NIL Laws · MD

Maryland

High-school NIL: permitted with conditions. College NIL is addressed by state law alongside the NCAA/House framework. Agent rules below.

High School NIL
Permitted with conditions

The MPSSAA permits high-school NIL that stays separate from school identity and is not conditioned on performance or enrollment.

Citation · MPSSAA NIL guidance
What This Means

Maryland high-schoolers may sign compliant NIL deals.

Insight: DMV-area athletes cross jurisdictions constantly — plan to the strictest applicable rule set.
College NIL

Maryland's Jordan McNair Safe and Fair Play Act includes NIL rights for college athletes alongside health protections.

Citation · Md. Code, Educ. §15-131
What This Means

Maryland college athletes hold statutory NIL rights within the NCAA/House framework.

Insight: Maryland pairs NIL with athlete-welfare mandates — the same statute is a reference point for health-and-safety obligations too.
Agent Regulations

Maryland requires athlete agents to register under its Uniform Athlete Agents Act.

Citation · Md. Code, Bus. Reg. §4-401 et seq. (UAAA)
What This Means

Agent registration is mandatory before soliciting Maryland athletes.

Insight: Verify Maryland registration alongside DC and Virginia for any agent working the DMV.
Look Up Registered Agents →

The NCAA & Federal Layer

State law is only half the rulebook. Wherever you play, the NCAA framework reshaped by the House settlement — plus one federal statute on agents — sits on top of your state's rules.

Revenue sharing (House settlement)

Since July 2025, Division I schools that opted into the House v. NCAA settlement may pay athletes directly, capped at roughly 22% of average power-conference athletics revenue — about $20.5M per school in year one, rising annually. Roster limits replaced scholarship limits.

House v. NCAA settlement (N.D. Cal., approved June 6, 2025)
What this means: Your school can now be a counterparty, not just a bystander. Campus revenue-share agreements are real contracts with real obligations.
NIL Go clearinghouse

Third-party NIL deals of $600 or more must be reported through NIL Go, the clearinghouse run by the College Sports Commission with Deloitte, which reviews deals against a fair-market-value standard.

College Sports Commission — NIL Go reporting requirement
What this means: Most real deals must be disclosed and can be flagged. Paper your deals at defensible market value and keep the deliverables documented.
Enforcement

The College Sports Commission — not the NCAA — enforces the settlement's compensation rules for participating schools. Portions of the settlement remain subject to appeal, so details can shift.

College Sports Commission (est. 2025)
What this means: A new regulator with new processes: expect documentation requests, and expect the rules to keep evolving for a few more seasons.
Agents — the federal floor

The federal SPARTA statute prohibits agents from using false promises, providing inducements, or failing to disclose required warnings when recruiting student-athletes — in every state, on top of any state act.

15 U.S.C. §7801 et seq. (SPARTA)
What this means: Even in states with no agent registry, deceptive agent conduct is federally unlawful. There is always a rulebook.

NIL law moves fast. These summaries are educational, current as of July 2026, and are not legal advice — rules cited here change frequently and some remain subject to pending litigation. Confirm the current rule before acting on it, or ask us. Attorney advertising.

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