NIL law in Tennessee — HB 1351 and the most NIL-aggressive state framework in the country

State: Tennessee (TN)

Last reviewed 2026-05-18

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

Statute — amended; in force

Tennessee HB 1351 / SB 1636 (2021) is the state's NIL statute, and follow-on amendments have made Tennessee one of the most permissive NIL frameworks in the country — a deliberate posture to keep the Volunteers competitive with the broader SEC and beyond.

Statute citation

Tennessee Student-Athlete NIL Act

HB 1351 / SB 1636 — Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-7-2801 et seq.

Enacted 2021 — effective 2022-01-01

Permits Tennessee postsecondary student-athletes to earn NIL compensation, restricts institutional interference with athletes' NIL deals, and has been amended to broaden the scope of permissible institutional involvement relative to the original 2021 version.

Read the statute on the official source

What the law actually says

Tennessee's original NIL law (HB 1351 / SB 1636) was signed in May 2021 and took effect on January 1, 2022. It is codified at Tennessee Code Annotated section 49-7-2801. Subsequent amendments — passed as part of Tennessee's broader effort to keep its institutions competitive in NIL — have expanded the scope of permissible institutional involvement and narrowed the categories where the state restricts NIL activity relative to the original. Athletes and reps signing under a Tennessee program should read the contract against the current version of the statute, not the 2021 baseline. Tennessee's posture is materially different from neighboring SEC states: the state has actively legislated to give its institutions more operational room, in part as a response to high-profile NCAA NIL disputes involving Tennessee programs. The practical implication for athletes is that the same NIL deal that would draw closer institutional scrutiny in another SEC state can be cleared more easily in Tennessee — but the school's policy is still the operative text, and the conference's evolving NIL stance still binds.

Allowed NIL activities

Endorsement, sponsorship, and influencer contracts.
Institutional involvement in connecting athletes to NIL opportunities, to a degree broader than most peer states.
Hiring an agent or attorney for NIL representation.
Group licensing, autograph signings, camps, and clinics.
NIL compensation through a collective, subject to the latest amendments and any NCAA reporting requirements.

Restricted or prohibited NIL activities

NIL compensation as a recruiting inducement to attend a particular institution.
Endorsements of categorically restricted products (alcohol to minors, tobacco, sports wagering for minors, controlled substances, adult entertainment).
Use of school marks and uniforms without an institutional license.
Activities that violate the school's codified conduct standards.
NIL deals that conflict with an existing institutional sponsorship contract — subject to the amended framework.

How individual schools layer their own policies

Tennessee schools — UT-Knoxville, Vanderbilt, Memphis, MTSU — operate institutional NIL policies on top of the statute. UT in particular has been at the center of NIL-related NCAA disputes, and its policy is calibrated to the amended Tennessee framework. Vanderbilt, as a private SEC institution, layers its own conduct and IP rules on top of the statute.

University of Tennessee

UT operates a disclosure platform and a designated NIL office, and the school's policy is calibrated to the amended Tennessee statute. Athletes are expected to surface team-contract and conference-sponsor conflicts before signing.

Vanderbilt

Vanderbilt's NIL policy reflects its status as a private SEC institution: conduct standards, academic integrity rules, and IP licensing are tighter than the statutory minimum, and athletes are expected to clear use of Vanderbilt marks separately from any brand contract.

How RevU covers Tennessee

RevU's analysis treats Tennessee deals against the amended statute, not the 2021 baseline. The engine flags exclusivity scopes that conflict with Tennessee's broader permissible-collective framework, disclosure language that does not match the school's platform, and morality clauses calibrated to brand rather than to school conduct standards. See /methodology for how the engine is kept current.

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 Tennessee NIL contract, engage a licensed attorney in your state.

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