NIL Agents Aren’t Regulated: Why That’s a Problem for College Athletes

Perhaps the most troubling part of the new rules governing NIL and Rev-Share agreements is that there are no real regulations protecting college athletes from people claiming to be agents. Neither the NCAA nor the CSC have requirements for people who represent college athletes as part of their NIL or Rev-Share agreements. Anyone is free to call themselves an “NIL agent,” or “college sports agent,” and represent any college athlete when it comes to NIL and Rev-Share agreements. There is no mandatory course, no test, and no licensing; all that’s needed is a business card and the addition of “NIL agent” in their Instagram bio.

ATHENS, GA - NOVEMBER 16: Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Jaden Rashada (10) prior to the college football game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Georgia Bulldogs on November 16, 2024, on Dooley Field at Sanford Stadium in Athens, GA. (Photo by John Adams/Icon Sportswire)

Yes, there are scattered state laws and disclosure rules in some places. But there’s no unified, nationwide licensing or certification standard for ‘NIL agents,’ and no consistent enforcement that athletes can rely on.

Prior to this new NIL world, a sports agent who wanted to work with college athletes was signing that athlete to an agency contract in order for the athlete to turn professional. Those were agents that were regulated by the NFL or NBA.

Now, with the new rules in college/amateur sports, there’s been a flock of new “agents” who are representing high school and college athletes for NIL and Rev-Share agreements, not to turn pro. To be clear, NIL and Rev-Share deals involve two different types of representation (or at least they should). One -- NIL -- is supposed to be tied to marketing value (true NIL endorsements, licensing, merch, appearances), while the other -- Rev-Share -- is tied to participation in college sports (salary-like payments in a Rev-Share structure, or NIL arrangements that function as a proxy for salary for being on a roster).

Those two buckets are not the same thing. They should not be valued the same way when it comes to agency contracts. And if we don’t draw the line clearly, athletes will keep signing contracts where the “representative” gets paid like a marketer even when the underlying money is essentially compensation for being on the roster.

[Next Article in Agent Series: The Current Legal Landscape: Regulation Exists -- But It’s Fragmented, Uneven, and Outdated by Design]