On January 23, 2026, the NCAA announced new options for in-contest commercial promotion for Division I (DI) sports programs. DI programs will be able to place additional commercial logos or patches on uniforms for any non-NCAA championship competition, including on those worn/used in the regular season.

The NCAA announcement is welcome news as colleges and universities search for funds to implement the Revenue Sharing component of the House v. NCAA Settlement, a percentage of television, ticket, and other athletic-related revenue which schools can now share with their student athletes.

That welcome news comes with questions related to what type of logos can be considered; how the additional logos impact the rights of student athletes to use their own NIL to sponsor goods and services; and the effect on existing college contracts.

Currently Allowed Commercial Logo Use

Currently, the official uniform for a student athlete, including pregame warm-ups, socks, headbands, wrist bands, visors, towels, etc. can contain one 2 ¼ inch square, rectangle or parallelogram with the normal label or trademark of the equipment or apparel manufacturer. 

The New Commercial Logo Rule

Effective August 1, 2026, during the preseason and regular season, Division I teams can have: A.) two additional commercial logos on their uniforms and apparel, and B.) one additional commercial logo on equipment. Teams can add one additional commercial logo on uniforms and apparel for conference championships. Each patch will be limited to a maximum of 4 square inches. 

The proposal does not cover uniforms and equipment used in NCAA Championships, including the March Madness basketball championships, although use of additional commercial logos in NCAA championships is under consideration.

The Impact of State NIL Laws and College NIL Rules on New Logo Options.

Most states created NIL statutes in the spring of 2021 with rules related to trademarks, logos, and other registered marks. Under these laws, student athletes cannot enter a license or contract for use of their publicity rights if such use conflicts with a provision of a contract, rule, regulation, standard, or other requirement of the student athlete’s college or university unless the school gives the student athlete written permission before the contract is entered.

A second provision in most state NIL statutes and / or college NIL rules prohibits the student athlete from contracting to endorse or promote brands, products, or services which involve certain activities or products including gambling, alcohol, controlled substances, sports betting, tobacco, or adult entertainment. 

Impact of Existing Student NIL Contracts

A student athlete is allowed to use athletics equipment and wear athletics apparel with the regular trademark or logo of an “athletics equipment or apparel manufacturer or distributor” during competition and during pre- and post-game activities if the logo or trademark is the same as used on all similar items for sale to the general public. 

The NCAA bylaws do not define “athletics equipment” but uses an (“e.g. shoes, helmets, baseball bats and gloves, batting or golf gloves, hockey and lacrosse sticks, goggles and skis”) in the bylaw defining what a student athlete may or may not do with regard to commercial trademark of logos. A student’s NIL rights cannot be used and do not extend to the student athlete’s competition uniform which includes socks, head bands, T shirts, wrist bands visors, hats, and towels. 

New University Logos or Patches Contract Challenges

In contracting for new patches and logos, it is not just the NCAA bylaws that govern NIL activities.  State NIL laws and a school’s own NIL rules may govern potential terms of an agreement for these new revenue options. Contracts for new university logos and patches must consider the impact on a student athletes’ existing NIL sponsorships and the categories of brands that can be promoted by a university pursuant to state law or the school’s own NIL rules. 

Issues that the commercial advertiser, the university, and the student athletes must resolve include: 

• How a university can add a patch or logo promoting a brand for which a student athlete has his or her own existing NIL contracts or licenses

• How the addition of commercial patches impacts a school’s existing promotional contracts, whether it be an exclusivity clause or the placement of the new patch

• Whether the new brand is one of a particular category of goods and services that the state law or the school’s own NIL rules prohibit student athletes from promoting

• If the state or university prohibits promotion of alcohol by student athletes, whether only what is defined as alcohol under state law is prohibited

• Whether the university could promote categories of goods and services which student athletes cannot endorse

Not all issues have self-evident answers on the front end, and keeping abreast of decisions related to a particular state’s or a particular school’s contractual options or decisions related to similar laws and rules from other states and schools will be a necessity to contracting success.