Missing these dates triggers penalties regardless of whether you pay in full at year-end.

You need a CPA who understands self-employment income — not just a tax preparer who does W-2 returns. Key deductions available to self-employed athletes include:

Phone and data plan — the portion used for NIL-related communication and content creation
Home office — if you use a dedicated space for content creation, it may qualify
Equipment — cameras, lighting, microphones, computers used for NIL work
Professional fees — attorney and advisor fees related to NIL deals

The difference between hobby income and business income matters. If the IRS determines your NIL activities are a hobby rather than a business, you lose access to deductions. The key factors: are you approaching it professionally, keeping records, and intending to profit? An LLC and proper bookkeeping protect you here.

The rule of thumb: set aside 25–30% of every NIL payment in a separate account the day it hits. Do not wait. Do not spend it assuming you'll save later.

Strategy

Why Athletes Who Enter the Portal Without NIL Data Leave Money on the Table

January 2026 · 4 min read

Transfer decisions are being made on playing time projections alone. The athletes who win the portal include NIL market analysis in every decision.

The transfer portal is the most financially consequential decision most college athletes will ever make — and the majority are making it with incomplete information. Playing time projections, depth chart position, and coaching relationships are evaluated carefully. NIL financial impact is usually an afterthought.

That is a costly mistake. Revenue share varies massively by conference and by school. A move from a Group of 5 program to a Power 4 program — at an opted-in school — could represent $200,000 or more in annual revenue share difference. For a football player or basketball player with two years of eligibility remaining, that is a $400,000+ decision being made on gut feel.

The opted-out school issue compounds this. 54 schools opted out of the revenue share program. An athlete transferring from one opted-in program to an opted-out program for a perceived playing time improvement could be walking away from six figures in guaranteed school payments — for a spot on the depth chart that may not materialize.

Brand deal market size also differs dramatically by destination. A school in Los Angeles, Atlanta, or Miami gives an athlete access to a far deeper pool of local and national brand partners than a school in a smaller market — regardless of conference affiliation. If building your NIL brand is part of your plan, the city matters as much as the logo on the helmet.

What to do before entering the portal:

Verify whether target schools have opted into revenue share and confirm the current allocation for your sport
Use the School Comparison Tool to see side-by-side financial data on your target programs
Run a projection for both your current school and each target school in the Decision Engines
Factor in media market size, collective activity, and cost of living at each destination

The athletes who consistently maximize their NIL are not necessarily the most famous — they are the most informed. The portal is a financial negotiation. Treat it like one.

Policy

High School NIL: What Changed in 2025 and What It Means for Recruits

December 2025 · 4 min read

High school athletes in most states can now sign NIL deals before they ever play a college game. Recruiters are adjusting — athletes should too.

In 2025, the majority of U.S. states updated their state athletic association rules to allow high school athletes to earn NIL compensation before enrolling in college. This is a significant shift — the NIL clock no longer starts at college enrollment for most athletes. It can start now.

State-by-state variation remains significant. Some states allow high school NIL fully with no restrictions beyond standard association rules. Others limit what types of deals are permissible, require school approval, or prohibit the use of school logos, uniforms, and facilities. A small number of states maintain outright prohibitions. Every athlete and family should confirm the specific rules in their state through their state high school athletic association.

College programs cannot use NIL as a direct recruiting inducement — it is a clear NCAA violation. However, boosters and NIL collectives affiliated with college programs operate in a more complex space. Athletes and families should understand that conversations about NIL earnings at a particular school during the recruiting process may have compliance implications. If a collective is making promises tied to a commit decision, that warrants a closer look.

What high school athletes should be doing now:

Begin building your personal brand online with consistent, professional content — coaches and brands are already watching
Understand your state's current HS NIL rules before signing anything or accepting anything of value
Do not let NIL conversations with boosters or collectives influence your college decision in an undisclosed way — this creates compliance risk for both you and the institution
If you sign a deal, treat it like a business transaction: get it in writing, understand the exclusivity terms, and set aside the tax portion immediately

The athletes who arrive on campus with NIL infrastructure already in place — a brand, a following, and at least basic business entity setup — are months ahead of teammates who wait until enrollment. Start building now. Read the full High School NIL guide →

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