Texas Approves NIL Deals for 17-Year-Old Athletes—With Major Restrictions

A new bill signed by Gov. Greg Abbott allows high school seniors to enter NIL agreements—but only after enrolling in college, keeping Texas behind many other states in NIL access

Texas Governor Greg Abbott, left, signs a series of business-friendly bills at the Texas State Capitol, May 14, 2025. / Sara Diggins/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Last week, Texas governor Greg Abbott signed a new Name, Image, and Likeness bill that ended up passing with a two-thirds majority vote from the House of Representatives, which now puts colleges out of the Lone Star State on the same playing field as others.

A New NIL Era in Texas

The intention was to allow Texas schools to take full advantage of the new landscape of college football recruiting and the Transfer Portal. It allows for NIL deals to go through for student-athletes of the ages 17 and up and it definitely helps a university chasing the next big recruit.

What the New Law Means for High School Athletes

For Texas, its universities will be able to go head-to-head with any college around the country and on the high school end of things, the University Interscholastic League (UIL) will have to change their rules up just a tad. With Abbott's signature on the bill, it sets up Texas' UIL having to amend their rules to allow student-athletes of the age 17 and up to enter into NIL deals.

The bill will allow high school seniors of age 17 and up, to enter NIL deals. All NIL deals must be disclosed to the institution they're attending, according to Texas Policy Research. Though it may sound like high school athletes can begin entering deals, that is not the case.

Key Restrictions: What High Schoolers Can’t Do

"We are creating some common sense by amending it, making sure that no athletes under 17 years of age will be eligible for an NIL agreement. And from 17 and older, no athletes in high school can receive any money under an NIL agreement until they’re enrolled in college and participating in the program that they agreed to participate in," Texas state senator Brandon Creighton said via a FOX 4 report.

Where Texas Stands Compared to Other States

What hasn't been approved as of yet in Texas is high school athletes across the board being able to profit off of NIL. Texas is one of 13 states that has prohibited the use of NIL for high school athletes.

The most recent states that have approved the NIL for high school athletes, regardless of age/grade are Florida and North Carolina. Florida made it official last summer awhile North Carolina did last fall when a judge ruled that high school athletes could profit off NIL.

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Florida Department of Education (FLDOE) officially ratifies approval of NIL

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North Carolina judge rules that NC public school athletes can profit off NIL: Report

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States That Allow High School NIL Deals

Here is the list of states that allow high school athletes to profit off of NIL:

Alaska

Arizona

California

Colorado

Connecticut

Delaware

Florida

Georgia

Idaho

Illinois

Iowa

Kansas

Kentucky

Louisiana

Maine

Maryland

Massachusetts

Minnesota

Mississippi

Missouri

Nebraska

Nevada

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New Mexico

New York

North Carolina

North Dakota

Oklahoma

Oregon

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

South Carolina

Tennessee

Utah

Virginia

Washington

District of Columbia

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-- Andy Villamarzo | villamarzo@scorebooklive.com | @highschoolonsi