College and high-school name, image & likeness rules for Arkansas (AR) — at a glance, in plain English. Not legal advice; confirm with a compliance office before acting.
At a glance
NIL in Arkansas today.
College NIL: Legal (state law). High-school NIL: Allowed, per State NIL law + AAA (HS). NIL collectives: operating. Deal-disclosure threshold: Any deal. Governing statute: Arkansas Student-Athlete Publicity Rights Act (HB 1671 / Act 810 of 2021), as amended by Act 589 of 2023 and Act 839 of 2025 (HB 1917) (Ark. Code Ann. § 4-75-1301 et seq.), amended, effective January 2022. High-school governance: Arkansas Activities Association (AAA). Last reviewed October 2026 — this is a plain-English overview pending verification, not legal advice.
What to know
How the rules play out in Arkansas.
Arkansas passed an NIL statute and has since amended it twice, most recently in 2025 to let schools pay athletes directly and to exempt some NIL income from state tax; confirm the current text with a compliance office. The Arkansas Activities Association's amateur rule still formally bars high-school NIL pay, but a state-law carve-out lets athletes already committed to an in-state college do NIL deals — verify eligibility with the AAA and your school before signing anything. Many Arkansas schools ask athletes to disclose essentially every deal, and Division I athletes separately route third-party deals of $600 or more through NIL Go; treat 'any deal' as the working disclosure assumption until verified with your school.
Who governs NIL in Arkansas
College NIL in Arkansas runs on the Arkansas Student-Athlete Publicity Rights Act, Ark. Code Ann. § 4-75-1301 et seq., enacted as Act 810 of 2021 and effective at the start of 2022, layered under NCAA policy and the House settlement framework. High-school sports are governed by the Arkansas Activities Association, whose amateur rule generally bars NIL pay but expressly defers to the state statute where it applies.
What the Publicity Rights Act actually says
The act has been amended twice since enactment, in 2023 and 2025 (the 2025 amendment, HB 1917, was enacted as Act 839). Its core provisions as of October 2026:
§ 4-75-1303: a student-athlete may earn compensation for the use of their name, image, or likeness while maintaining athletic eligibility, and compensation arrangements are reported to the institution.
Act 810 of 2021: compensation may not be contingent on athletic performance and may not be used to recruit an athlete to a particular institution.
§ 4-75-1307(a)(5): earning NIL compensation does not make the athlete an employee of the institution of higher education (language refined by Act 839 of 2025).
§ 4-75-1303(e), added by Act 839 (2025): NIL compensation and institutional revenue-share income are exempt from Arkansas state income tax for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2025; some press coverage describes the exemption as reaching university-paid revenue-share specifically rather than every third-party brand deal, so the precise scope is worth confirming directly against the statutory text.
Act 839 (2025) also amends §§ 4-75-1304 through 4-75-1305 and § 4-75-1308, addressing conflicts, liability, and civil remedies, and reportedly authorizes institutions to compensate athletes directly with financial details shielded from public-records requests.
High-school rules
Arkansas is unusual: a narrow slice of high schoolers can do NIL deals under state law, while the AAA amateur rule covers everyone else.
AAA Rule 10.C.3: a student may not directly or indirectly accept gifts, products, awards or monetary compensation for permitting his/her name, picture, or person to be used to advertise, promote or recommend a product, service, commercial venture or political venture.
AAA Rule 10.B: violating the amateur rule can cost eligibility in that sport for up to 365 days.
AAA Rule 10.E: notwithstanding the amateur rule, a student may exercise the rights provided under the Arkansas Student-Athlete Publicity Rights Act, Ark. Code Ann. § 4-75-1301 et seq.
Act 589 of 2023 (HB 1649) extended the act's coverage to high-school athletes who have been admitted to, or signed a financial aid agreement or letter of intent with, an in-state institution of higher education.
The practical read
College athletes in Arkansas can sign endorsement deals, disclose them to their school, and since 2025 can also receive direct institutional pay that the state does not tax (with the caveat above about exactly which income the tax break reaches). A high schooler generally cannot monetize NIL unless they have already committed to an in-state college, in which case the statute's protections reportedly kick in ahead of enrollment. As of October 2026, third-party deals of 600 dollars or more at Division I settlement schools also go through the NIL Go clearinghouse review under the House settlement, on top of whatever a given Arkansas school asks athletes to disclose internally.
What's moving
Act 839 (HB 1917) was signed April 25, 2025 and applies retroactively to January 1, 2025, making Arkansas one of the first states using a state tax exemption as a recruiting lever after the House settlement. No further Arkansas legislation changing the Publicity Rights Act or the AAA's NIL posture was found as having passed in the 2026 fiscal session (which ran through late April 2026 and is budget-focused by design); watch for follow-on rules about institutional revenue sharing and the confidentiality of payment records.
Go deeper
Compare states, then run your numbers.
Compare Arkansas with every other state in the NIL Rules by State tracker, estimate your take-home on NIL income with the free NIL Tax Calculator, and see what your name, image, and likeness is actually worth with HDBND's free athlete tools.
Frequently asked questions
Is college NIL legal in Arkansas?
Yes — college athletes in Arkansas can earn from their name, image, and likeness. Status: Legal (state law). Arkansas has its own NIL statute layered on top of NCAA policy and the House settlement. Confirm the current rules with each school's compliance office.
Can high school athletes earn NIL in Arkansas?
High-school NIL status in Arkansas: Allowed, per State NIL law + AAA (HS). It's generally permitted under the association's amateurism and recruiting guardrails. This is a general overview, not legal advice.
Do athletes have to disclose NIL deals in Arkansas?
The working disclosure threshold here is "Any deal." Under the House settlement, third-party deals at or above $600 at participating schools go to the NIL Go clearinghouse for review; some schools ask for every deal. Confirm your school's exact process.
Can an Arkansas high school athlete sign an NIL deal before graduation?
Generally only if they have committed to an in-state college. Act 589 of 2023 reportedly extended the Publicity Rights Act to high schoolers who have been admitted to or signed with an Arkansas institution of higher education, and AAA Rule 10.E honors rights exercised under that act. Everyone else is still bound by the AAA amateur rule. Confirm your specific situation with the AAA and your school before signing.
Does Arkansas tax NIL money?
For tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2025, NIL compensation and university revenue-share income are reportedly exempt from Arkansas state income tax under § 4-75-1303(e), added by Act 839. Coverage of the exemption's exact scope is not fully consistent across sources, some tying it specifically to university-paid revenue-share rather than every outside brand deal, and federal income tax still applies in full regardless. Confirm the details with a tax professional before filing.
Does taking NIL or revenue-share money make me a University of Arkansas employee?
No. The act states at § 4-75-1307(a)(5) that NIL compensation does not render a student-athlete an employee of the institution, and the 2025 amendments (Act 839) kept that principle while allowing direct institutional payments. Verify current terms with your school's compliance office before relying on this.