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CIF Allows NIL Profits for High Schoolers

The recent interim adoption of name, image, and likeness (NIL) rules by the NCAA has already muddied the waters for soon-to-be collegiate student-athletes on whether they can earn NIL profits at the high school level.

Earlier this week top high school quarterback prospect Quinn Ewers announced that he is forgoing his senior season at Carroll (TX) High School and will, instead, enroll at Ohio State. A big part of his decision to leave school early was the fact that Texas prohibits high school athletes from receiving profits off of their name, image, and likeness.

profitsBefore any high school athlete can profit off his or her NIL without consequence, the state athletic association and, if applicable, the state’s NIL law must allow for it. More than a dozen state NIL laws are already in effect and a dozen more will go into effect in the coming years, but these laws only afford rights only to college students.

Not every state, however, has the same rules set in place.

Unlike the NCAA, high school athletes are not governed by a single, overarching organization. Instead, there is a cornucopia of athletic conferences and associations from state to state.

Take California and its California Interscholastic Federation (CIF), for instance.  A recent report from Quartz.com showed that the Golden State’s high school athletic organization has allowed student-athletes to receive profits off their NIL for a long time, with the stipulation that they cannot use their school’s name, logo, or team uniform in an advertisement.

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CIF spokesperson Rebecca Brutlat told Quartz.com that this rule has been necessary with many student-athletes also involved in the film and television industries in some way. An NCAA spokesperson told Quartz that, because of its recent rule change, high school students can engage in NIL activities without jeopardizing their NCAA eligibility, though they must follow high school association rules to retain their eligibility to play at the high school level.

To read the full story from Quartz.com on the intersection of NIL rules and high school athletics, click here