Texas’s biennial legislature is in session, and revamping Texas’ name, image, and likeness (NIL) laws to keep up with the developments across the U.S. seems to be a hot topic. As of the date of this post, state representatives have filed seven bills that would affect NIL in the state and potentially allow Texas high schoolers to benefit from their NIL.

CURRENT STATUS OF TEXAS’ NIL STATUTE

In the last legislative session, Texas amended the Texas Name, Image, and Likeness Bill (NIL Bill). Tex. Educ. Code § 51.9246 (2025). The NIL Bill allowed college athletes in Texas to earn compensation from their NIL without losing financial aid eligibility, with certain restrictions and responsibilities. See id. § 51.246(e). For example, student-athletes cannot enter a NIL contract that:

  1. Contains a provision that conflicts with a provision of a team contract (e.g., team rules, athletics scholarship agreement, etc.), an institutional contract (e.g., sponsorship agreement involving use of the school’s trademarks), athletics department policy (e.g., student-athlete code of conducts, etc.) or school honor codes;
  2. Extends beyond their participation in intercollegiate athletics; or
  3. Requires the student-athlete to use their institution’s uniform, registered trademark, copyright-protected product, or official logo without the institution’s express permission.

Id. § 51.9246(g).

The NIL Bill also prevents Texas universities from providing or soliciting “a prospective student athlete of an intercollegiate athletic program at the institution with compensation in relation to the prospective student athlete’s [NIL].” See id. § 51.9246(c)(2).

Some fear that this language would put Texas schools behind other institutions in a post-House settlement world because the statute might preclude Texas universities from making offers to 2025 recruits that include compensation under NIL agreements authorized by the settlement. Indeed, a letter was sent to Texas’ governor seeking guidance on this apparent conflict and requesting nonenforcement of the NIL Bill. Although the governor did not publicly respond to the letter, the Texas legislature has been busy addressing these NIL concerns and more.

PROPOSED BILLS

There are currently seven bills aimed at amending the NIL Bill or creating new NIL laws for student-athletes in Texas.

Bills allowing state universities to “provide or solicit” recruits with “compensation in relation to the prospective student-athlete’s NIL.”

Texas Senate Bill 1817, Texas House Bill 3220, and Texas House Bill 126 are bills aimed at making it legal, under Texas law, for Texas universities to act within the bounds of the House Settlement terms as they stand today. Each bill would make three fundamental changes to the NIL Bill by allowing:

  1. Texas universities to directly compensate student-athletes for their NIL;
  2. Texas universities to include NIL compensation in offers to student-athlete recruits; and
  3. Student-athletes to enter NIL contracts where the student is compensated for their NIL in exchange for “an act that occurs while the athlete is engaged in an official team activity.”

HB 126 builds on its sister bills by adding a subsection that governs future conflicts between the NIL Bill and a NIL contract, rule, regulation, standard, or requirement of a court of organization with authority over the athletic program or institution (e.g., the NCAA, athletic conference, etc.). Effectively, HB 126 permits student-athletes to perform or take an action that is authorized or required by the group or organization with authority of the program or university, or a court order. It goes on to state that authorize enforcement of those rules to the authorizing entity.

HB 126 is currently in the House Committee on Higher Education. Lawmakers have taken no action on SB 1817 and HB 3220. Of the three bills, HB 126 is the bill to watch this legislative session because its language is drafted to adapt with the shifting NIL landscape. Observers should expect additional movement on these bills after the court approves the House Settlement.

Bills allowing NIL compensation and professional representation of high school athletes in Texas.

The Texas legislature also has before it two bills that would allow Texas high school athletes to monetize their NIL through NIL agreements and have professional representation in connection with those agreements.

Texas House representative Benjamin Bumgarner filed House Bill 2211 on January 29. In late February, House representative David Lowe filed House Bill 3224. The bills are materially identical with one major exception: HB 2211 would allow student-athletes only 18 years or older to enter into NIL agreements, while HB 3224 would allow students to benefit from their NIL if they are “in ninth grade or above.”

Both bills require students to maintain grade eligibility and compliance with rules adopted by the body governing high school sports and academic competition in Texas — the University Interscholastic League (UIL). They also require UIL to adopt rules:

  1. Prohibiting NIL compensation to influence a student’s enrollment in or transfer to a school;
  2. Prohibiting compensation in exchange for promoting harmful or offensive products like alcohol, tobacco, steroids, gambling, firearms, or sexually oriented businesses;
  3. Allowing school districts, schools, and teams to place their own limits on compensation conflicting with their policies or honor codes; and
  4. Creating students receiving NIL to take financial literacy and life skills education.

As of the date of this post, Texas legislature has taken no action on either bill.

Bills prohibiting NIL advances and creating a civil penalty and injunctive relief enforceable by the Texas attorney general.

Senate Bill 655 and Senate Bill 2030 are bills drafted to protect student-athletes from predatory NIL contracts. Both bills would add a chapter to the Texas Occupations Code that prohibits, and renders void and unenforceable, the following NIL agreements with Texas college or high school athletes:

  • SB 655: Agreements that include advances the student-athlete, and charges them interest on, on a percentage of their future or anticipate NIL income.
  • SB 2030: Agreements that include grants an individual the exclusive right to negotiate the “use or sale of the student athlete’s [NIL]” and an entitlement to a percentage of the student athlete’s earnings.

Both bills establish a right of action for the Texas AG to seek injunctive relief to stop a person from violating the chapter and recover civil penalties up to $100,000 per violation and reasonable attorneys’ fees.

As of this posting, SB 665 is pending in the Senate Committee on Education K-16, and no action has been taken on Senate Bill 2030.