The U.S. Department of Education has released guidance that says schools must make name, image, and likeness (NIL)-related compensation "proportionately" available.

The U.S. Department of Education published a memo on Thursday providing guidance regarding name, image and likeness (NIL) compensation and its

The nine-page fact sheet says NIL payments qualify as “athletic financial assistance which, under Title IX, must be made available to male and female student-athletes in a manner that is substantially proportionate to the number of students of each sex participating in interscholastic or intercollegiate athletics at that school.”

Plans for colleges to pay athletes directly for their name, image and likeness deals would run afoul of Title IX, the Department of Education said.

The Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights released a fact sheet on Thursday clarifying the rules of NIL payments and Title IX compliance.

The Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has issued guidance regarding college athlete name, image and likeness, putting the onus on schools to ensure their male and female athletes receive proportionate NIL opportunities and resources—regardless of whether the funding comes from external sources.

The U.S. Department of Education warned National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) schools that payments to athletes for the use of their names, images, and likenesses (NIL) implicate the gender equal opportunity requirements of Title IX of the Education Amendments,