NIL law in Texas — SB 1385 and the framework binding Texas college athletes

State: Texas (TX)

Last reviewed 2026-05-18

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

Statute — in force

Texas SB 1385 (2021) is the state's NIL statute and applies to every Texas postsecondary institution with an intercollegiate athletics program. It sets the rules of engagement for athletes at Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Baylor, TCU, Houston, and the rest of the Big 12 / SEC footprint in the state.

Statute citation

Texas NIL Statute

SB 1385 — Tex. Educ. Code § 51.9246

Enacted 2021 — effective 2021-07-01

Allows student-athletes at Texas postsecondary institutions to earn compensation for the use of their name, image, or likeness, with disclosure obligations and a list of prohibited endorsement categories.

Read the statute on the official source

What the law actually says

Texas SB 1385 was signed by Governor Greg Abbott in June 2021 and became effective on July 1, 2021. The statute is codified at Texas Education Code section 51.9246. It permits student-athletes to earn NIL compensation, requires written contracts, and obliges athletes to disclose NIL agreements to a designated official at the institution. The statute expressly preserves institutional authority to prohibit endorsement of certain categories and to set conduct standards. It also gives the institution the right to prohibit specific NIL activity that conflicts with existing institutional contracts. Texas's framework was deliberately calibrated to give institutions room to police category restrictions and team-contract conflicts on a school-by-school basis rather than imposing a uniform statewide list. The practical result is that two Texas athletes signing the same deal — one at Texas, one at Texas Tech — can have meaningfully different compliance reviews because the institutional policies diverge even when the statutory floor is identical.

Allowed NIL activities

Endorsement and sponsorship contracts with permitted brand categories.
Group licensing where the athlete is part of a class, subject to NCAA rules and the school's mark licensing.
Personal appearances, autograph signings, and athlete-run camps or clinics.
Hiring an agent or attorney for NIL representation.
Promotion of NIL deals on social platforms, subject to school and team policies.

Restricted or prohibited NIL activities

NIL contracts that conflict with an existing institutional sponsorship contract.
Endorsements of alcohol, tobacco, controlled substances, adult entertainment, gambling, or sports-wagering services.
NIL compensation conditioned on attendance at a particular institution.
Use of school marks or uniforms without a licensing agreement.
Compensation that is, in form or substance, pay-for-play tied to athletic performance.

How individual schools layer their own policies

Every Texas Power-conference program (Texas, Texas A&M, Baylor, TCU, Texas Tech, Houston) maintains its own NIL policy on top of SB 1385. The disclosure platforms differ, the lists of prohibited categories vary, and the rules around team-facility use for NIL content (uniforms, helmets, locker rooms) are tighter than the statute. An NIL deal that is statutorily permissible can still be impermissible at a specific Texas school.

University of Texas

UT operates an institutional NIL platform and requires disclosure of every agreement. The school's sponsorship inventory is large and active, which means a brand deal in a category like apparel or beverages frequently conflicts with an existing institutional sponsor and must be carved out.

Texas A&M

A&M's policy emphasizes conflict-of-interest review against the school's sponsorship roster and against SEC institutional standards. NIL activity using A&M marks requires separate licensing through the school's licensing arm.

How RevU covers Texas

RevU's analysis flags the structural risks SB 1385 leaves to the institution: exclusivity scopes that overlap with school sponsorship inventory, disclosure language that does not match the school's reporting platform, and morality / conduct clauses calibrated to the brand rather than to the school's own conduct policy. The output is shaped so a Texas compliance office can read it the same way the school's policy reads. See /methodology for how the engine grounds those checks.

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

Check your contract free How the engine works