Is college NIL legal in Tennessee?

Yes — college athletes in Tennessee can earn from their name, image, and likeness. Status: Legal (state law). Tennessee 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 Tennessee?

High-school NIL status in Tennessee: Allowed, per State NIL law (orig. 2021, amended 2025) + TSSAA (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 Tennessee?

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 my Tennessee school or a collective help arrange my NIL deals?

Under the law as originally enacted, institutions and their employees could not compensate athletes for NIL, but 2025 amendments (Public Chapter 300) reportedly authorize third parties, including institutions and affiliated foundations, to facilitate and provide NIL compensation. How that interacts with the House settlement's rules is still being contested in federal court as of September 2026. Confirm with your school's compliance office before signing.

Will a Tennessee high schooler lose eligibility for wearing their school uniform in a paid ad?

The TSSAA's published rule says compensated activities may not include the student in uniform or in gear showing the school name or logo. A first violation brings a formal warning, and a second brings a one-year ban from interscholastic athletics at any level. Check the current TSSAA handbook and your athletic director before agreeing to any shoot.

Does Tennessee law protect athletes and schools from NCAA punishment over NIL?

Tennessee has pushed hard in that direction: the 2025 amendments are described as barring enforcement against schools for NIL activity the state law permits, and the state attorney general's litigation produced a settlement protecting NIL recruiting talk. A June 2026 federal lawsuit (Ili and Mirer v. NCAA) is now testing whether the House settlement's cap and clearinghouse can still be enforced against Tennessee schools despite the state law, with no ruling yet. None of this makes any individual deal automatically safe under NCAA and College Sports Commission review. Verify current enforcement rules with your compliance office.

— NIL Rules · South

Tennessee NIL Rules

College and high-school name, image & likeness rules for Tennessee (TN) — at a glance, in plain English. Not legal advice; confirm with a compliance office before acting.

At a glance

NIL in Tennessee today.

College NIL: Legal (state law). High-school NIL: Allowed, per State NIL law (orig. 2021, amended 2025) + TSSAA (HS). NIL collectives: operating. Deal-disclosure threshold: Any deal. Governing statute: Tennessee Intercollegiate Athlete's Name, Image, or Likeness Law (HB 1351 / Public Chapter 400) (Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-7-2801 et seq.), amended, effective January 2022. High-school governance: Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA). Last reviewed September 2026 — this is a plain-English overview pending verification, not legal advice.

What to know

How the rules play out in Tennessee.

Tennessee's NIL statute was substantially amended by SB 536/HB 194 (signed May 2025, effective July 2025), permitting unlimited NIL compensation and letting institutions and collectives coordinate directly on recruiting-related NIL — separate from, but reinforced by, a 2024 federal injunction (made permanent March 2025) that blocked the NCAA's own recruiting-inducement ban. No further amendment passed in the 2026 legislative session (adjourned April 2026); this remains the current law. Whether this puts Tennessee schools in conflict with the House settlement's revenue-sharing cap and the national NIL Go clearinghouse is now the subject of a specific, still-pending federal case: Ili and Mirer v. NCAA et al. (N.D. Cal., filed June 9, 2026), which names the NCAA, the Power Four conferences, and the College Sports Commission and argues the settlement's cap and clearinghouse conflict with NIL-protective state laws — Tennessee explicitly among them. As of September 2026 there has been no ruling; treat this as unresolved and actively litigated rather than settled. The TSSAA's 2022 Amateur Rule framework (no uniform/accolade references, no booster payments, no school coordination) still appears to be in force as of the 2026-27 handbook; the Legislative Council reportedly discussed refining that language in late 2025/early 2026 to reinforce (not loosen) the school-separation guardrail, but the exact adopted bylaw text could not be independently confirmed this pass — verify directly against the current TSSAA handbook.

Who governs NIL in Tennessee

College NIL in Tennessee runs on a state statute: Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-7-2801 et seq., enacted as HB 1351 (Public Chapter 400) in May 2021 and effective January 1, 2022. It applies to four-year public and private institutions in the state and has been amended several times since, most recently in 2025. High-school NIL is governed separately by the TSSAA's amateur rule, which the association's Legislative Council opened to NIL in December 2022. On top of both sits the post-House-settlement framework run by the NCAA and the College Sports Commission as of September 2026.

