— NIL Rules · West
College and high-school name, image & likeness rules for Nevada (NV) — at a glance, in plain English. Not legal advice; confirm with a compliance office before acting.
At a glance
College NIL: Legal (state law). High-school NIL: Allowed, per State NIL law + NIAA (HS). NIL collectives: operating. Deal-disclosure threshold: $600. Governing statute: Nevada AB 254 (2021) (Nev. Rev. Stat. §§ 398.300-398.330), active, effective January 2022. High-school governance: Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association (NIAA). Last reviewed August 2026 — this is a plain-English overview pending verification, not legal advice.
What to know
Nevada enacted an NIL law covering college athletes at in-state institutions. The NIAA has moved to permit high-school NIL within its eligibility rules. Collectives are active around the state's Mountain West programs; confirm disclosure specifics per school.
College NIL in Nevada runs on AB 254 (2021), codified at NRS 398.300 through 398.330 and effective for most purposes on January 1, 2022. High school sports are governed by the NIAA, whose amateur-status regulation sits in the Nevada Administrative Code at NAC 385B.374; the NIAA reportedly approved NIL-permitting language in April 2023, making Nevada one of the states that allow high school NIL with restrictions.
The statute is short and disclosure-centered.
The NIAA operates under state regulation: NAC 385B.374 requires participants in sanctioned sports to be amateurs and historically treated money or endorsements received in affiliation or connection with participation in a sanctioned sport as forfeiting amateur status (with carve-outs such as fees for instructing, supervising or officiating youth programs). In April 2023 the NIAA reportedly approved updated NIL language, making Nevada the 28th state to permit high school NIL; the practical shape is that deals must not be tied to the athlete's school or sanctioned-sport participation, and the usual restricted categories (adult entertainment, tobacco, cannabis, controlled substances, weapons, gambling) apply. Because the operative language lives in an administrative regulation and NIAA policy rather than a standalone statute, athletes should treat the current NAC text and NIAA guidance as controlling.
As of August 2026, a Nevada college athlete can sign third-party NIL deals, but every contract needs to be disclosed to the school, cannot conflict with institutional contracts, and cannot come from the school itself. A Nevada high schooler can reportedly monetize their personal brand so long as the deal is not connected to their school team or NIAA competition; anything that reads as being paid to play, or paid because of school-team affiliation, still risks amateur status.
AB 254 also commissioned an interim legislative study of NIL, and the national framework has shifted around the statute: since the House v. NCAA settlement was approved in June 2025, schools can share revenue with athletes directly under NCAA-side rules, an area NRS 398 does not squarely address. Watch for Nevada legislative sessions to revisit NRS 398 as the settlement framework beds in; nothing in the verified sources shows a repeal or major amendment as of August 2026.
Go deeper
Compare Nevada 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.