Three months ago, Michigan became the 46th state to allow high school athletes to monetize their own name, image and likeness.
Indiana could be poised to join them.
The Indiana High School Athletic Association Board of Directors will vote at its annual meeting on May 4 on a “Personal Branding Activity” proposal. If the proposal passes, high school athletes would be allowed to benefit monetarily from their NIL – with specific guidelines.
“The question I ask is, ‘Is it time for us to be in the NIL space or not?’” IHSAA commissioner Paul Neidig said. “If we are, this is what it could look like.”
Neidig and the IHSAA made eight visits around the state the past two weeks to discuss the upcoming proposals, including the potential to allow NIL. The Personal Branding Activity (PBA) proposal has gained support from about half of the principals and athletic directors during the straw polls. At Plainfield on Friday, 24 of the 51 votes were in favor.
“It fits within our amateur rule we currently have,” Neidig said. “You own your own name. I think people understand that. (The proposal) is very similar to what a lot of states do.”
Under the PBA proposal, an athlete could utilize their NIL as long they aren’t depicting any affiliation with a member school – or using school facilities or property – in association with receiving PBA compensation. For example, an athlete could rep a sporting goods company that sells athletic apparel as long as they do not represent the school.
“If I’m an athlete and an apparel company comes to me and asks me to use my social media to promote our product and an athlete does that, that would be fine as long as they don’t say, ‘I’m the point guard at this school’ and I’m in uniform,” Neidig said. “You own your name. You don’t own the school’s name. But if you go to the YMCA and teach somebody how to hit a baseball or softball, you could do that under your own name.”
There are several prohibited PBA activities in the proposal, including activities organized or sponsored by a member school. An athlete may provide the following activities if not associated with member school representation:
>>>Instruction services: Individual or group instruction, lessons, clinics or camps.
>>>Appearances and demonstrations: Participation in events, exhibitions, or promotional activities that may involve athletic skill, provided such participation is not tied to member schools or competitions.
>>>Private training and coaching: Providing training or coaching services to individuals or teams not affiliated with the member school.
Neidig said the use of a collective, which has been utilized in college sports through athletic department boosters, would be strictly prohibited.
“I don’t believe we can ever be in the business of collectives,” Neidig said. “It has the potential to separate the haves and have nots like we have never seen before in education-based athletics. I think that’s the biggest concern (from administrators). There’s some fear of the unknown. I don’t think it will be a big deal (as constructed) but with the college connotation and four major universities in our state involved in the NIL space, you can see how it has the ability to affect balance, especially at schools that are more affluent.”
In contrast to the legislative pressure that eventually led to the IHSAA passing the one-time transfer rule last spring, Neidig said that has not been the case with NIL. Ohio did face pressure after a lawsuit filed by the mother of an athlete who claimed her son lost more than $100,000 in potential NIL deals because of the state’s ban on monetizing NIL.
In an emergency referendum last November, Ohio’s state association passed a rule allowing high school athletes to make money off NIL. Alabama, Hawaii and Mississippi are currently the other states that do not allow high school athletes to profit off NIL.
Under the proposal, athletes must notify the school athletic director within 48 hours of entering into a PBA agreement. Schools may review PBA agreements to ensure compliance but may not prohibit compliant activities.
“The college connotation of NIL is no longer NIL,” Neidig said. “It’s using university dollars to pay for performance. The philosophy behind this is basically that we all own our name and our ability to make money based upon our name.”
Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Is NIL coming to Indiana high school sports? IHSAA will consider proposal
Reporting by Kyle Neddenriep, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
