OHSAA Member Schools to Vote on NIL Options for Student-Athletes

It took less than a year for the Name, Image, and Likeness rules of the NCAA to be argued for adoption at the high school level.

While collegiate student-athletes have been able to earn money around the country through things like sponsorships and endorsement deals, the Ohio High School Athletic Association’s (OHSAA) member schools will vote in May on allowing their student-athletes to do the same.

A recent article from the Columbus Dispatch highlighted the thought process of the vote.

Below is an excerpt from the Columbus Dispatch’s report.

The NIL regulation change is one of many that will be considered by the member schools during the annual voting period from May 1-16, but it’s by far the most significant. Currently, California, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Alaska, Kansas and Utah have passed laws allowing NIL rights to high school athletes, and a handful of other states are considering the same provision.

OHSAA executive director Doug Ute told The Dispatch in September that the organization had begun to have conversations about the NCAA’s NIL rules and what it meant for high school athletes.

“We’re just in initial talks right now, just to say, ‘Is there anything we can do now? Are we comfortable with where we’re at?’ and move forward from that standpoint,” Ute said.

In December, the rule change proposal — Issue 12B of this year’s OHSAA referendum items — went through an initial review, and in February, it was approved to go to the vote. A simple majority of member schools is required to pass. It would take effect May 16.

Much like at the college level, high school athletes would not be able to use the OHSAA logo or the name or logo of their high school in endorsements, and they cannot enter into any deals that “do not support the mission of education-based athletics,” such as ones that involve alcohol, gambling and tobacco.

To read the full story from the Columbus Dispatch about the possibility of Ohio high school student-athletes getting NIL sponsorships, click here.