AROUND NIL | More than 500 NIL deals tossed, nearly $15 million left on table

Major NIL deals promised before approval put athletes’ eligibility on the line

Jan. 9, 2026—The College Sports Commission warned athletic directors on Friday that seven-figure NIL offers are being promised before clearing review, putting athletes' eligibility at risk.

At issue are third-party NIL deals worth $600 or more that must go through NIL Go under the House settlement to confirm a real business purpose and fair market value. The commission said some schools and collectives are promising money before submitting deals for approval.

"Making promises of third-party NIL money now and figuring out how to honor those promises later leaves student-athletes vulnerable to deals not being cleared, promises not being able to be kept, and eligibility being placed at risk," the memo said, according to the Associated Press.

The warning spelled out consequences, including loss of player eligibility, suspensions, fines, postseason bans, scholarship cuts, and roster limits for schools.

NIL Go clears $127M in six months, rejects $15M over rules violations

Jan. 12, 2026—The College Sports Commission’s NIL Go clearinghouse has now rejected 524 NIL deals worth $14.94 million since going live in June, according to its latest Deal Flow Report. The denials account for more than 10% of all deal value that has come through the system.

From June through Dec. 31, NIL Go approved 17,321 deals totaling $127.21 million. Most rejections involved agreements that could not show a real business purpose, failed to actually activate an athlete’s NIL rights, or offered compensation that did not line up with fair market value.

Concerns about red tape have eased as the platform has sped up. The report notes that 52 percent of all submissions were resolved within 24 hours, while 73 percent were finalized within seven days. October review times were 21 percent faster than in September.

The data also shows how broad the market has become. Of the 10,848 athletes with at least one cleared deal, 44 percent compete in sports other than football or men’s basketball. More than 35,300 athletes, 1,263 schools, and 4,202 representatives have registered on NIL Go as the commission continues to track unreported activity and move a small number of disputed deals into arbitration.