This story has been updated to include additional information.
Ohio high school student athletes can profit from their name, image and likeness (NIL), effective immediately.
Ohio High School Athletic Association member schools voted overwhelmingly for an emergency referendum that lifts the OHSAA’s NIL ban and creates regulations about the kinds of deals athletes can make.
A judge temporarily blocked the OHSAA from enforcing its NIL ban in October as part of a lawsuit, leading to the emergency referendum.
The schools voted 447 in favor, 121 against and 247 schools abstained from voting, which was open Nov. 17 to Nov. 21. The OHSAA announced results Nov. 24.
“We would like to thank our member schools for taking ownership of this NIL bylaw proposal,” OHSAA Executive Director Doug Ute said in a press release. “Whether our schools or individuals agree with NIL at the high school level or not, the courts have spoken on this issue across the country that the NCAA and high school athletic associations cannot prevent a student-athlete from making money on their NIL.”
Ohio is the 45th state to permit NIL deals for high school student athletes, the OHSAA said.
The rule change comes after the family of an elite high school athlete filed a lawsuit against the OHSAA. Jasmine Brown filed a lawsuit in Franklin County Common Pleas Court on behalf of her son, Jamier, an OSU recruit from the Dayton area who’s one of the top wide receivers in the country.
Brown had lost out on over $100,000 in potential deals because of the restrictions in Ohio, according to the lawsuit.
Judge Jaiza Page issued a temporary restraining order Oct. 20 that nullified OHSAA’s prohibition until a preliminary injunction hearing that was set for Dec. 15.
OHSAA had already been planning to ask member schools to reconsider NIL restrictions after a similar measure failed in 2022, but because of the legal action, they could take a vote in the middle of the school year.
What are Ohio’s new NIL rules?
If the measure didn’t pass, the future of OHSAA’s rules would have been in the hands of the court. OHSAA officials had said that voting on this now gives the organization an opportunity to set guardrails.
The regulations include that student athletes can’t make deals that are associated with “inappropriate” products or services, including gambling and substances, and that the deals cannot be part of a recruitment scheme or based on performance.
Also, student athletes can’t do any NIL work during school hours, during team practices, games and other events that OHSAA deems “inappropriate or distracting.” Sponsored products are not allowed to be displayed during “official team activities.”
“Now the real work begins, because this will be a continually evolving piece of high school athletics,” Ute said. “The OHSAA will track NIL deals and make sure that our recruiting bylaws and transfer bylaws are still enforced, which is something our member schools have asked for throughout this process.”
Jamier Brown is ‘incredibly excited’ about NIL rule changes
Jamier Brown’s attorney, Luke Fedlam, told The Dispatch that the advocacy over the past few months has been a “great civics lesson” for Brown, who is “incredibly excited” about the results.
“This is significant for a high school student athlete to want to fight for their rights and be able to win those rights not for themselves, but to effect change that positively impacts high school student athletes across the state of Ohio in perpetuity is incredible,” Fedlam said.
The lawsuit against OHSAA will be dismissed, Fedlam said.
Brown has already made a deal with Leaf Trading Cards, which the company announced Oct. 21. Fedlam declined to share how much Brown made from that agreement but said he will likely continue to sign other deals.
Allowing high school student athletes to make NIL deals can prepare them for the NIL landscape in college while they’re still in a structured environment, Fedlam said.
“That’s what excites me so much about NIL: You can use it to teach about taxes, contracts, time management, responsibility,” Fedlam said. “There’s so many things we can now teach young people in a way that’s real to them because it’s now happening in a way that they can participate in.”
Anna Lynn Winfrey covers the northwestern suburbs for the Columbus Dispatch. She can be reached at awinfrey@dispatch.com.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: OHSAA NIL vote passes, meaning high schoolers can make deals
Reporting by Anna Lynn Winfrey, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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