NIL law in Colorado — SB 20-123 and the 72-hour disclosure rule

State: Colorado (CO)

Last reviewed 2026-05-18

[Reviewed by Darren Heitner or contracted NIL counsel — TBD]

Statute — in force

Colorado SB 20-123 was signed in 2020 but did not become operative until January 1, 2023. It governs NIL at Colorado, Colorado State, Air Force, Denver, and every other Colorado postsecondary institution — and includes one of the country's tighter disclosure windows.

Statute citation

Colorado Student-Athlete NIL Act

SB 20-123 — Colo. Rev. Stat. § 23-16-301 et seq.

Enacted 2020 — effective 2023-01-01

Allows Colorado postsecondary student-athletes to earn NIL compensation, requires disclosure of NIL contracts to the athletic director within 72 hours after execution or before the next scheduled athletic event, and protects scholarship eligibility.

Read the statute on the official source

What the law actually says

Colorado Senate Bill 20-123 was signed by Governor Jared Polis in 2020, and the operative date was January 1, 2023. It is codified at Colorado Revised Statutes section 23-16-301 et seq. The statute lets student-athletes earn NIL compensation, blocks institutions from upholding rules that prevent it, and protects scholarship eligibility. The distinctive operational feature is the 72-hour post-execution disclosure window: an athlete must disclose an NIL contract to the athletic director at their school within 72 hours after entering into it or before the next scheduled athletic event, whichever is sooner. Team contracts entered into, modified, or renewed on or after January 1, 2023 cannot prevent an athlete from using their NIL for a commercial purpose when not engaged in official team activities. Colorado's 72-hour clock is functionally a hard deadline — schools rarely treat it as advisory. The whichever-is-sooner language in particular catches athletes who sign a deal the night before an away game, since the deadline becomes hours, not days. Reps signing Colorado athletes routinely build the 72-hour clock into their negotiation calendar from the start.

Allowed NIL activities

Endorsement, sponsorship, and influencer deals.
Hiring an agent, athlete advisor, or attorney for NIL representation.
NIL activities outside official team activities, including in periods covered by a team contract.
Group licensing, autograph signings, and athlete-run camps or clinics.
Personal appearances and speaking engagements.

Restricted or prohibited NIL activities

Entering into an NIL contract without disclosing it within 72 hours of execution (or before the next scheduled athletic event, whichever is sooner).
NIL contracts that conflict with a team contract — though team contracts cannot block NIL outside official team activities.
Use of school marks or uniforms without an institutional license.
NIL compensation conditioned on attendance at a particular institution.
Endorsements that violate the school's codified conduct standards.

How individual schools layer their own policies

Colorado, Colorado State, and Air Force all maintain institutional NIL policies layered on top of SB 20-123. The 72-hour disclosure window is the operational tripwire — it is the rule athletes most frequently miss, and the rule reps most frequently have to coach athletes through.

University of Colorado

CU operates a designated NIL office and a disclosure platform calibrated to the 72-hour statutory window. The school reviews NIL agreements against athletic-department sponsorships and against current conference institutional standards.

Colorado State University

CSU's NIL policy mirrors the Colorado statutory framework and adds school-specific category restrictions. The school's disclosure platform tracks the 72-hour clock from contract execution.

How RevU covers Colorado

RevU's analysis flags the Colorado-specific structural risks: missing or ambiguous disclosure timing language, team-contract clauses that overreach into outside-team-activity windows (which the statute forbids), and exclusivity scopes that conflict with school sponsors. The engine treats Colorado deals as both statutory and institutional reviews.

RevU is a software tool, not a law firm. The output is meant to make the conversation with your attorney more efficient — not to replace it. For binding legal advice on a Colorado NIL contract, engage a licensed attorney in your state.

Check your contract free How the engine works