What the statute actually says

The operative section is § 49-7-2802. Key provisions as published:

§ 49-7-2802(a): an intercollegiate athlete may earn compensation for the use of the athlete's own name, image, or likeness, provided it reflects fair market value and is not tied to athletic performance or attendance at an institution.
§ 49-7-2802(g)(3): athletes are prohibited from NIL activities that promote gambling, tobacco, alcohol, and adult entertainment.
§ 49-7-2802(h)(1): athletes may obtain representation by a third party, including an athlete agent; representing attorneys must be active and in good standing.
§ 49-7-2802(d): athletes must disclose NIL agreements to their institution.
§ 49-7-2802(l): institutions are directed to provide financial literacy programming for athletes.
As originally enacted, § 49-7-2802(b)(1) barred an institution and its officers or employees from compensating athletes for NIL; 2025 amendments reportedly relaxed institutional involvement in response to the House settlement.

High-school rules (TSSAA)

The TSSAA's published NIL interpretation of its amateur rule, adopted in December 2022, lets Tennessee high schoolers earn NIL money with school-separation guardrails:

Students may receive payment for activities not related to performance, provided they are carried out in a manner that does not suggest or reasonably suggest the endorsement or sponsorship of the TSSAA school.
Compensated activities may not use the student's school uniform, school name, or school logo, and may not reference TSSAA accolades or championships.
Schools, coaches, and boosters may not facilitate deals, and students may not accept payments from school booster club funds.
Penalties escalate: a first violation draws a formal warning; a second brings ineligibility to participate in interscholastic athletics at any level for one year.

The practical read

As of September 2026, a Tennessee college athlete can sign endorsement, appearance, and social-media deals, use an agent, and must route disclosures through their school; deals of 600 dollars or more also go through the NIL Go clearinghouse under the House settlement. A Tennessee high schooler can earn NIL money too, but only fully separated from school identity: no uniforms, no school marks, no booster money, no coach involvement.

What's moving

In May 2025 Governor Lee signed SB 536 / HB 194 (Public Chapter 300, signed May 13, 2025, effective May 1, 2025), which expands the NIL law and is widely described as shielding Tennessee schools from NCAA and settlement-related enforcement while shifting litigation risk to the association. That friction is now the subject of a specific federal case: Ili and Mirer v. NCAA et al. (N.D. Cal., No. 26-cv-05562, filed June 9, 2026), which argues the House settlement's revenue-share cap and NIL Go clearinghouse conflict with NIL-protective laws in 17 states, Tennessee among them. As of September 2026 the case remains pending with no ruling reported. Tennessee's attorney general has separately continued pressing the NCAA and College Sports Commission over enforcement practices; expect continued friction between the state law and the House settlement's compensation limits.

Go deeper

Compare states, then run your numbers.

Compare Tennessee 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 Tennessee?: Yes — college athletes in Tennessee can earn from their name, image, and likeness. Status: Legal (state law). Tennessee 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 Tennessee?: High-school NIL status in Tennessee: Allowed, per State NIL law (orig. 2021, amended 2025) + TSSAA (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 Tennessee?: 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 my Tennessee school or a collective help arrange my NIL deals?: Under the law as originally enacted, institutions and their employees could not compensate athletes for NIL, but 2025 amendments (Public Chapter 300) reportedly authorize third parties, including institutions and affiliated foundations, to facilitate and provide NIL compensation. How that interacts with the House settlement's rules is still being contested in federal court as of September 2026. Confirm with your school's compliance office before signing.
Will a Tennessee high schooler lose eligibility for wearing their school uniform in a paid ad?: The TSSAA's published rule says compensated activities may not include the student in uniform or in gear showing the school name or logo. A first violation brings a formal warning, and a second brings a one-year ban from interscholastic athletics at any level. Check the current TSSAA handbook and your athletic director before agreeing to any shoot.
Does Tennessee law protect athletes and schools from NCAA punishment over NIL?: Tennessee has pushed hard in that direction: the 2025 amendments are described as barring enforcement against schools for NIL activity the state law permits, and the state attorney general's litigation produced a settlement protecting NIL recruiting talk. A June 2026 federal lawsuit (Ili and Mirer v. NCAA) is now testing whether the House settlement's cap and clearinghouse can still be enforced against Tennessee schools despite the state law, with no ruling yet. None of this makes any individual deal automatically safe under NCAA and College Sports Commission review. Verify current enforcement rules with your compliance office.

Sources

Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-7-2802 (current text) — FindLaw (Thomson Reuters)
HB 1351 (2021) bill history, Public Chapter 400 — Tennessee General Assembly
HB 194 / SB 536 (2025) bill history, Public Chapter 300 — Tennessee General Assembly
Name, Image and Likeness and the TSSAA Amateur Rule — TSSAA
Tennessee AG announces settlement in principle with NCAA on NIL recruiting ban — Tennessee Attorney General
NCAA name, image and likeness rules and NIL Go disclosure — NCAA
New antitrust lawsuit challenges restrictions on college player pay in 17 states — NBC Sports