Maryland NIL Rules for Athletes & Parents (2026)

Maryland is a Big Ten/ACC-adjacent market anchored by Maryland and Navy — both under Under Armour apparel contracts, the Baltimore-based brand's most loyal college partnerships. The state requires school-side disclosure for all NIL deals and runs on a standard 3-category state ban, with HS athletes permitted under parental consent.

If you or your athlete are Maryland-based, or you are considering committing to a Maryland program, this guide walks through the disclosure framework, the deal-category restrictions, and how PACT catches Maryland-specific compliance issues before you sign.

What Maryland athletes can do right now

Maryland's NIL framework keeps HS and college athletes in the deal flow under NCAA guidance:

• High school athletes can sign NIL deals; parental consent is required for any minor under 18.
• College athletes have full NIL rights across all sports and divisions, including Big Ten (Maryland), the American Athletic Conference (Navy), and other in-state programs.
• Disclosure to the school compliance office is required for all NIL contracts; the school submits it to the NCAA NIL Go portal within 5 business days.
• Schools cannot retaliate against athletes for NIL activity, giving athletes a generous framework for compliant deals.
• Maryland has a graduated state income tax up to 5.75%, which applies to NIL earnings — moderately high for the Northeast, comparable to Virginia's tax bite.

Deal categories that are off-limits in Maryland

Maryland's category bans track the standard Big Ten / AAC floor — three deal categories are restricted:

• Alcohol — beer, wine, spirits, and alcohol-branded merchandise.
• Tobacco — includes vaping and nicotine products.
• Gambling — sportsbooks, casinos, and online betting platforms.

Apparel conflicts drive most MD rejections, and the entire state sits inside one brand relationship. Maryland (Under Armour) and Navy (Under Armour) enforce apparel-conflict policies uniformly — both programs operate under the same apparel partner, which makes enforcement tight across the state. School sponsor conflicts are the #1 cause of NIL rejections in MD, particularly for athletes considering competing-brand apparel deals.

Compliance cheat sheet

Who to contact at your school

Maryland's programs publish a Compliance Office or Athletics Compliance Director. Maryland's Big Ten compliance office enforces strict Under Armour apparel agreements. Navy's American Athletic Conference compliance enforces the same Under Armour partnership through a separate enforcement track. Both programs participate in shared apparel-conflict enforcement.

Before you sign, email your school's compliance office. A 15-minute conversation usually avoids a 5-week eligibility review. See the school-contacts reference for the typical convention used by Maryland programs.

How PACT helps before you sign

PACT reads the deal like a lawyer would — for free. Drop the contract or term sheet into the analyzer and we surface:

• Fairness scoring against PACT benchmarks for your sport, division, and follower count, so you know if the offer is competitive or low.
• Maryland-specific compliance flags, including the disclosure framework, the three-category state ban, and the program-by-program apparel-conflict check.
• The school sponsor conflict warning especially relevant for Maryland / Navy Under Armour enforcement — both programs run under the same apparel partner, so violations are uniformly enforced across the state.
• Red-flag detection for exclusivity over 6 months, missing termination clauses, IP grabs, and other common gotchas.